Unions were able to build America’s middle class by demanding higher wages, benefits, worker protection and ensuring a safe work environment, Obama said. “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 does not mention Walker by name or the term “right to work” in his statement, but it is a clear reference to the legislation the possible 2016 GOP candidate signedinto law on Monday. The new law makes it so that unions are unable to collect mandatory fees from workers who are not union members, but work for a unionized employer.

Obama called the legislation “a new anti-worker law” that will “weaken” middle-class workers. He called instead for boosting working wages and for paid sick leave.

“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 scare a victory for working Americans — by taking meaningful action to raise their wages and offer them the security of paid leave,” Obama said.

“That’s how you give hard working 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,” he said.

Walker issued a statement on Monday night saying that the Freedom to Work law “put[s] 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.”

“It also gives Wisconsin one more tool to encourage job creators to continue investing and expanding in our state,” Walker said.