As he promised in his State of the Union address, President Obama on Wednesday signed an executive order raising the minimum wage for workers on new federal contracts to $10.10 an hour as part of his “phone and pen” strategy to act without Congress’ approval.

At a White House event promoting the move, Obama surrounded himself with workers whom he said would benefit, and recited his now-standard argument for a minimum-wage hike: “In the wealthiest nation on Earth, nobody who works full-time should have to live in poverty … We’ve got to make sure that the economy rewards hard work for every American.”