U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison will be at the White House today when President Obama signs an executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors.
The Minnesota Democrat led the Congressional Progressive Caucus' effort to push Obama to sign the order.
Ellison spearheaded a letter writing campaign to the president, urging him to circumvent Congress on the issue, to "provide labor stability for the low-wage workers on whom these federal agencies rely to fulfill their mission." Ellison personally handled one of those letters to the president.
Obama announced plans for the executive order during his State of the Union address. He has cast the move as a way to spur Congress to increase the hourly minimum wage for all workers from $7.25 to $10.10, beginning in January 2015.
The rule will boost wages for a few hundred thousand workers, a small percentage of the more than 2 million federal contractors, White House officials said.
The event is set to begin at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time.
