Workers across America are finding reason to rejoice this month as President Obama raised the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour.President Obama announced in his State of the Union address in January that he will raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for workers under federal contract. Since the national minimum wage was last raised in 2009, Obama’s recent announcement has drawn attention from Congress, political critics, and American citizens alike. The raise is scheduled to begin in 2015, the executive order concerning minimum wage will only affect about 2 million American employees, according to Fox News. The Huffington Post stated, “The executive order will cover ‘workers who are performing services or constructing buildings and are getting paid less than $10.10 an hour.’ Those likely to see bumps in future paychecks include dishwashers, food servers and construction workers. Many work in government buildings, but for private employers.”During the President’s State of the Union address, he urged Congress to pass the executive order, and said, “Let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.” The Huffington Post went onto explain that, “The new executive order affects only future contracts, not existing ones, and would only apply to contract renewals if other terms of the agreement changed. As a result, the order would benefit far fewer workers than the number foreseen by advocates of federal contract employees.”Students at BYUH have mixed feelings about the new executive order. Makayla Maggert, a freshman in nursing from Atlanta, agreed with Obama that minimum wage should be raised for all American employees. “Obama and Congress need to raise minimum wage for everyone, because as a college student, it’s hard to live off of minimum wage,” said Maggert. “It’s especially hard in Hawaii, because everything is more expensive. College students, and anyone for that matter, shouldn’t have to work two or three jobs just to barely afford the cost of living.” Caroline Byrd, a freshman in graphic design from Scottsdale, Ariz., added, “Obama should know better, because he is from Hawaii. He should be doing everything he can to help the people live an easier life.”
Writer: Emily Halls ~ Multimedia Journalist
