De Blasio Criticizes Walker as Enemy of Middle Class

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio brought his message about income inequality to the home state of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, criticizing the potential Republican presidential candidate as an enemy of unions and the middle class.

“I’m not saying Scott Walker set out to destroy Wisconsin’s middle class,” de Blasio said during a speech to 360 people at the annual fundraising dinner for the state’s Democratic Party in Milwaukee. “But if that were his mission, I can’t think of a damn thing he’d done differently.”

Walker, 57, a two-term governor, supported legislation after taking office in 2011 to limit collective bargaining for public employees. He also signed a so-called right-to-work bill this year allowing employees in union workplaces to opt out of paying dues, saying it gave workers freedom and would attract jobs.

Calling labor unions the backbone of the American middle class, de Blasio said the approach of Walker and other Republicans undermines the chance for workers to organize and negotiate better wages and benefits.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-26/de-blasio-criticizes-walker-as-enemy-of-middle-class