WED AM News: Talking Trade with Jane Dauffenbach, Aquarius Systems; AFL-CIO report tracks worker deaths in Wisconsin

April 30, 2025

— In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” Aquarius Systems President Jane Dauffenbach discusses how tariffs are impacting the North Prairie company.

The business makes various machinery for aquatic applications, ranging from weed harvesters to excavators, transport barges and more.

Dauffenbach says Aquarius Systems has been exporting since 1970, shipping aquatic plant harvesters to customers in Iceland’s kelp industry. Its products have now been shipped to dozens of countries across Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and elsewhere.

“I would declare before the world, we were the first company to ever produce a marine debris collection vessel,” she said. “So we’re working hard now on trying to get the word out to the rest of the world that we’re the OG in that space.”

The conversation explores how tariffs and related uncertainty are throwing a wrench into Aquarius Systems’ operations, as two pending orders in Canada have been “tabled” amid trade tensions with the U.S. government.

“My concern is that it’s because they’re irritated right now with the United States,” she said on the show, recorded before the April 29 elections in Canada. “With that said, we are producing two other machines that are going to Canada, this summer we’ll be shipping. And our customer there is concerned about retaliatory tariffs.”

The majority of the company’s customers are government entities. Dauffenbach said one of its buyers in Canada doesn’t have enough wiggle room in its municipal budget to pay for the increased price under reciprocal tariffs.

Other prospects in Canada have remained “receptive,” she said, though she said she’s heard from other companies that have been stonewalled entirely “with almost no explanation.” Still, she said the business is also getting new inquiries from buyers in other countries that would be affected by tariffs.

Dauffenbach highlights some lessons learned from the pandemic-era supply chain disruptions, noting Aquarius Systems has modified its pricing structure to avoid getting caught by abrupt spikes in material costs. She also stresses the importance of export markets to the company’s future.

“I don’t know that there’s enough United States business to support the folks that are in this business long-term,” she said. “Because we need the world market, we need to have these other places to sell our product, in my opinion. It’s certainly contributed to, you know, to our success and I would hate to see that go away.”

Talking Trade is hosted by E.M Wasylik Associates Managing Director Ken Wasylik and M.E. Dey & Co. President and Managing Director Sandi Siegel.

Watch the full episode here.

“Talking Trade” is now available in audio form on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Subscribe and find more episodes here.

— The number of Wisconsin workers who died on the job in 2023 is roughly in line with recent historical trends, though state AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale says even one workplace death is “one too many.”

The labor union federation this week rolled out its national Death on the Job report, which shows 112 workers in Wisconsin died on the job in 2023. In an interview yesterday, Bloomingdale noted that’s below the prior year’s total of 125 deaths, which was a 16-year high for the state.

“We have to continue to work on safety on the job, and make sure we have the highest level of safety standards possible,” she said, arguing “safety has to be the highest priority” for businesses and workers alike.

Of Wisconsin’s workplace deaths in 2023, 15 were caused by assaults and violent acts, 37 were from transportation incidents, 17 were from falls, 19 were from exposure to harmful substances or environments and 23 were from “contact with objects or equipment.”

Bloomingdale noted transportation-related deaths are “always high” due to the inherent dangers, while some of the assaults were due to workers being targeted in the parking lot of their workplace.

She noted the federation’s prioritization of safety includes making sure that OSHA is “fully funded,” adding the federal government’s cost-cutting efforts could jeopardize that.

The pro-union Economic Policy Institute says the Trump administration has shut down 11 OSHA offices in states with higher workplace fatality rates. And the administration has effectively gotten rid of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which conducts workplace safety research that’s used by OSHA in policymaking, EPI’s overview shows.

“We should have a shared vision of no one dying on the job … any death is too many, and we should have the inspectors necessary to make sure we have safe workplaces,” Bloomingdale said, arguing “those cuts should be restored” at the federal level.

See the report.

— Sen. Patrick Testin has rolled out a bill that would create new tax credits aimed at incentivizing video game production in Wisconsin.

Testin, R-Stevens Point, yesterday announced the legislation, which would authorize a 30% tax credit for copyright owners in “digital interactive media or entertainment” based on the amount of eligible salary or wages paid in the state.

It would also create a 30% tax credit for eligible in-state expenditures that are “directly related” to creating video games, the release shows.

The global video game industry is projected to grow by 7.65% per year from 2025 to 2029, which would put it at about $691.31 billion, based on figures from Statista Market Insights. Meanwhile, the U.S. video game industry is set to rake in $141.84 billion in video game revenue in 2025.

Testin notes the national video game sector is currently centered in California, but adds “many employers” there are interested in going elsewhere as they expand with more studios.

“It would be shortsighted for us not to try to tap into that market and bolster our state’s economy and establish more high-paying jobs for our residents,” he said in a statement.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Revenue. Testin’s office says it’s expected to get a public hearing in the coming weeks.

See the release.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has signed onto a letter urging federal officials to “immediately reinstate” fired staff at the Head Start program and stop delaying program funding.

Baldwin, D-Madison, and dozens of other senators recently sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., calling for the release of funding for Head Start. The program provides early childhood education as well as health and social services to about 800,000 kids per year, and employs about 250,000 people.

The lawmakers say the program is a “critical source” of child care, especially in rural areas and tribal communities.

“Head Start programs ensure children receive appropriate health and dental care, nutrition support, and referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support,” they wrote.

The letter comes after five regional Head Start offices were recently shut down, including Chicago’s Region 5 office that oversees Wisconsin’s Head Start centers.

Baldwin’s office notes the Trump administration froze funding for Head Start earlier this year, and even after “being forced to rescind its directive,” eight related programs in Wisconsin have had ongoing difficulties getting federal funding. One Head Start center in Waukesha has closed, impacting about 250 families getting child care there.

The letter is requesting information on the number of staff that have been fired, impacted grantees, why funding is being delayed and more.

“The Administration has a legal and moral obligation to disburse Head Start funds to programs and to uphold the program’s promise to provide high-quality early education services to low income children and families across this country,” the lawmakers wrote.

See the release.

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