Budget Breakdown
The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has been analyzing and breaking down Gov. Walker’s proposed 2017-2019 biennial budget. The budget is 989 pages long and make no mistake, there’s many provisions that will hurt working families and rollback workplace rights in Wisconsin.
We’ve put together a budget summary document that outlines some of the most egregious parts of Walker’s budget.
The budget contains abundant cuts, restructures State departments, programs and agencies, puts in place an undemocratic scheme to eliminate license requirements for professions and occupations, eliminates prevailing wage standards, destroys checks and balances for workers by eliminating the Labor and Industry Review Commission, fails to establish a sustainable revenue source to fund roads and infrastructure, and consolidates more power into the Governor’s office.
Many of the items in the budget are not fiscal items but policy items that traditionally have been debated in legislative committees and should go through the bill process. By putting items relating to education, workers’ compensation, employment rights like workplace discrimination and FMLA, and occupational licenses, among others in the budget, Gov. Walker is dodging the public and our traditional democratic process.
The Joint Finance Committee, which has the first opportunity to make changes to Gov. Walker’s budget before it goes to the full legislature for debate and voting, is holding listening sessions around the state.
Please attend your local listening session and raise your concerns about Gov. Walker’s budget. As men and women of the labor movement it is up to us to be knowledgeable about this budget and to sound the alarm for working families. We have a responsibility to talk with our friends, neighbors and our co-workers regarding the future of Wisconsin and Gov. Walker’s plan with this Budget to dismantle our democracy, our communities and our middle class.
Bring our budget breakdown with you to help you make your voice heard on some of the many dangerous budget policies for working families at the JFC listening sessions.
April 3: Platteville
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
UW-Platteville’s Ullsvick Hall
30 South Hickory Street
Platteville, WI 53818
April 5: Milwaukee area
10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
State Fair Park - Exposition Center
8200 West Greenfield Avenue
West Allis, WI 53214
April 7: Ripon area
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Berlin High School Auditorium
222 Memorial Drive
Berlin, WI 54923
April 18: Washburn County
10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Spooner High School Auditorium
801 County Highway A
Spooner, WI 54801
April 19: Pierce County
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Ellsworth High School Gymnasium
323 West Hillcrest Street
Ellsworth, WI 54011
April 21: Marinette
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Marinette High School Auditorium
2135 Pierce Avenue
Marinette, WI 54143
Gov. Walker thinks this budget will fix his dismal approval ratings before the 2018 elections, but when people know the details they will see how harmful it is for working families.