In a sharp jab at Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, President Obama on Monday criticized Wisconsin’s newly-signed law to prevent workers from being obliged to pay union dues as a “sustained, coordinated assault on unions, led by powerful interests and their allies in government.”
“I’m deeply disappointed that a new anti-worker law in Wisconsin will weaken, rather than strengthen workers in the new economy,” Obama said. “Wisconsin is a state built by labor, with a proud pro-worker past. So even as its governor claims victory over working Americans, I’d encourage him to try and score a victory for working Americans — by taking meaningful action to raise their wages and offer them the security of paid leave.”
“That’s how you give hardworking middle-class families a fair shot in the new economy — not by stripping their rights in the workplace, but by offering them all the tools they need to get ahead,” the president added.
Walker fired back in a statement of his own, saying “the President should be looking to states, like Wisconsin, as an example for how to grow our economy.”
“Our reforms are moving Wisconsin forward and helping create family-supporting jobs for people in our state,” Walker said.
Walker signed the so-called “right-to-work” law Monday, touting it as a measure to put “power back in the hands of Wisconsin workers, by allowing the freedom to choose whether they want to join a union and pay union dues.” Wisconsin will be the 25th state to adopt such a law.
The measure is a new jewel in Walker’s conservative crown, one which he has also begun to tout on the campaign trail as he gears up to run for president. It also lends itself to the brand Walker has built as a foe of unions in Wisconsin, which led the unsuccessful effort in 2012 to recall him from office.
In the context of Walker’s likely campaign, the president’s statement will likely be interpreted as a political chess move, perhaps seeking to boost Walker in the competitive Republican primary.
