Republican U.S. presidential candidate Scott Walker, best known for his victory over public-sector unions as governor of Wisconsin, will tell Americans in a speech on Monday how he plans to address labor issues nationally.
A source familiar with Walker’s plans said the governor would deliver a major policy speech on the matter in Las Vegas, home to many unionized workers employed by casinos and the hospitality industry.
Campaigning in Milford, New Hampshire, over the weekend, Walker said, “We’re going to lay out some of the things we did in Wisconsin and how we can play it around the country,” adding, “Our state’s one of only two in the country that has a fully funded pension system.”
Walker, 47, has been struggling in opinion polls. He was in the top tier of candidates earlier this year ahead of the July launch of his White House bid but other candidates such as real estate mogul Donald Trump have dominated attention of late.
On Thursday at Eureka College in Illinois, Walker plans to talk about how he “made a name for himself for wreaking havoc on the status quo in Madison and producing results for Wisconsinites,” his campaign said.
Walker, one of 17 Republicans seeking the nomination for the November 2016 election, captured national attention with his successful campaign to limit collective bargaining for state employees and his subsequent survival of a recall election.
In New Hampshire over the weekend, Walker accused his rivals for the nomination of “talking in phrases” without saying exactly what they would do as president.
“I fight. I win. I get results. I do it without compromising conservative principles,” he said. He appeared to be drawing a contrast between himself and Ohio Governor John Kasich, 63, a rival Republican presidential hopeful who lost his fight on curbing union powers.
(Reporting by Erin McPike; Editing by Caren Bohan and Howard Goller)