Courting unions on Labor Day, Obama pushes paid sick leave

BOSTON — President Barack Obama says Republicans who stand in the way of helping workers have been wrecking the economy for “a long, long time.”

Obama is marking Labor Day by addressing a major union rally and breakfast in Boston. He says he’s glad Republicans are trying to rebrand themselves as the party of the middle class. But he says their rhetoric is all talk and no action.

Obama says opponents of his economic policies don’t let facts or evidence get in their way.

The president is announcing that he’s signing an executive order requiring federal contractors to give their workers paid sick leave. The White House says it will benefit 300,000 workers who don’t currently get paid leave.