Obama says ‘Wisconsin is a state built by labour, with a proud pro-worker past’ and urges Walker to ‘try to score a victory for working Americans’

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Barack Obama accused Wisconsin’s governor, Scott Walker, of threatening the prosperity of the middle class with his latest anti-union legislation – and said he is “deeply disappointed” in the Republican presidential contender.

In a rare move to single out an individual politician in a partisan message from the White House, Obama issued a statement on Monday evening castigating the so-called right-to-work bill that the governor signed into law earlier in the day amid corporate celebrations.

“Wisconsin is a state built by labour, 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,” Obama said.

The new act in Wisconsin prohibits compulsory union membership and payment of dues as a condition of employment. It is the 25th state to pass such laws in recent years.

The legislation followed Walker’s action in 2011 to remove collective bargaining powers from most public sector unions in the state, which sparked mass protests at the state capitol and brought Walker to such prominence among Tea Party supporters that he started being discussed as a presidential candidate for 2016.

Walker, after another weekend swing through a battleground presidential state, proclaimed that the right-to-work legislation he signed into law on Monday would create jobs by making Wisconsin more competitive for domestic and international investment.

But the president condemned the move as “inexcusable” and said it would “weaken rather than strengthen” the state’s labour force.

“It’s no coincidence that the rise of the middle class in America coincided in large part with the rise of unions – workers who organised together for higher wages, better working conditions and the benefits and protections that most workers take for granted today,” Obama said in the statement released by the White House.

“So it’s inexcusable that, over the past several years, just when middle-class families and workers need that kind of security the most, there’s been a sustained, coordinated assault on unions, led by powerful interests and their allies in government,” he said.

Obama may have been hinting at national supporters of union-busting legislation, such as the Koch brothers, who run the massive conglomerate Koch Industries and pour money into conservative causes, including campaigns to pass right-to-work laws in states like Wisconsin.

During the signing of the bill in the state on Monday, Walker was surrounded by local company officials who had supported the legislation, while Democrats and union leaders issued statements bitterly condemning the governor’s move.

Then the president weighed in, appealing to Walker to raise wages and protect workers’ rights.

“That’s how you give hard-working middle-class families a fair shot in the new economy – not by stripping them of their rights in the workplace but by offering them all the tools they need to get ahead,” Obama said.