Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Voting Record

2007-2008 Wisconsin State Legislature

Summary of Bills

 

STATE SENATE

 

SENATE RESOLUTION 7

Employee Free Choice Act

 

(Favorable on Passage)  This resolution calls on Congress to support the federal Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) which will strengthen the rights of working people to form unions to improve their lives.  ECFA will do the following:  give workers the right to be represented by a union when a majority in the workplace voluntarily sign union cards;  provide for mediation and arbitration to achieve the first union contract; and set meaningful penalties for violations of a worker’s freedom to choose a union.  The recorded vote of 23 to 10 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote.  SR 7 passed the Senate and a copy was sent to the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation.  [Note:  Resolutions are used by legislators to express a position or send a message to Congress from policymakers at the state level.]

 

 SENATE BILL 40

2007-09 Biennial State Budget:   Healthy Wisconsin

 

(Favorable on Senate Democratic Version)  The version of the 2007-09 Biennial State Budget that originally passed the Senate was developed by Senate Democrats and included the Healthy Wisconsin Authority to provide comprehensive, affordable health care to everyone in Wisconsin who is not covered by a government program such as Medicare, Medicaid or BadgerCare. The Senate Democratic Version of the budget also included bargaining rights for UW System faculty and academic staff, plus other provisions to benefit working families.  The recorded vote of 18 to 15 was on passage of the Senate Democratic Version and a vote in favor was a “right” vote (June 26, 2007).  Both the health care and collective bargaining provisions were removed from the final version of the budget due to strong opposition from Assembly Republicans.

 

SENATE BILL 40

2007-09 Biennial State Budget: Amendment to Remove Excess Profits Tax on Oil Companies

 

(Favorable on Motion to Table Amendment)  The version of the 2007-09 Biennial State Budget that originally passed the Senate was developed by Senate Democrats and included a special assessment (essentially an excess profits tax) on oil companies based on the motor vehicle fuel sold in Wisconsin.  This excess profits tax on Big Oil would help fund state services and provide needed revenue for Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure, on which the oil companies rely.  It was in response to the massive profits being made by the oil industry at the expense of consumers. Senate Republicans offered Senate Amendment 5 to remove the excess profits tax on oil companies from the Senate Democratic Version of the budget.  The recorded vote of 18 to 15 was on a motion to table Senate Amendment 5 to SSA 1  and a vote in favor of tabling the amendment was a “right” vote (June 26, 2007).  Senate Amendment 5 was tabled.  Though the excess profits tax on Big Oil remained in the Senate Democratic Version, it was removed from the final version of the budget due to opposition from Assembly Republicans.

 

 SENATE BILL 108

Teaching Labor History in Schools

 

(Favorable on Passage)  This legislation requires each school district to include the history of organized labor and the collective bargaining process in its curriculum.  For most of the 20th century, Wisconsin was one of the nation’s most strongly unionized states, and this continues to be the case as virtually every family has a union member past or present in its family tree.  To ignore the history of American workers and their unions— what textbooks largely do—is to ignore a major part of the history of our state and nation, and this does a real disservice to our youth.  The recorded vote of 19 to 14 is on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote.  SB 108 passed the Senate but died in the Assembly.

  

SENATE BILL 165

Equal Pay Enforcement Act

 

(Favorable on Passage)  This bill allows employees who experience employment discrimination to seek compensatory and punitive damages, if a violation relates to equal pay or other protected classes under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Currently, the only remedy for victims is reinstatement, back pay and legal fees.  This remedy is not significant enough to deter employers from violating the law, nor does it adequately compensate employees for violations of their employment rights.  Wage inequity is especially harmful because it denies workers their full earning potential, and the accumulated loss of income undermines the economic security of families. The recorded vote of 18 to 14 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote.

SB 165 passed the Senate but died in the Assembly.

 

SENATE BILL 171

Impartial Justice:  Public Financing of State Supreme Court Elections

 

(Favorable on Passage)  The integrity of our judicial system would be enhanced by this legislation known as the Impartial Justice Act which provides for public financing of qualified candidates for State Supreme Court.  It would help ensure that decisions made by elected justices are based on their truly impartial interpretation of the law in a fair, neutral and non-partisan way—not influenced by campaign contributions from wealthy individuals and corporate interests.  The recorded vote of 23 to 10 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote.  SB 171 passed the Senate but died in the Assembly.

 

SENATE BILL 228

Construction Industry Contractor Registration

 

(Favorable on Passage)  This legislation is in response to a growing problem in the construction industry where unscrupulous employers fraudulently misclassify workers as “independent contractors”.  By doing so, these construction employers get a competitive advantage because they do not withhold federal and state taxes, pay into the Unemployment Insurance fund, purchase Workers Compensation coverage, or pay any of the usual employee benefits for the workers classified as independent contractors.  SB 228 requires construction contractors to register with the Department of Commerce, plus other requirements that will curtail the deliberate misclassification of employees.  The recorded vote of 28 to 4 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote.  SB 228 passed the Senate but died in the Assembly.

 

SENATE BILL 353

Collective Bargaining Rights:  UW System Faculty and Academic Staff

 

(Favorable on Passage)  This legislation extends bargaining rights to approximately 17,000 state employees who are employed by the University of Wisconsin System as faculty and academic staff.  This is the largest group of public employees in the state who are denied the freedom to organize.  In all states bordering Wisconsin, as well as a majority of states in the country, university faculty and academic staff have the fundamental right to collectively bargain.  The recorded vote of 21 to 12 is on passage and a vote in favor is a “right” vote.  SB 353 passed the Senate but died in the Assembly.

 

SENATE BILL 430

Workers Compensation

 

(Favorable on Passage)  This is the agreed-upon bill negotiated by labor and management representatives on the Workers Compensation Advisory Council.  It increases the Permanent Partial Disability indemnity rates by $10 weekly in 2008 and in 2009, and raises the minimum indemnity payment for those who are Permanently and Totally Disabled from the rate in effect in 1987 to the rate in effect in 1992.  The recorded vote of 31 to 0 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote.  SB 430 passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Doyle.

 

SENATE BILL 431

Unemployment Insurance

 

(Favorable on Passage)  This is the agreed-upon bill negotiated by labor and management representatives on the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council.  In 2008, maximum benefit levels are held at the 2007 level.  In 2009, maximum benefit levels increase by $8 per week.  The UI tax on employers is increased to ensure the solvency of the UI Trust Fund.  The recorded vote of 30 to 1 was on passage and a vote in favor was a “right” vote.  SB 431 passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Doyle.

 

SPECIAL SESSION ASSEMBLY BILL 1

2007-09 State Budget Adjustment Bill:  Tax Fairness

 

(Favorable on Senate Democratic Version)  This Budget Adjustment Bill made modifications to the original 2007-09 Biennial State Budget, based on revised revenue estimates available in 2008. The version of Special Session AB 1 that was passed by Senate Democrats best addressed the priorities of working families, began to restore a fairer tax system in our state and invested strongly in Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure.  It also would have revised our tax system to include a change to the “combined reporting” of corporate income taxes, which would modernize Wisconsin’s tax collection and make it fairer.  Combined reporting reduces corporate tax avoidance by requiring a corporation operating in multiple states to include all the profits of its subsidiaries in one report.  This would prevent corporations from using the “Las Vegas Loophole” to hide profits in subsidiaries in states like Nevada that do not have a corporate income tax in order to avoid paying their fair share of income taxes in Wisconsin.  The recorded vote of 18 to 14 was on passage of the Senate Democratic Version of the Budget Adjustment Bill, and a vote in favor was a “right” vote (March 25, 2008).  The “combined reporting” provision was dropped in the final version of Special Session AB 1 Budget Adjustment Bill, due to the opposition of Assembly Republicans.