State of Wisconsin Archives: on Jobs
Alex Lasry:
25% of service contracts to minority/disadvantaged business
As part of the agreement to build Fiserv Forum, Lasry led the workforce development efforts to make sure that people often left out of major construction work got a chance to expand skills, find jobs, and build wealth. Lasry's plan required 40% of
workers on the project to consist of people underemployed or unemployed for the previous five years and at least 25% of service contracts to be awarded to minority and/or disadvantaged businesses.While others just talk about raising wages,
Alex turned his words into actions. He led negotiations for a historic project labor agreement that included provisions to hire women and minorities that are often underrepresented among union workers. The Bucks also included an agreement to implement a
$15 minimum wage for Fiserv Forum workers no later than 2023. The Bucks achieved this goal early, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2020.
Source: 2022 Wisconsin Senate campaign website AlexLasry.com
Nov 16, 2019
Alex Lasry:
Pass the PRO Act to protect unions, empower workers
Congress must also pass the PRO Act to ??protect unions, empower workers, and hold big businesses accountable. Progressive values are good for business and the PRO Act will ensure that projects like what he did in Milwaukee can happen across the country.
Unions make businesses better. Unions protect our workers, and make workplaces safer, stronger, and better.
We need to create a workers' bill of rights to safeguard workers' right to fair working hours, safe working conditions, and humane treatment. We need to safeguard unions and protect workers for generations to come.
We are currently one of the only campaigns in the country that has a unionized campaign staff because we practice what we preach.
Source: 2022 Wisconsin Senate campaign website AlexLasry.com
Nov 16, 2019
Alex Lasry:
We pay all our employees family-sustaining wages
We also don't just talk about a $15 minimum wage; we turned our promise into action. The Bucks pay all our employees at the
Bucks' Arena family-sustaining wages because we know that paying our employees fairly is not only the right thing to do, but also translates to higher productivity. Progressive values are good business.
Source: 2022 Wisconsin Senate campaign website AlexLasry.com
Nov 16, 2019
Bob Harlow:
Repeal Walker's legislation that banned unionized workplaces
Repeal Scott Walker's legislation that banned unionized workplaces: I am a steadfast supporter of unions. Unions give a strong political voice to Wisconsinites, protect our rights in the workplace, and help make sure that
Wisconsinites get a fair deal for the work they do. That's why the first thing I will do as Governor is repeal Scott Walker's legislation that banned unionized workplaces.
Immediately restore the right of public employees to bargain collectively: I support our teachers and public employees, and I will immediately restore the right of public employees to bargain collectively. I have so much respect for the talented
Wisconsinites who work hard every day to make our state a better place to live and work. As Governor, I will work collaboratively with Wisconsin's outstanding public employees to innovate on and improve every department of government.
Source: 2018 Wisconsin Gubernatorial campaign website BobHarlow.net
Mar 15, 2017
Bob Harlow:
Undo Act 10; restore collective bargaining rights
Bob Harlow, who finished in last place during a 2016 congressional primary in California, was the first candidate to officially jump in. He told FOX6 News that last year's congressional race was a sort of trial run. "I think I've always
wanted to run for governor of Wisconsin, and now I have an opportunity," Harlow said. "There's a core energy behind our campaign." Harlow pledges to undo Act 10, the 2011 law that stripped most public workers of their collective bargaining rights.
Source: Fox6-Now on 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial race
Apr 2, 2017
Kathleen Vinehout:
No magic formula to more jobs, just create the environment
Study after study demonstrates people want to live and businesses want to locate where there are great schools, good transportation, safe streets, recreation opportunities, clean air and water, and amenities--all things that are the traditional
jobs of the public sector. If the public sector does these things well, does its own job well, our communities will thrive, businesses will locate, jobs will come." What the state can do is create an environment in which the private sector thrives.
Source: 2018 Wisconsin Gubernatorial website KathleenVinehout.org
Feb 22, 2018
Kelda Helen Roys:
Support affirmative action in hiring
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Legally require hiring more women/minorities"?
A: Support
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Wisconsin Governor candidate
May 5, 2018
Leah Vukmir:
Block cities from raising their local minimum wages
Q: Raise the federal minimum wage?Tammy Baldwin (D): Yes. Raise from current $7.25 to $15/hr. People who work hard should be able to provide for their families.
Leah Vukmir (R): No. Voted to block cities from raising their local minimum wages. Led efforts to repeal Wisconsin's prevailing wage law.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org: Wisconsin legislative voting records
Oct 9, 2018
Mandela Barnes:
Supports raising minimum wage to $15 an hour
Mandela will fight to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour to ensure a living
wage for all workers and support legislation indexing the minimum wage to inflation.
Source: 2022 Wisconsin Senate campaign website MandelaBarnes.com
Jul 31, 2022
Mandela Barnes:
Strengthen unions, oppose Right to Work laws
Mandela will support legislation to strengthen our unions, including legislation to prohibit employers from permanently replacing strikers, to strengthen labor rights through the
Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, and to fully fund and empower the National Labor Relations Board.Mandela will oppose so-called Right to Work legislation that threatens labor unions' ability to effectively organize.
Source: 2022 Wisconsin Senate campaign website MandelaBarnes.com
Jul 31, 2022
Phil Anderson:
Don't require hiring more women/minorities
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Legally require hiring more women/minorities"?
A: Oppose.
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Wisconsin Governor candidate
May 18, 2018
Russell Feingold:
$184B stimulus created jobs, especially highway construction
Feingold voted for the $814 billion economic stimulus measure last year, saying it would create jobs and stabilize the economy. He has defended the vote by saying it created jobs, pointing as proof to the abundance of "under construction"
signs on highways across the state. Johnson says the vote drove the country deeper into debt without providing any meaningful benefits.
Source: Chicago Tribune coverage of 2010 Wisconsin Senate debate
Oct 7, 2010
Sarah Godlewski:
Raise the minimum wage, end the filibuster
Godlewski said as senator she would combat climate change and the cost of prescription drugs, raise the minimum wage and work to get rid of the filibuster to pass legislation.
But she repeatedly turned to sharply criticize the Wisconsin Republican, including for saying that the rioters "love this country" and "truly respect law enforcement."
Source: CNN.com on 2022 Wisconsin Senate race
Apr 14, 2021
Scott Walker:
Create 250,000 jobs via special legislative session
The unemployment rate in December dropped to 7.5% but that is still 3 points worse than it was just 3 years ago. We must do better. Coach Vince Lombardi once said, "Success demands singleness of purpose." We are defining success for this administration
by our ability to shape an environment where 250,000 jobs are created.Every action of our administration should be looked at through the lens of job creation. That is why--moments after taking the oath of office as your Governor--I called a special
session of the Legislature to focus on jobs. Already, we are sending a clear message that Wisconsin is open for business! That singleness of purpose is why we hit the ground running on our very first day and why by our second day we had already introduce
legislation to improve Wisconsin's economic environment. All told, we introduced 8 pieces of legislation to instill in our state an environment that encourages job creation, and to send the message to employers that now is the time to start hiring.
Source: 2011 Wisconsin State of the State Address
Feb 1, 2011
Scott Walker:
Hypothetically, make WI a right-to-work state
Barrett made the case that if Walker is allowed to remain in office, he'll turn Wisconsin into a right-to work state. When pressed by the moderator if he would veto right-to-work legislation, Walker hedged. "I've said it's not going to get there. You're
asking a hypothetical," he replied.Barrett said voters should read between the lines on that answer. "Mark my words, he'll sign it," Barrett said. "He would have a fall from grace with the far right if he would say he's going to veto that."
Source: Politico.com on 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall debate
Jun 1, 2012
Scott Walker:
$35M for Wisconsin Fast Forward: technical skill training
Our Blueprint for Prosperity will increase the Wisconsin Fast Forward program by $35 million to focus on three new areas:- Investment in our technical colleges to eliminate waiting list in high demand fields, like manufacturing, agriculture and
Information Technology;
- Help high school students get training in high demand jobs through dual enrollment programs between our high schools and technical colleges;
- Support programs helping people with disabilities enter the workforce,
in our Year of A Better Bottom Line initiative.
I ask that the funds already set aside in the Joint Finance Committee from the surplus at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation be used for the expansion of Wisconsin Fast Forward. Tomorrow,
I will call for a special session to move forward with legislation to return this surplus to the taxpayers and to invest in our technical colleges, train workers for high-demand jobs, and support employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Source: 2014 State of the State Address to Wisconsin legislature
Jan 22, 2014
Scott Walker:
Supports right-to-work law; ended prevailing wage law
Q: Enact right-to-work law, eliminating the right of unions to mandate dues for workers they represent? Support or oppose union collective bargaining rights?Tony Evers (D): No. Repeal Walker's right-to-work law & reinstate collective bargaining and
prevailing wage for workers on state projects.
Scott Walker (R): Eliminated collective bargaining for teachers & most public employees. Also signed right-to-work law for private unions. Ended prevailing wage law.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Wisconsin Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Scott Walker:
Artificially raising wage won't help create jobs
Q: Raise the minimum wage?Tony Evers (D): Yes. Raise to $15/hr phased in over several years. Index for inflation.
Scott Walker (R): No. Says "artificially" raising wage won't help create family-supporting jobs.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Wisconsin Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Tammy Baldwin:
Raise minimum wage from $7.25 to $15/hour
Q: Raise the federal minimum wage?Tammy Baldwin (D): Yes. Raise from current $7.25 to $15/hr. People who work hard should be able to provide for their families.
Leah Vukmir (R): No. Voted to block cities from raising their local minimum wages. Led efforts to repeal Wisconsin's prevailing wage law.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Wisconsin Senate race
Oct 9, 2018
Tom Barrett:
Restore state's collective bargaining; I respect unions
The two rivals spent the first 15 minutes of the debate sparring over the issue that sparked the historic recall in the first place: the governor's decision to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees.Walker framed his budget bill
as a bold but necessary action taken to get the state's finances in order and pointed to a $154 million surplus and the addition of 23,000 jobs this year as evidence his reforms had already produced results. "The mayor has said repeatedly throughout the
primary he wants go to back and restore collective bargaining," Walker noted.
Barrett acknowledged as governor he would restore collective bargaining rights, but pushed back on the assertion that he would be a pawn of the unions. "The difference is
I'll allow them to be at the table. He doesn't even want to have a conversation with them. They know that I'm not a pushover, but the difference is I respect them to be at the table, not to own the table, but to be at the table," he said.
Source: Politico.com on 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall debate
Jun 1, 2012
Tom Nelson:
Joined with United Steelworkers to save shuttered paper mill
As Outagamie County's chief elected official, I lead one of the state's best-managed counties (Aaa rating) that provides public health & other crucial services during the pandemic.
In 2017, I joined the United Steelworkers in helping save a paper mill that had been auctioned off to an industrial scrap dealer. Today the mill is alive and well and supports 300 jobs.
Source: 2021 Wisconsin Senate campaign website NelsonForWI.com
Jul 8, 2021
Tom Nelson:
Strengthen unions, recognize importance of labor movement
But Nelson is realistic. He knows that this story represents only one green shoot "poking out through the infertile soil of corporate greed and showing what can be done to change the destructive dynamic that currently dominates the
American economy." He proposes to nurture that shoot, by strengthening unions and by remaking the Democratic Party so that it more deeply recognizes "the labor movement and how it is inextricably part of a larger socioeconomic organism."
Source: The Madison Capital Times on 2022 Wisconsin Senate race
Apr 27, 2021
Tony Evers:
Repeal right-to-work law; reinstate collective bargaining
Q: Enact right-to-work law, eliminating the right of unions to mandate dues for workers they represent? Support or oppose union collective bargaining rights?Tony Evers (D): No. Repeal Walker's right-to-work law & reinstate collective bargaining and
prevailing wage for workers on state projects.
Scott Walker (R): Eliminated collective bargaining for teachers & most public employees. Also signed right-to-work law for private unions. Ended prevailing wage law.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Wisconsin Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Tony Evers:
Raise minimum wage to $15/hr; index for inflation
Q: Raise the minimum wage?Tony Evers (D): Yes. Raise to $15/hr phased in over several years. Index for inflation.
Scott Walker (R): No. Says "artificially" raising wage won't help create family-supporting jobs.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Wisconsin Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Eric Hovde:
Minimum wage was never supposed to be a living wage
Minimum Wage: Raise federal minimum from $7.25/hr?Eric Hovde (R): No. "Minimum wage was never supposed to be a living wage." Low-wage jobs should motivate people to find better careers.
Tammy Baldwin (D): Yes. Sponsored 2021 legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per by 2025: "It is past time to raise the minimum wage."
Source: Guides.vote candidate survey on 2024 Wisconsin Senate race
Sep 9, 2024
Eric Hovde:
Economic focus: jobs. Inflation, and overall growth
There's "no question" the economy will be the number one issue in the U.S. Senate race on Nov. 5, Republican candidate Eric Hovde said during a WisPolitics Q&A event."The amount of people I've interfaced with over the last seven months are
thousands upon thousands of people. I'm talking to people every day. It is without question, the economy," Hovde said. "And you can define that as jobs, you can define that as inflation, overall economic growth."
Consumer prices rose 2.9% over the last year through July, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday in its consumer price index, an annual rate that suggests the inflation surge of 2022 continues to ease.
The annual inflation rate hadn't dipped below 3% since March 2021. Inflation has gently declined this summer, following a brief spike in spring.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on 2024 Wisconsin Senate race
Aug 15, 2024
Tony Evers:
Ordered agencies to create equity and inclusion plans
In 2019, Evers signed an executive order that required each state agency to create and monitor equity and inclusion plans. The goal was to address employment barriers. The audits reviewed agency compliance with Evers' order, noting any inconsistent
enforcement or documentation of DEI policies and practices. Additionally, the audit found that often agencies failed to ensure that their DEI plans were fully implemented and didn't consistently record how any noncompliance was corrected.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on 2026 Wisconsin Governor race
Jul 11, 2025
Page last updated: Feb 07, 2026