Obama approves reform to bolster workers' rights

PRESIDENT BARACK Obama has approved a series of measures aimed at strengthening workers’ rights and reversing Bush administration…

PRESIDENT BARACK Obama has approved a series of measures aimed at strengthening workers’ rights and reversing Bush administration policies that favoured employers over unions.

The changes came as the president announced that the vice-president, Joe Biden, will lead a task force to address the problems of middle-class Americans, including low pay, retirement benefits and the work-family balance.

“America’s middle class is hurting,” Mr Biden said.

“Trillions of dollars in home equity and retirement savings and college savings are gone. And every day, more and more Americans are losing their jobs. President Obama and I are determined to change this. Quite simply, a strong middle class equals a strong America. We can’t have one without the other.”

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The new measures approved by the president would require federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change; reverse an order requiring federal contractors to tell workers they can limit financial support of unions that represent them; and prevent federal contractors from reclaiming expenses used to influence workers deciding whether to form a union.

“We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests,” Mr Obama said.

“I do not view the labour movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution. You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labour movement.”

The president’s latest moves won praise from Democrats and union leaders but did little to win over Republicans to the $820 billion economic stimulus plan Mr Obama wants Congress to approve within the next two weeks.

The president made a renewed appeal for the recovery plan yesterday as the US economy reported its biggest contraction for a quarter of a century and job losses continued to climb.

“The recession is deepening and the urgency of our economic crisis is growing. Yesterday we reached a new threshold: the highest number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits on record. Every day it seems there’s another round of lay-offs, another round of jobs lost and families’ lives turned upside down,” the president said.

“I’m pleased that the House has acted with the urgency necessary in passing this plan. I hope we can strengthen it further in the Senate.

“What we can’t do is drag our feet or delay much longer. The American people expect us to act, and that’s exactly what I intend to do as president of the United States,” Mr Obama said.

In a move that could boost the plan’s prospects in the senate, Mr Obama is considering Judd Gregg, a Republican senator from New Hampshire, for the post of commerce secretary. If Mr Gregg leaves the Senate, his successor will be chosen by New Hampshire’s Democratic governor John Lynch.

Democrats need just one more seat in the Senate to reach the 60 votes needed to prevent a filibuster.

Illinois’ new governor Pat Quinn declared yesterday that he would “fumigate” the state from the political corruption that has been its hallmark for decades. Mr Quinn was speaking a day after the state Senate voted unanimously to remove his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, from office.

Mr Blagojevich was arrested last month on charges that he tried to sell Mr Obama’s former Senate seat to the highest bidder.

“We are going to fumigate state government from top to bottom to make sure there’s no corruption,” Mr Quinn said.

“This is a time for governance and reform. Politics – we can do that next year.”