Madison, Wisconsin – On Monday, February 13th, at 1 p.m. small business owners from across the state will gather at the State Capitol to advocate for small business policy reform. Main Street Alliance is organizing this Day of Action with Wisconsin small business owners to demand Badgercare expansion with a public option, Paid Family and Medical Leave and $300m in investments in Child Care Counts. Member businesses will meet with 55 legislative offices, the Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez and the Attorney General Josh Kaul to call for commitments to these small business values.
Small businesses owners need these policies for themselves and their employees to stay competitive with large corporations. Wisconsin must pass Badgercare expansion and insure 100,000 Wisconsinites, while bringing in over a billion dollars in additional support from the federal government. The COVID pandemic highlighted the need to pass Paid Family and Medical Leave. We must also sustain funding for Child Care Counts or rates could spike 25-30% across the state, causing center closures, spiked costs for families and reduced compensation for educators.
Main Street Alliance Small Business Leader Corrine Hendrickson, owner of Corrine’s Little Explorers in New Glarus said, “I am leading the day of action because small businesses are the backbone of our community. We are your shopping, auto repair, groceries, therapists, places to gather and celebrate, child care owners and so much more. Our success and failure directly impacts the community’s health and well-being. We are coming together to advocate for paid medical leave, affordable child care including higher wages for those educators, and health care expansion for not only our businesses and employees, but for our entire community.”
Since expanding to Wisconsin in August of 2020, Main Street Alliance has grown to 1,200 members strong, including small businesses like Homecoming in Spring Green, Chase My Creations in Wauwatosa, Sawmill Adventure Park in Wausau and Wonderstate Coffee in Viroqua.
Members of Main Street Alliance will be available for an interview in the North Hearing Room from 1-4 PM on Monday, Feb 13th on why we’re taking this action and calling for these investments for Wisconsin.
