President Obama will join Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on Wednesday, the first meeting between the two since Mr. Walker took office in 2010.
The pair will visit a number of Wisconsin firms, including accompanying him on a visit to Master Lock. The Wisconsin Republican will meet the president at the tarmac and join him on the company visit, according to the governor’s spokesman, Chris Schrimpf.
The visit comes as Mr. Walker, a Republican, has captured national attention in his push to curb collective bargaining rights for state unions. The Republican’s support for the measure received as fair amount of criticism from opponents, including a petition seeking his recall, while supporters welcomed the reform.
In a statement released by the White House, Mr. Obama will reportedly speak on the importance of American manufacturing when he visits the Master Lock company. The president singled out Master Lock in his State of the Union address last month, pointing out the Milwaukee company had returned about 100 jobs to Milwaukee from China since the middle of 2010.
