Possible California ballot iniative to raise the minimum wage to $10, then $12

[Sheilbh]

I'm thinking it's not their call.  Hopefully Mimsy can comment.

Maybe a body responsible for, say, upkeep of government premises - but again they've got to operate within their budget.

[Admiral Yi]

Maybe a body responsible for, say, upkeep of government premises - but again they've got to operate within their budget.

Sure.

[MadImmortalMan]

Federal procurements are done under guidelines set out in the FPDS, which is managed by the US General Services Administration. (Think ministry of administrative affairs. )

Most departments of the government contract out their programs directly, but under the rules set out by the procurement office. You can actually check out what's out there and coming up for bid here.

[Razgovory]

I was under the impression that goverment contractors are hired through a bidding process.

[CountDeMoney]

I'll tell you how it works.

You are company X and you want to bid on a contract to provide cleaning services for Federal Building Y. You go through the bidding process (which is arcane and I will not waste time with that right now), and you get the contract.

In the contract, it will have provisions for the amount of the contract, the minimum amount to pay each employee, what percentage of the contract must be spent on salaries, what percent on benefits, and often percentages for other things too, like cleaning products and equipment. It is through these contract provisions that Obama would have the ability to make the mandates. That's why he specified the going forward part.


Now, I've seen a lot of contracts over the years, and I have never ever seen one that mandated less than ten bucks an hour minimum. I have seen many with minimums much higher than that. I'm sure they probably exist somewhere. But the fact that I've never seen a single one, even for jobs like dishwashers and janitors tells me that it's probably damn rare.

Thing is, those GSA contract numbers are impacted by the Federal locality matrix, just like every other federal labor costs, e.g., why janitorial contractors for a federal building in Nebraska make a shitload less than janitorial contractors for a federal building in Washington, DC.

[derspiess]

...and he found the thread.

[CountDeMoney]

STOP
URKEL TIME

[MadImmortalMan]

Thing is, those GSA contract numbers are impacted by the Federal locality matrix, just like every other federal labor costs, e.g., why janitorial contractors for a federal building in Nebraska make a shitload less than janitorial contractors for a federal building in Washington, DC.

Depends. Some of the biggest agencies I've worked with set the prices flat. Alabama, Massachusetts, doesn't matter. The more the control over things is centralized, the more that is the case.

For example most of the time, a particular agency will have several HQs across the country. Boston, Dallas, Philly, SF, etc, and they have territories they are responsible for. They will usually set the prices at that level and they will vary. Recently, and particularly since about 2009, the agencies have been taking procurement authority away from the regional offices and handling it from Washington. So now we're seeing a lot more of the one wage fits all approach.

We've got people asking to be transferred from San Fran and Mass to Arkansas and Alabama as a result.

[CountDeMoney]

Recently, and particularly since about 2009, the agencies have been taking procurement authority away from the regional offices and handling it from Washington.

WHAT COULD HAPPEN

[CountDeMoney]

We've got people asking to be transferred from San Fran and Mass to Arkansas and Alabama as a result.

Hell yeahs.  You could live like a king in Alabama with the equivalent of a Massachusetts locality boost.

[garbon]

Living like a king in Alabama? Meep.

[CountDeMoney]

Living like a king in Alabama? Meep.

Worked for quite a few generations down there.  Depending on circumstance, of course.

[garbon]

Silly me, I assumed we were talking in the 21st century.

[CountDeMoney]

Oooh, look what you can get down there for only $250K--

http://www.birminghamidx.com/listing.php?sid=1629861&mls=473924&site_id=675&page_current=1

edit:  that would make a hell of a law office.

edit, part deux:
http://www.birminghamidx.com/search_results.php?sid=1629864&site_id=675&class_id=1&type[]=ConvSingleFamily&price_range_low=200000&price_range_high=250000&listing_count=10

Some nice ass houses for $250K.  You just have to tolerate living in Alabama.

[derspiess]

Seedy, unless you could spend 100% of your time on an SEC campus, you'd go postal after living 2 months in the deep south.