Wisconsin’s economy is on the move again, with nearly 70,000
jobs created in the past year alone. As the new issue of Inc. Magazine
reports: Wisconsin has experienced “a remarkable turnaround” … with “the
nation’s largest surge in manufacturing job creation.”
As part of my Grow Wisconsin plan, we’ve put in place an
aggressive strategy to make Wisconsin more business friendly, creating new,
good jobs and helping people raise their incomes.
Yet too many people are still struggling every day to make
ends meet, to pay the bills, and to put food on the table.
Wisconsin’s minimum wage – at $5.15 an hour – has not been
raised in seven years. While the price of nearly everything else has gone up
over the past seven years, these workers have not received a raise.
My administration has put forward a proposal to raise the
minimum wage statewide from $5.15 an hour to $6.50 an hour over two years –
a proposal that has garnered a wide range of business support, including:
Craig Culver, the Wisconsin Grocers Association, the Wisconsin Restaurants
Association, the Wisconsin Chapter of National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB), and the Wisconsin Merchants Federation. It recently picked
up the endorsement of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.
The only opposition to this proposal has come from
Republicans in the Legislature, who are badly out of touch with Wisconsin’s
values. Unfortunately, they have the power to use legislative tricks to
block this increase for two years without ever taking a vote.
I have challenged Republicans to end the stall tactics, and
take up the minimum wage proposal this month. Every month they delay,
minimum wage workers lose about $100.
In the last seven years, members of the Legislature have
voted themselves seven pay raises, while workers on the minimum wage have
not gotten any raises. Legislators’ pay has gone up by $6,500 over that
time, but now Republicans are blocking an increase of just $1.35 for our
lowest paid workers.
Support for a minimum wage increase is so strong that some
communities are beginning to act on their own. Because the Legislature
won’t act, cities like Madison, Milwaukee, Kaukauna, Stevens Point, and La
Crosse may each set their own minimum wage. Everyone agrees a statewide
minimum wage increase is the best option, but who can blame these
communities for acting alone when Republicans in the Legislature are
refusing to do the right thing?
An estimated 160,000 Wisconsin citizens would benefit from
an increase in the minimum wage. While many are young people, nearly half
are over 25 years of age. Nearly two out of every three are women. More
often than not, they are single parents, struggling to support themselves
and their children. And, while many are part-time workers, almost one-third
work full time at the minimum wage.
Everywhere I go, I see people working so hard to support
themselves. These workers deserve a chance to get ahead just like everyone
else.
We’re making progress at creating jobs and helping people
raise their incomes in Wisconsin. But we should not forget about those
people who so often work the most and earn the least.
Let’s increase the minimum wage statewide from $5.15 to
$6.50 an hour – and let’s do it this month.
