Wisconsin

How the Deep Roots of Farm Labor Solidarity Helped Wisconsin Survive the Pandemic

Leave a Comment / Farm Workers, unions / By max cyril

When Covid-19 forced Wisconsin to shut down in late March last year, supply shocks to the agricultural industry delivered a staggering blow to family farmers, many of whom have long teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Decades of consolidation and monopolization have made the industry inflexible to changes in demand brought about by school, restaurant and commercial closures. Processing …

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Study: Repeal Of Wisconsin’s Prevailing Wage Law Led To Drop In Wages For Construction Workers

Leave a Comment / Conservative Policy, Prevailing Wage Act, regulation, State Government, Uncategorized, wages / By max cyril

A new study from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute (MEPI) released exclusively to Wisconsin Public Radio finds the repeal of Wisconsin’s prevailing wage laws has resulted in lower wages for construction workers in Wisconsin, despite having no statistically significant impact on the cost of public construction projects. Prevailing wage laws set minimum pay requirements for wages …

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Wisconsin bill would ban cities from passing worker-friendly laws

Leave a Comment / State Government / By max cyril

Wisconsin is considering a bill that would prevent local governments from enacting worker-friendly ordinances relating to overtime, discrimination, benefits, and wages. On Wednesday, the Senate held a public hearing on the GOP-backed bill. The bill, Senate Bill 634, would prevent local municipalities in Wisconsin from increasing the minimum wage, stop enforcement of licensing regulations stricter than state standards, …

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Wisconsin’s Foxconn Deal Enriches Billionaires With Taxpayer Cash

Leave a Comment / corporations / By max cyril

Taiwanese billionaire Terry Gou every once in a while likes to think “outside the box.” Back in 2010, for instance, the giant electronics manufacturer that Gou runs — Foxconn — was facing what corporate flacks like to call a major “PR problem.” Working conditions inside Foxconn’s massive Chinese factories had become so incredibly stressful that …

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Wisconsin’s “Smoking Gun Of The Rigged Economy”

Leave a Comment / Outsourcing / By max cyril

“Outsourcing is the smoking gun of the rigged economy.” — Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Companies extort tax breaks and subsidies by threatening to withhold jobs. After their demands are met, they instead outsource the promised jobs. For the workers who remain, the threat of outsourcing causes their wages to fall. …

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Scott Walker Implements Backdoor Way To Drug Test People For Unemployment Benefits

Leave a Comment / unemployment / By max cyril

Under current law, states aren’t allowed to institute drug tests for unemployment benefits. But that hasn’t kept Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) from trying. In July, Walker approved legislation that would implement drug tests for both unemployment benefits and food stamps, neither of which are currently permissible. To get his way, he’s suing the government …

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The Legal Argument That Could Overturn ‘Right-to-Work’ Laws Around the Country

Leave a Comment / Right to Work & At-Will employment / By max cyril

Union supporters had reason to cheer earlier this month when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s hated “right to work” law was overturned by a Dane County Circuit Judge. Unfortunately, the decision is all but certain to be overturned by Wisconsin’s conservative Supreme Court. But contained in the case is a line of questioning over the constitutionality …

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What Scott Walker’s Elimination Of Wisconsin’s Living Wage Law Means For Workers

Leave a Comment / MinimumWage / By max cyril

Last year, 100 low-wage workers in Wisconsin decided to sue their governor, Scott Walker (R), over their pay. The state had a century-old statute on the books saying that the minimum wage “shall be not less than a living wage,” enough “to permit an employee to maintain herself or himself in minimum comfort, decency, physical …

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States Where Minimum Wages Are Supposed To Be Living Wages

1 Comment / MinimumWage / By max cyril

Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that he is taking advantage of a state law to raise minimum wages without the involvement of the legislature. He’s not the only governor with that power; others could also follow suit. New York State law gives the labor commissioner the authority to convene a wage …

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Scott Walker’s Forgotten War Against the People of Milwaukee

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By max cyril

Before he was governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker was Milwaukee county executive. Foreshadowing how he’d govern the state, Walker spent his time as county executive slashing Milwaukee’s safety net. As governor, he can do that by pushing and signing laws that lower the bar the state is trying to clear in taking care of its …

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