Progressive Think Tank Defends Obama Crackdown On Labor Law-Breaking Federal Contractors

Facing the hostility of big business and its allies in Congress, a progressive think-tank went to bat on March 4 to defend President Barack Obama's executive order cracking down on federal contractors who break labor laws. In testimony to the ideologically polarized House Education and the Workforce Committee, Karla Walter of the Center for American Progress' American Worker Project reminded lawmakers of findings -- stretching back years -- of widespread law-breaking by firms that get federal cash...click below to read more. 
- PAI

Company law-breaking ranges from labor law violations to denial of overtime pay to outright refusal to pay workers to dozens of workers killed on the job while employed by those same contractors, she said. Obama issued an executive order last July telling federal procurement officers that they must take a company's overall record in obeying labor laws, tax laws and anti-discrimination laws into account when awarding federal contracts.