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Washington, D.C.—The issuance today of three executive orders impacting federal contracting and employee rights reflects “a welcome acknowledgement on the part of President Obama of the rights and contributions of working people and their unions,” the leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees said.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) was among the public and private sector union leaders at a White House ceremony where President Obama announced the executive orders and formation of a task force dealing with issues faced by middle class families.

“I am honored to have attended the White House announcement,” said President Kelley. “These executive orders are a clear sign that the contributions of Americans working on the front lines of our economy, in both the public and private sectors, will be recognized and their rights respected by the White House.”

In announcing the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families, President Obama was clear in declaring the importance of the role played by organized employees and their unions in the life of the country. He said he would “reverse many of the policies toward organized labor” taken by the previous administration, and declared that “labor is not the problem; labor is part of the solution.”

That is especially true, said President Kelley, when it comes to federal unions and those they represent. “Federal employees are a key part of the solution to strengthening federal agencies and providing effective, efficient delivery of vital services to the American people,” she said.

Vice President Joe Biden, who will head the task force which will address a variety of economic, social and educational issues, said he was pleased to see so many friends in the audience, including those from organized labor. “Welcome back to the White House,” he said.

President Kelley followed up on the vice president’s comments saying she especially welcomed the attendance of federal union leaders at the event.

“President Obama has only been in the White House for 10 days and he made a special point to meet with union leaders, including federal employee union leaders,” Kelley said. “I take this as a welcome signal that the tone in Washington has changed and our administration respects the significant contributions that unionized federal employees make to our country.”

Two of the three executive orders signed today by the president reverse positions taken by the previous administration. The first requires federal contractors holding contracts of more than $100,000 to post a “balanced notice" of their employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act. A previous executive order on this subject required federal contractors to post a notice only of the right of employees to limit their financial support of unions serving as their exclusive representative.

The second requires that federal service contractors and subcontractors subject to the Service Contract Act offer a right of first refusal for employment to the non-supervisory, non-managerial employees of a predecessor contractor for positions for which they are qualified.

Finally, the president issued an order preventing federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenditures intended to support or deter their employees’ exercise of their rights to form unions and engage in collective bargaining.

Federal contracting is a multi-billion-dollar business, conducted by an army of private contractors and grant-holders who number about four times the size of the entire federal workforce.

President Kelley has long been leading the fight for fair rules governing federal contracting.

“President Obama said during his campaign that he intends to take a close look at federal contracting and I view these three executive orders as a first step in that process,” Kelley said, adding that she looks forward to working with the administration to continue the process of evaluating federal contracting rules.

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.