Obamas Executive Orders Help Unions and the Middle Class

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama signed a series of executive orders Friday that he said should “level the playing field” for labor unions in their struggles with management.

Obama also used the occasion at the White House to announce formally a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans. He named Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman.

Union officials say the new orders by Obama will undo Bush administration policies that favored employers over workers.

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

Signing the executive orders was Obama’s second overture to organized labor in as many days. On Thursday, he signed the first bill of his presidency, giving workers more time to sue for wage discrimination.