President Obama today is expected to sign his executive order raising the minimum wage for employees working under new federal contracts from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, following up on his promise made in last night's State of the Union address.

His speech and executive order are part and parcel of his administration's push to raise the national minimum wage to the same $10.10 over three years.

The new contractor minimum wage affects only those companies signing new federal contracts or those companies whose contracts are being renewed under new terms and conditions, not just rolled over.