The Chicago strong-arm presidency continues this morning, as reports indicate that Barack Obama has threatened to take back California’s stimulus funds if the wages of union members aren’t protected by the state. In an attempt to bridge the massive budget shortfall, California lowered wages for home health care workers, saving the budget $74 million. Union lackey Obama isn’t happy:

Reporting from Sacramento — The Obama administration is threatening to rescind billions of dollars in federal stimulus money if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers do not restore wage cuts to unionized home healthcare workers approved in February as part of the budget.

Schwarzenegger’s office was advised this week by federal health officials that the wage reduction, which will save California $74 million, violates provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Failure to revoke the scheduled wage cut before it takes effect July 1 could cost California $6.8 billion in stimulus money, according to state officials. …

The wages at issue involve workers who care for some 440,000 low-income disabled and elderly Californians. The workers, who collectively contribute millions of dollars in dues each month to the influential Service Employees International Union and the United Domestic Workers, will see the state’s contribution to their wages cut from a maximum of $12.10 per hour to a maximum of $10.10.

Basically Obama is using the same “madman president” strategy to protect union members as he did to get senior creditors to give up their rights on Chrysler. The SEIU lobbied the White House for intervention when the cuts were announced, and Obama responded by threatening to destroy California’s economic situation if it didn’t do as he wanted. It’s just more Chicago strong-arm tactics.

Via Hot Air.