Scott Walker’s Record on Labor Issues

Republican Gov. Scott Walker became a conservative icon by breaking the teachers union in Wisconsin. Seven years later, he’s facing the political fight of his life against the state schools superintendent, and trying to reinvent himself. His likely Democratic opponent is head of the Wisconsin school system, Tony Evers, meaning the election likely will be won or lost on how moderate voters view Walker’s turnaround on education. Rather than run from the controversy that nearly shut down Wisconsin state government in 2011, Walker is embracing it in his reelection bid. He insists that battling the teachers unions, giving school districts more control over their staffs and balancing the state budget have made schools better. “I am proud to be the pro-education governor because our reforms are working,” Walker said in a statement to POLITICO.

[Politico, 07/31/2018]

Wisconsin school districts ratcheted up health care costs on teachers and other employees after the state’s Act 10 collective bargaining changes, with the average district now requiring teachers to pay about 12 percent of their health insurance premiums, newly released data show. Madison schools are near the low end of what districts now require for premium contributions, at 3 percent, according to the data, released by Gov. Scott Walker’s Department of Administration. It’s the first time the state has released a comprehensive look at teacher health care costs in all 422 of the state’s public school districts after the 2011 enactment of Act 10. And it’s one more example of the far-reaching scope of the law — in this case, how it paved the way for state and local workers to pay much more for benefits. The 2017-19 state budget required the Department of Administration to collect the data, which is from the 2017-18 school year.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 07/03/2018]

Two Wisconsin labor union locals are suing to overturn Gov. Scott Walker’s signature collective bargaining law. Locals 139 and 420 of the Operating Engineers of Wisconsin say Act 10 violates their rights to free speech and free association under the First Amendment. They filed their lawsuit last week in federal court in Milwaukee…Walker spokesman Tom Evenson tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the law is constitutional and will be upheld as it has been before.

[Los Angeles Times, 02/26/2018]

Two Wisconsin chapters of a labor union have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate Act 10, the signature piece of legislation from Gov. Scott Walker. The lawsuit, filed by the Operating Engineers of Wisconsin Local 139 and Local 420, argues that Act 10 violates free speech and free association under the First Amendment. Act 10 was a budget bill proposed by Walker as a remedy to a projected multibillion- dollar deficit. The bill, passed by the Legislature in 2011, dramatically curtailed collective bargaining for most public employees, including teachers. The unions say in the filing that Act 10 “has caused and continues to cause irreparable injury to the unions.” Locals 139 and 420 together represent more than 10,000 workers in Wisconsin.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/25/2018]

The state Senate has voted to remake Wisconsin’s civil service system, enabling a supportive Gov. Scott Walker to sign the measure – the latest far-reaching change to rules governing the state workforce. The Senate voted on party lines, 19-14, late Wednesday to pass the civil service bill. The state Assembly passed it in October. Walker, a chief proponent of the bill, is virtually certain to sign it. The bill applies to the state’s civil service, nearly all state workers except the University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin National Guard. It replaces state civil service exams with a resume-based hiring system. It also would determine layoffs from state agencies based on job performance instead of seniority, extend probationary time for new hires, outline specific offenses for which employees can be immediately terminated and centralize the hiring process within the Department of Administration.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 01/21/2018]

Business and labor clashed Wednesday over a Republican bill that would prevent local governments in Wisconsin from enacting a variety of ordinances pertaining to employment matters, including limits on working hours, overtime, benefits, and discrimination and wage claims… The bill is the latest in a series of proposals in Wisconsin taking aim at workers, a movement championed by Gov. Scott Walker, who has built his reputation by effectively ending collective bargaining for public employees and enacting a right to work law, both of which led to steep drops in union membership.

[Chicago Tribune, 01/10/2018]

Six years after Gov. Scott Walker and state Republicans made labor unions’ ability to retain members much more difficult, fewer than half of the state’s 422 school districts have certified unions.

[WiscNews.com, 12/31/2017]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has criticized efforts to raise the minimum wage, saying he wants jobs that pay above the minimum wage. “I’m not going to repeal it,” Walker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board last year. “But I don’t think it serves a purpose because we’re debating then about what the lowest levels are at. I want people to make, like I said the other night, two or three times that.” Perez said the arguments against raising the minimum wage from Walker and other Republicans were based on “tired old talking points.”… “Some of the activities of this governor have been remarkably ill-advised,” Perez said of Walker. “It’s become sport in the far right to attack labor unions.” He added that the focus should be on fighting income inequality.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/19/2017]

“We’ve sent a very clear message and that is that Missouri is open for business,” Greitens said at a signing ceremony in an Earth City retooling plant, where he was flanked by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the former Republican presidential candidate who made his national name challenging unions. “Gov. Greitens is doing what he said he was going to do,” Walker told reporters. He said the measure Greitens signed ensures that “everybody can compete” for public sector construction jobs “instead of that money going into the hands of union bosses.”

[St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 05/31/2017]

Gov. Eric Greitens on Tuesday signed legislation banning local governments from giving preferential treatment to union contractors on public construction projects. And sharing the stage with him when he signed it was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Walker, who was in St. Louis for a fundraiser as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, rose to national prominence after a series of fights with labor unions in Wisconsin and surviving a recall attempt in 2012. He was seen as a strong candidate for president in 2016, but he faded quickly in the crowded Republican field and dropped out months before states began holding primaries.

[Kansas City Star, 05/30/2017]

The Legislature’s finance committee chose Thursday to preserve the state commission that decides workplace disputes, rejecting Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to eliminate it and have his administration issue labor rulings instead. The Republican-controlled committee’s co-chairs introduced a motion to save the Labor and Industry Review Commission but delete 7.8 vacant commission positions and request state Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack to review the commission’s decisions and report back to the committee by next July. The committee approved the motion on a 12-4 vote. Sen. Alberta Darling, one of the co-chairs, said she’s heard concerns that the LIRC hasn’t based its decisions on state law. The survey will shed more light on how the LIRC reaches its conclusions, she said.

[Associated Press, 05/18/2017]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker drew a few hundred people to a Monday rally with Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert — and a few hundred union members to protest outside the event. Walker, whose moves to restrict labor unions have made him a polarizing figure nationally, said there’s a clear distinction between Stothert and challenger Heath Mello. The governor came to Omaha in part as a response to last week’s Mello rally with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “Do you want Midwest common sense?” Walker asked about 250 attendees. “Or East Coast radical values?”

[Omaha World Herald, 04/26/2017]

Republican state lawmakers say eliminating prevailing wage requirements for workers on public projects would save the state hundreds of millions of dollars, while Democrats and unions say it would send skilled workers out of state and further erode the middle class. The Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory reform held a public hearing Monday on a proposal to end minimum salary requirements on state construction projects. The Legislature in 2015 ended prevailing wage on local projects, which took effect earlier this year.

[Associated Press, 04/24/2017]

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation that prevents local governments from requiring contractors to hire union labor for publicly funded construction projects. Walker signed the legislation, which passed along party lines in February, at a local distributor of construction materials in De Pere, Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The governor and Wisconsin Republicans have blasted project labor agreements as a waste of taxpayer dollars.

[Daily Signal, 04/18/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that prohibits local governments from requiring contractors working on public projects to use collective bargaining agreements. The governor signed the bill into law Monday at AmeriLux International, a De Pere manufacturer of building materials.

[WPR, 04/17/2017]

Governor Scott Walker signed Senate Bill 3 into law today at Amerilux International, LLC in De Pere. The bill promotes neutrality in the bidding process for public works projects as well as healthy competition between contractors. “Accountable government means ensuring our taxpayers receive quality service,” Governor Walker said. “By forbidding state and local governments from requiring contractors to enter into agreements with labor organizations, we’re promoting healthy competition between contractors. At the end of the day, this means the contractor ultimately chosen for the project is the one that has demonstrated excellent service and will work at good value for Wisconsin taxpayers.”

[Urban Milwaukee, 04/17/2017]

The comments come after Kim Eparvier, superintendent of the Peshtigo School District, told the Wisconsin State Journal that Walker’s proposal tie the proposed $649 million in new funding to a fixed percentage of employee health care contributions diminishes school administrators’ and school boards’ power in crafting benefit packages for their employees. Walker, who visited Eparvier’s district this week to promote his record increase in funding for public schools, has characterized that requirement as ensuring districts are compliant with Act 10, the 2011 law that curtailed collective bargaining abilities for public school teachers while letting districts shift more pension and health insurance costs to employees… Walker’s proposal requires districts to make their staff pay at least 12 percent toward health care costs, which Eparvier’s district staff does.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 04/01/2017]

President Donald Trump wants to slash the federal workforce, according to the Washington Post. It reports that Trump is preparing to announce the biggest cuts in decades, believing the government employs too many people — wasting taxpayers’ money. The Republican president’s plan may shock many. Yet here in Wisconsin, it may remind people of the move Gov. Scott Walker made shortly after he took office in 2011: Act 10. He insisted it would save taxpayer money by stripping most public unions of their power. Walker said by limiting bargaining rights, state and local governments would have more control over wages and benefits. As a result, he said they’d be able to manage tough budgets.

[WUWM-FM, 03/15/2017]

The American Legion is warning Republicans that eliminating the prevailing wage on state projects could cost hundreds of veterans their jobs in the construction industry. The prevailing wage law sets minimum salaries for construction workers on public projects. Republican Gov. Scott Walker has proposed wiping out the prevailing wage for state projects in the state budget. The Legislature wiped out prevailing wage for local government projects in 2015.

[Associated Press, 02/22/2017]

A public hearing on the bill Monday attracted thousands to Des Moines, mostly voicing their displeasure with the legislation. While protesters filled the Capitol Rotunda, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, spoke with GOP lawmakers about the importance of enacting collective bargaining changes like Wisconsin did in 2011. “Happy to speak with my friends in the Iowa Legislature via Skype,” Walker wrote on Twitter Monday evening. “They have a chance to pass big, bold reforms!”

[The Hawk Eye, 02/16/2017]

A state panel that handles thousands of disputes between employers and employees each year — and whose roots date back more than a century — would be abolished under a provision of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed state budget. The two-year spending plan calls for eliminating the Labor and Industry Review Commission and its 26½ full-time-equivalent positions. The commission, whose three members are appointed to six-year terms by the governor, is an independent agency that provides a “quasi-judicial forum” to resolve disputes involving unemployment insurance, workers compensation and equal rights. In 2015, the panel issued 2,143 decisions. Only 102 of the decisions, or 4.75 percent, were appealed to circuit court.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 02/09/2017]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that he spoke with Vice President Mike Pence about how the White House can implement on a federal level parts of the Republican governor’s contentious policy that all-but eliminated collective bargaining for public sector unions in the state… Walker severely restricted union power in Wisconsin and is now talking with the Trump administration about “how they may take bits and pieces of what we did” with the union law and civil service reform and “apply it at the national level.” “It’s something the vice president has brought up before,” Walker told reporters following a speech in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. “It’s certainly something we’re willing to offer our assistance on, particularly if it helps not just the nation, but in turn improves our ability to be better stewards of the taxpayers here in Wisconsin.”

[Chicago Business, 02/02/2017]

The state on Wednesday halted insurance coverage of gender reassignment surgery for transgender state workers, noting that a federal judge blocked federal rules requiring such coverage. Covering gender reassignment surgery and related benefits would have cost $100,000 to $250,000 a year in a $1.5 billion program that provides health benefits to about 250,000 state and local government workers and their dependents, a state consultant said. The estimate assumes two to five people would have used the transgender services per year. Mark Lamkins, spokesman for the state Department of Employee Trust Funds, said the department couldn’t determine Wednesday if any workers or dependents pursued the benefits in January, when they were available. The services had to be deemed medically necessary. The Group Insurance Board, which oversees the benefits program, decided in July to add coverage of transgender services in 2017, following advice from its attorneys that federal rules from the Affordable Care Act require the coverage. In August, the state Department of Justice, at Gov. Scott Walker’s request, asked the board to reconsider. It said the board’s decision was based on “unlawful” rules that “improperly reinterpret” Title IX, which covers discrimination on the basis of sex, as applying to gender identity.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 02/02/2017]

We eliminated the “job for life” guarantee tenure once provided for faculty regardless of performance. Now we are asking for accountability and flexibility to add value to our university system. As for free speech, there should be equal protections for everyone on campus, not just tenured professors, to engage in a free and open debate of ideas. The bottom line is students deserve access to high quality education that is affordable for them and the working families that help support them. We must look to deliver value and excellence to Wisconsin, not guarantee “job for life” tenure. The common sense reforms recently enacted do just that.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 05/24/2016]

Late Tuesday, a state court of appeals judge granted Attorney General Brad Schimel’s request to reinstate the law while the appeals court decides whether it’s constitutional. The ruling was issued by Lisa K. Stark, the presiding judge for the District 3 Court of Appeals in Wausau. “We feel confident the law will ultimately be found constitutional, as it has been in more than half the states across the country,” said Johnny Koremenos, spokesman for Schimel. Last year, Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-led Legislature made Wisconsin the 25th right-to-work state.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/23/2016]

UW-Milwaukee became the fourth University of Wisconsin System campus to see professors declare they have no confidence in UW’s leaders Tuesday, in a vote that prompted Gov. Scott Walker to weigh in with sharp criticism of the faculty. The Milwaukee professors joined colleagues at UW campuses in Madison, La Crosse and River Falls by stating they don’t have faith in UW System President Ray Cross or the System’s Board of Regents to uphold the university’s outreach mission in light of budget cuts and changes to tenure and shared governance…”Some faculty bodies … appear more interested in protecting outdated ‘job for life’ tenure than about helping students get the best education possible,” Walker said. “The university should not be about protecting the interests of the faculty, but about delivering value and excellence to Wisconsin.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 05/10/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker has approved a rule implementing drug screening requirements for unemployment benefits. The rule implements provisions in the state budget. Under the rule, those who fail an employer drug test or refuse to take one can be denied unemployment benefits. Those who fail would get taxpayer-funded treatment. Walker announced the new rule Wednesday, saying it brings the state one step closer to moving residents from government dependence to independence.

[WMTV-TV, 05/04/2016]

The personnel agency in Gov. Scott Walker’s administration privately blasted changes to the state’s civil service days after they were proposed, telling his office the overhaul would slow hiring, turn away qualified job applicants and trigger more lawsuits against the state, public records show. Documents obtained under the state’s open records law by the Wisconsin State Journal include a memo that sharply critiques a version of the civil service bill passed by Republican legislators and signed by Walker in February.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 05/02/2016]

Wisconsin’s right-to-work law, championed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker as he was mounting his run for president, was struck down Friday as violating the state constitution…“We are confident Wisconsin’s freedom-to-work law is constitutional and will ultimately be upheld,” Walker wrote on Twitter. Three unions filed the lawsuit last year shortly after Walker signed the bill into law. Right-to-work laws prohibit businesses and unions from reaching agreements that require all workers, not just union members, to pay union dues. Twenty-four other states have such laws.

[Associated Press, 04/06/2016]

Mr. Walker led a push five years ago to cut collective bargaining rights for most public sector workers, saying he needed to solve a state budget gap. Since then, union membership has dropped precipitously. Long a labor stronghold, the state has lost tens of thousands of union members, leaving Wisconsin with a smaller percentage of union members than the national average, new federal figures show. The drop is most pronounced in the public sector: More than half of Wisconsin’s public workers were in unions before Mr. Walker’s cuts took effect. A little more than a quarter of them remain. The shift has shaken the order of election-year politics. Democrats, who most often have been the beneficiaries of money and ground-level help from the unions, said they were uncertain about what the coming elections would look like, and what forces could take the place of depleted labor groups.

[New York Times, 02/27/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation Friday overhauling the state’s century-old system of merit hiring and firing, gaining the first legislative priority he set after calling off his presidential bid last year. Inking the legislation at the offices of ManpowerGroup, Walker said the rewrite of the state’s civil service law would help the state keep the best possible employees and ensure that the state remains “efficient, effective and ultimately accountable to the people of Wisconsin” … Critics say it could lead to taxpayers being forced to pay salaries to the unqualified cronies of powerful state officials or lead to retribution against state employees who put public service ahead of political demands. Rick Badger, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 32, said the bill gave too much latitude to Walker and future governors.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/12/2016]

Today marks the five year anniversary of the introduction of one of Gov. Scott Walker’s most notorious attacks on the working people of Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/11/2016]

In the five years since Act 10 was signed by Gov. Scott Walker, union membership in Wisconsin has plummeted. In 2015, the number of union members fell well below the national average for the first time since lawmakers passed measures that all but eliminated collective bargaining for public workers. The percentage of Wisconsin public and private workers belonging to unions was 8.3 percent in 2015 — or 223,000 members — down from 13.3 percent in 2011 — or 339,000 members — according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 02/11/2016]

In the five years since Act 10 became law, Wisconsin school districts have experienced a dramatic decline in the number of applicants for each teacher vacancy. In 2015, there were an average of 3.2 candidates per vacancy, down from 6.6 candidates in 2012, according to Wisconsin Education Career Access Network data provided by Means. In the Mequon-Thiensville, the district has an average of 16.9 applicants per vacancy, down from 31 applicants in 2012, the data indicate. “I think Act 10 has hurt the image of our profession,” Means said. “I think that the consternation and the conflict that people saw in our state five years ago has had an impact on morale, on people’s view on our profession.”

[WITI-TV, 02/09/2016]

Before Act 10, the law championed by Gov. Scott Walker to limit collective bargaining powers, public school districts in Wisconsin used step-and-lane models in which educators advanced on a salary schedule by accruing years of service and graduate school credits. Neenah, Appleton, Little Chute and a number of other school districts throughout the state have since changed their compensation models to make job performance a greater factor – or the sole factor – in determining salary increases.

[Appleton Post-Crescent, 01/30/2016]

Vanness said the policy reflects what he dubbed Walker’s “New Wisconsin idea,” under which the university’s mission “is only to train the workforce for the jobs of today, not to search for the truth and lay the groundwork for the industries of tomorrow.” UW’s aspirational mission of searching for truth, the Wisconsin Idea, was eliminated in an early version of the Walker budget bill.

[Capital Times, 01/30/2016]

The fact is that Gov. Scott Walker’s rabid anti-union agenda has been a disaster for the economy of Wisconsin, which remains in the bottom third of states for job growth.

[Chicago Tribune, 01/29/2016]

Since Walker and Republican lawmakers successfully passed measures in 2011 that rolled back the power of most public sector unions, the number of members has dropped sharply…As of February 2015, a WEAC official told the State Journal the union represented about 40,000 public school employees — down more than 50 percent from the union’s 98,000-member levels before Walker signed his signature legislation in 2011.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 01/29/2016]

One of the state employees that Gov. Scott Walker and some lawmakers used to argue for broad changes to the state’s civil service system was never a civil servant, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review has found. In arguing for a proposed overhaul of the century-old system of merit hiring and firing, Walker and some GOP legislators pointed to the example of two railroad commission employees caught having an extramarital sexual relationship on state property and on taxpayers’ time for five months. They said the pair couldn’t be fired because of civil service rules.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/14/2015]

In making his case to Republican lawmakers this fall that the state’s civil service system needed to be overhauled, Gov. Scott Walker cited the case of two state workers who he said couldn’t be fired even though they had been caught having sex in their office. But records released Friday show no efforts were made to fire those workers — and that the only discipline sought and issued to them was letters of reprimand. Walker administration officials declined to address Wisconsin State Journal inquiries about why the workers could not have been fired for their conduct…. Two former state human resource officials said Friday that nothing prevented state officials from more harshly disciplining or firing the employees — one of whom, Doug Wood, is a Monona alderman. Walker’s comments about their case are at least the second instance in which he told anecdotes about state workers to plug the civil service changes that aren’t supported by state records… Walker cited the case of the two state workers caught having sex at the office but not being fired for it — without mentioning Wood’s or Piliouras’ names — in a speech to GOP lawmakers in September. In a statement Friday, Walker’s spokeswoman, Laurel Patrick, said the case shows “exactly why we need civil service reform.”… State records of the case, first reported on Thursday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, confirm that the employees got scant punishment for their actions. As part of his push for civil service changes, Walker also claimed that a short-order cook scored high enough on a hiring exam to be considered for a state financial examiner job.But when pressed, Walker’s administration couldn’t produce documents to support the claim, the State Journal found.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 12/05/2015]

On the civil service bill, both sides in the GOP dispute are holding firm, meaning that the proposal is unlikely to pass the Senate until early next year. The bill would overhaul a system begun in 1905 that is aimed at ensuring tax dollars go for competent state employees rather than political hacks… Republican Gov. Scott Walker has strongly backed the proposal, which he took up as a major cause just days after he dropped out of the race for president last month. He has said the civil service rules for 30,000 state workers need reworking to become more efficient and help hiring keep up with the crush of retiring baby boomers. The bill has gotten a mixed reception from others who formerly worked within the state’s system of merit hiring and firing.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/27/2015]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross blasted the latest fast track Republican efforts to gut state anti-corruption laws, saying it is a prescription for more of the kind of cronyism, corruption and incompetence Wisconsin has endured from Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/06/2015]

In a dramatic reversal, and despite past assurances to the contrary, Gov. Scott Walker and his lapdog Republican led state legislature are set to gut the state civil service that helps prevent cronyism and corruption. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross blasted the proposal as opening the door to infecting other state agencies with the rampant cronyism, corruption and incompetence of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), where civil service protections were removed.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/25/2015]

Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, wasn't convinced. He said he believed some of the problems with soured financial awards at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. were tied to the fact that its employees had lost job protections when it was created as a quasi-public replacement for the state Department of Commerce. "State employees lost civil service protections when WEDC was created, and it has been plagued with unprecedented cronyism, corruption and incompetence ever since," Ross said. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/25/2015]

Upon his return to the state after the spectacular implosion of his presidential campaign, Gov. Scott Walker is endorsing a new attack on Wisconsin workers revealed today by state legislative Republicans.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/24/2015]

Walker knows what he “knows.” Thus, notes Scot Ross, the executive director of the group One Wisconsin Now, “he’s now trying to boost his sagging poll numbers by promoting the same kinds of attacks on working people that vaulted him to national prominence while conveniently ignoring how his policies left Wisconsin in shambles.” [The Nation, 09/15/2015]

"Scott Walker has always been willing to do or say anything to try to win an election," said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. "It’s no surprise he’s now trying to boost his sagging poll numbers by promoting the same kinds of attacks on working people that vaulted him to national prominence while conveniently ignoring how his policies left Wisconsin in shambles." [Capital Times, 09/14/2015]

"It's no surprise he's now trying to boost his sagging poll numbers by promoting the same kinds of attacks on working people that vaulted him to national prominence while conveniently ignoring how his policies left Wisconsin in shambles," said a statement from Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/14/2015]

Sinking in the national polls, the bumbling campaign of onetime frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, is preparing to double down with renewed attacks on working people. Career politician Walker’s desperate bid to remain competitive on the backs of the middle class and working people will be unveiled in a Monday speech in Las Vegas Nevada, hometown of anti-union, Walker mega-donor Sheldon Adelson.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/11/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker is among a large Republican field eyeing the White House. John Simons of the International Business Times, Forbes contributor Carrie Sheffield, and One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross discuss Walker's positions on economic issues. [MSNBC, 03/15/2015]

One Wisconsin Now is warning New Hampshire voters to beware this weekend when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker visits to audition for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination. Behind Walker’s rhetoric of economic recovery and courageous, principled action is a trail of deceit, cronyism, corruption and incompetence that includes a sagging state economy, mismanaged budgets, criminal investigations and payoffs to special interests – topped off with politically expedient flip-flops pandering to the most extreme Tea Party wing of the GOP.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/15/2015]

Mike Browne, deputy director of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, issued a statement saying Badger Meter was a good location for the bill signing. “How fitting that Gov. Walker chose to sign the bill at the business of a millionaire campaign contributor who threatened to send the jobs of hard-working skilled Wisconsin workers to another country unless the system was tilted further in his favor,” Browne said. [Wisconsin State Journal, 03/09/2015]

The following are the statements of One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross regarding passage of a wrong for Wisconsin right to work bill by the Republican controlled legislature.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/06/2015]

 Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) is holding a "business day" at the state Capitol Wednesday as Republicans rush to pass a wrong for Wisconsin right to work law that their legislative leaders and Gov. Scott Walker declared was not on their 2015 agenda mere months ago. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross questioned if the heavy spending of WMC on behalf of the GOP is playing a role in their newfound support for a law that will hurt Wisconsin's middle class.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/04/2015]

Melissa Harris-Perry and her guests examine union and pension battles for potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates Scott Walker and Chris Christie. [MSNBC, 02/28/2015]

As questions continue over the impetus for Gov. Scott Walker's sudden public support for a "right-to-work" law, an open records request by One Wisconsin Now has uncovered that the only two non-government employees who accompanied Gov. Walker on his ostensible trade mission to London, England were advocates for the wrong for Wisconsin right to work law.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/28/2015]

The liberal group One Wisconsin Now noted on Friday that in 2011, on a prank phone call with a blogger Walker thought was conservative donor David Koch, the governor said “we thought about that” after the blogger suggested planting “troublemakers” in the crowd of protesters gathered at the Capitol. “Gov. Walker’s comments and longstanding, seething contempt for working people who dare to stand up for their rights is unsettling,” said OWN executive director Scot Ross in a statement. “That comparing them to terrorists as a part of his stump speech as he auditions for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is beyond outrageous, it ought to be disqualifying.” [Racine Journal Times, 02/27/2015]

Seven groups that received funding from the Bradley Foundation, run by Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign co-chair, were at the head of the line to have their say at yesterday’s public hearing on a wrong for Wisconsin right to work law. Meanwhile a large numbers of Wisconsin citizens who would be hurt by the law and waited all day to have their say were denied their right to speak when the committee chair abruptly ended the hearing.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/25/2015]

 The following are the statements of One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross upon passage of Senate Bill 44:

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/25/2015]

Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, says right-to-work will be bad for Wisconsin. "States that have right-to-work have lower wages, they spend less per student on public education, fewer people have health care, and even infant mortality rates are higher," he says. [Public News Service, 02/24/2015]

News coverage of Tuesday hearing’s sudden end could swell the crowd demonstrating against the bill Wednesday, said Mike Browne, deputy executive director of One Wisconsin Now, a group that typically opposes Walker’s policies. [Bloomberg, 02/24/2015]

While union leaders focused their criticisms on ALEC, the liberal group One Wisconsin Now tied the right-to-work push to the conservative Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation. An OWN review of federal tax records found in 2012 and 2013, the Bradley Foundation gave $8 million to support about three dozen groups that supported right-to-work policies, including ALEC. [Capital Times, 02/24/2015]

With hearings and protests taking place on “right-to-work” legislation, the watchdog group One Wisconsin Now released research on the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, headed by Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign co-chair. [Wisconsin Gazette, 02/24/2015]

“The effort at this point is to educate the public as much as folks can about why right-to-work is wrong for Wisconsin,” he said. “The strategy on the Republican side is to rush it through before people figure it out, and other folks are interested in informing the public and having a full discussion about it.” [Al Jazeera, 02/24/2015]

Late last week, while traveling out of state, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dropped his pre-November 2014 election charade of opposition to a right to work law that could cut the average Wisconsin family’s wages by over $5,000 per year. One Wisconsin Now’s research of the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, headed by Gov. Walker’s campaign co-chair, reveals the stage has been set for Walker’s latest assault on Wisconsin’s middle class for his personal political benefit with a well-financed propaganda campaign utilizing a nationwide web of front groups.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/23/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker has gone from saying "I'm not supporting" so-called right to work legislation in Wisconsin's 2015 legislative session, to saying he will sign a bill that's being fast-tracked to his desk...On May 11, 2012, Walker told reporters at the state Republican Party convention he had "no interest in pursuing right-to-work legislation in this state." "It’s not going to get to my desk," he said. "I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure it isn’t there because my focal point (is) private sector unions have overwhelmingly come to the table to be my partner in economic development." Walker would later renew that opposition with regard to 2015...On Feb. 20, 2015, Walker -- now a 2016 presidential hopeful riding a wave of momentum -- committed to signing the right to work bill being fast-tracked. [Politifact, 02/23/2015]

Mike Browne, a progressive activist with One Wisconsin Now, told ThinkProgress he suspects lawmakers are moving quickly to try to avoid another uproar. “They’re trying to do it as fast as they possibly can so people won’t be able to mobilize,” Browne said. “That’s why you call an extraordinary session. That’s why you announce it on a Friday afternoon. They know that when people find out, they aren’t going to like it.” Browne and his fellow organizers are trying to sound the alarm as quickly as possible and “educate people about what this means not just for unions, but for all workers.” [Think Progress, 02/21/2015]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross: “Right to work is wrong for Wisconsin workers and families. It’s a complicated scheme that tilts the system even further in favor of corporate CEOs who are concerned only with their profits. It’s sure not the people of Wisconsin who work hard and deserve a fair shot to succeed that are asking for the lower wages and reduced benefits that come with right to work.” [WUWM, 02/20/2015]

With the announcement that a “Wrong for Wisconsin” right to work bill is about to be rammed through the state legislature, the nation is starting to learn what Wisconsin already knows: Gov. Scott Walker will say and do anything to get elected. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted that before the November 2014 election Walker said he was not interested in a right to work law that lowers workers' wages by an average of up to $6,000. But, post-election, presidential candidate Walker quickly announced he would sign just such a measure if it reaches his desk.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/20/2015]

A Republican state legislator who says he will introduce a controversial, so-called “right-to-work” bill is basing his case in part on statistics produced by a right-wing group that receives significant support from the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the source for statistics being cited by the presumptive bill author, has raked in nearly $500,000 over the last decade from the Bradley Foundation.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/04/2014]

Scot Ross, executive director of the progressive group One Wisconsin Now, said he thought Kapenga's right-to-work bill was really a political ploy to get concessions from Walker during the negotiation over Wisconsin's next budget. [Huffington Post, 12/04/2014]

"It's the same playbook from four years ago that tore Wisconsin apart: Gov. Walker says anything to get re-elected and now he and his Republican front groups are ready to launch a frontal assault on Wisconsin's middle class working women and men," said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [Capital Times, 12/01/2014]

“It’s the same playbook from four years ago that tore Wisconsin apart,” Ross said in a statement. “Gov. Walker says anything to get elected and now he and his Republican front groups are ready to launch a frontal assault on Wisconsin’s middle class working women and men.” [Racine Journal Times, 12/01/2014]

Leading up to the November 4 election, Gov. Scott Walker stated if re-elected he was not interested in pursuing legislation to further restrict the rights of Wisconsin workers. Yet less than one month after he survived a heated re-election bid, a new group with ties to a right-wing, big money cabal that underwrites conservative causes and has supported Gov. Walker, announced it will work to pass legislation to further restrict workplace rights in Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/01/2014]

“Walker grabbed national attention in 2011 when he championed a bill that gutted public sector union rights. It’s a move that inspired massive protests and an attempted recall, and one that jumpstarted his national ambitions. Teaching, nursing, and social work are all public sector fields that are overwhelmingly female, and women account for more than half of all public sector union members. Walker’s most famous act as governor was to slash union membership and cut labor protections for thousands of working women in the state” [MSNBC, 10/09/2014]

A lawsuit accusing the Madison School Board of engaging in illegal collective bargaining to the detriment of children and taxpayers was filed by a Milwaukee-based conservative legal group that is a “front” for Gov. Scott Walker, says the director of a Madison progressive advocacy group. [Capital Times, 09/11/2014]

Fast food workers across the country, including in Milwaukee, Madison and Wausau, today engaged in direct actions and rallies for higher wages and the right to bargain for better working conditions. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross applauded the workers effort and noted that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s opposition to a higher minimum wage and actions like stripping workers of their rights have left the state lagging the Midwest on jobs and wage growth.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/04/2014]

 Gov. Scott Walker has received over $1.5 million in salary, generous health care benefits for himself and his family, courtesy of state taxpayers. Yesterday, in an appearance before a political special interest group to promote a new trickle down economic tax scheme, he termed proposals to increase the state minimum wage a “political stunt.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/24/2014]

Gov. Scott Walker lashed out Thursday against Democratic proposals to raise the minimum wage, calling them a “political grandstanding stunt” that will kill jobs. Walker was addressing a friendly crowd at a meeting of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, a group that opposes increasing the minimum wage. Democrats both nationally and in Wisconsin and other states are pushing for increasing it. The proposal is going nowhere in Wisconsin, where Republicans who control the Senate and Assembly have it bottled up in committee. But that didn’t stop Walker from speaking out against the idea. “I think it is nothing more than a misguided political stunt,” he said of Democrats’ efforts to raise the wage. Doing that will only lead to the elimination of entry-level jobs and cut pay for other workers, Walker said. “If you want to put a buzz saw on the economic recovery we’ve seen in this state, you just start piling on regulations like increasing the minimum wage,” Walker said. Later, he called it “little more than a political grandstanding stunt” advanced by people who want to claim they’re helping workers when they’re really not.

[Associated Press, 01/23/2014]

“Gov. Scott Walker opposes increasing the federal minimum wage, fearing it would prompt employers to do less hiring. In making his case, Walker paints a picture of low-wage workers as people working the counter at fast-food restaurants”.

[Politifact, 01/13/2014]

“Women, residents of the south, never-married workers, part-timers and service employees are more likely than their counterparts to work for $7.25 or less. Restaurant and other food service workers make up the biggest group.” [Politifact, 01/13/2014]

Recently, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch led a closed-door roundtable discussion about taxes with some business leaders in Beloit. After viewing footage of the meeting obtained by One Wisconsin Now, we can see why Kleefisch and the Walker administration didn’t want the public to hear what they discussed.

[Shepherd Express, 01/09/2014]

“Scott Walker’s legislative confederate, who wants to eliminate the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday and voted to water down child labor laws, now has ending the weekend in his legislative crosshairs,” Ross said. “To do the bidding of their corporate donors, is restoration of indentured servitude coming next from the Walker Republicans?”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 01/04/2014]

Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal One Wisconsin Now, said Walker's “attack on 175,000 workers had nothing to do with budget deficits, but rather his desire to reduce the collective voice of working men and women in Wisconsin.” Ross referred to Walker's comparison to Roosevelt as “atrocious,” saying Roosevelt “invested in people to lift the country out of the Great Depression, while Scott Walker's path has nearly turned the Great Recession into a second Great Depression for Wisconsin.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 07/28/2013]

Walker’s 2013-15 Budget included Provisions that:

• Made it harder for workers to access unemployment compensation benefits by reducing the number of allowable reasons to quit a job from 18 to 9.
• Expanded the junk mail sales tax exemption created an income tax break for private school tuition (up to $10,000 per pupil), which is estimated to cost the state $30 million per year
• Created an income tax break for private school tuition (up to $10,000 per pupil), which is estimated to cost the state $30 million per year

[2013 Assembly Bill 40, 01/01/2013]

Wisconsin's 'Money Badger', Michael Grebe, appears to have his paws in the attack on worker rights in Michigan according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. Grebe, who runs the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, has doled out nearly $2 million to three organizations taking leading roles in promoting the attack on worker rights launched by Michigan Republicans in a lame duck session of their state legislature.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/06/2012]

In response, an activist group known as One Wisconsin Now has started its own petition initiative to match Walker’s fundraising efforts. The organization asks signers to “Stand with the Constitution,” referring to the ruling made by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Juan Colas, who believed Walker’s law violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

[Badger Herald, 09/25/2012]

One Wisconsin Now today called on Gov. Scott Walker to halt the taxpayer-funded gravy train for the politically connected law firm, Michael, Best & Friedrich, and stop using public funds to pay for the continuing legal battle to overturn a court decision declaring Act 10, his controversial law stripping workplace rights from over 175,000 taxpaying state citizens, unconstitutional.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/17/2012]

 One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements upon news late Friday a judge has declared Act 10, Gov. Scott Walker's attack on the rights of workers, unconstitutional.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/14/2012]

A comprehensive report from One Wisconsin Now and United Wisconsin shows how Gov. Scott Walker raised over $7 million by exploiting the unlimited campaign finance recall loophole and provides a detailed perspective on the out-of-state and in-state donors who bankrolled Walker’s win in June.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/08/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding the 100th birthday of the late corporate propagandist Milton Friedman. Many of the failures of Gov. Scott Walker can be traced to the policies espoused by Friedman, most notably massive tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, while attacking public investments and public employees.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/30/2012]

Citing the age-old adage that actions speak louder than words, One Wisconsin Now is calling on Gov. Scott Walker to take concrete actions to heal the rift in Wisconsin brought on by his “divide and conquer” agenda.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/11/2012]

This time, according to the advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, thirty-nine “mega donors” giving in excess of $10,000 a piece accounted for $2,430,000 of Walker’s haul. [The Nation, 05/01/2012]

A comprehensive analysis entitled “D is for Dismantle,” authored by the non-partisan One Wisconsin Institute shows that despite claims from Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin schools are not failing, instead his budget cuts and disastrous education policies endanger our proud tradition of excellent schools. The report from One Wisconsin Institute, the education and research partner of One Wisconsin Now, includes research that contradicts Gov. Walker's assertions about public schools and students not performing at the highest levels.

[One Wisconsin Institute, 12/19/2011]

On December 17, 2011, Walker signed a bill into law that rolled back a major provision of the popular class size reduction program, Student Achievement Guarantee in Education Program, which established class sizes of 18 or under in grades K-3. This bill allows school districts to opt out of class size reductions in grades 2 and 3. Prior law required participation in K-3 to receive SAGE funding. Additionally, Act 105 allows school districts to use value-added analysis of standardized test scores to evaluate teachers. Though it cannot be the sole reason used to fire, suspend or discipline a teacher, the bill allows school districts to place greater weight on the test scores in evaluating a teacher’s job performance. Prior law prohibited the use of standardized test results to fire, suspend or discipline a teacher. (2011 SB 95, introduced 5/13/2011; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call)

[2011 WI Act 105, 12/07/2011]

Bill McCoshen, Scot Ross for a political round table talk. [Wisconsin Public Television, 11/25/2011]

But Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, noted Walker did not talk about cutting collective bargaining during the campaign and said Walker was precisely the one who caused the recall effort. “Gov. Walker is responsible for tearing Wisconsin apart and the division which has led to this unprecedented recall effort against him,” Ross said. “He alone is responsible. “If Gov. Walker had been honest with the people of Wisconsin about what his intentions were, the recall would not be happening. But then again, Gov. Walker would not have been elected.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/15/2011]

Walker signed into a law a bill that allows any municipal employer to enter into a memorandum of understanding to reduce the cost of compensation or fringe benefits, without modifying an existing collective bargaining agreement for purposes of 2011 WI Act 10. The memorandum has to be entered into within 90 days after the effective date of this bill. (2011 AB 319, introduced 10/12/2011; Assembly Roll Call)

[2011 WI Act 65, 11/09/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker voiced support for legislation that would end a long-standing practice that allows public workers to simultaneously collect their pension and a state paycheck. The statement concludes by adding Gov. Walker "supports applying the same policy for administration appointees."

[Capital Times, 10/26/2011]

In the past five and a half years, at least 6,829 state and local government employees covered by the Wisconsin Retirement System left then returned to work, simultaneously earning a pension and a salary. Those include two of Gov. Scott Walker's cabinet secretaries: Corrections Secretary Gary Hamblin and Children and Families Secretary Eloise Anderson, both earning six-figure salaries along with their public pensions. Stephen Fitzgerald, superintendent of the Wisconsin State Patrol, whose sons, Scott and Jeff, run the Senate and Assembly, respectively, also is back on the payroll while continuing to collect a state pension. On Friday, Walker said he supports a bill that would end double dipping. But the Republican governor has no plans to ask his appointees to stop taking their pensions, spokesman Cullen Werwie said.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 10/23/2011]

The progressive group One Wisconsin Now used Labor Day as a chance to blast the “corporate takeover of state government” happening as a result of Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled state legislature. [Raw Story, 09/04/2011]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements in celebration of Labor Day and the continuing fight by Wisconsin workers and the middle class against the corporate takeover of state government happening as a result of the capitulation and policy changes of Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/03/2011]

The Capitol battles over union bargaining and political redistricting proposals have paid off for one group: politically connected GOP lawyers. So far this year, two firms with strong Republican connections have racked up more than $700,000 in invoices and payments authorized by Gov. Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers to help represent the state in cases such as legal challenges over Walker's legislation ending most collective bargaining for public employees. More payments on the ongoing cases and another likely case are still to come, as Walker considers a request by the Department of Justice to appoint one of the firms to represent the state in a federal lawsuit over redistricting legislation.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/20/2011]

Walker signed a bill that stripped all public workers, except police and firefighters, of their collective bargaining rights. The bill no longer allows teachers, nurses, snow plow drivers and other public employees to bargain on their work place conditions, benefits or for pay raises above the cost of inflation. In addition, unions have lost the right to file workplace grievances and most no longer have protections from being fired without just cause. Critics of the bill believe that for all practical purposes, it is a union-busting bill, because it prevents collection of union dues, forces unions to hold annual certification elections to enable the unions to continue year-to-year, and many other measures aimed at hobbling the union. Special Session Assembly Bill 11 passed the Senate on March 9, 2011 by a 18-1 margin with all of the Republicans except Sen. Dale Schultz voting for the bill. The Democrats were out of the state to prevent the bill's passage based on lacking the quorum necessary of 20 members. The Republicans, however, claim that they took out all non-fiscal elements of bill and that they did not require a quorum of 20 for passage. (2011 January Special Session AB 11, introduced 2/15/11; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call)

[2011 WI Act 10, 06/28/2011]

Walker signed into law a provision in the budget which lifted provisions barring 16 and 17-year-olds from working more than 26 hours during a school week and more than 50 hours a week during vacations, potentially exposing young workers to exploitation by employers. The Department of Workforce Development, which enforces child labor regulations, is actually prohibited from improving protections through the administrative rules process. (2011 Assembly Bill 40, introduced 3/1/11; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call) [2011 WI Act 32, 06/26/2011]

Effective January 1, 2012, there will be a one-week waiting period before an unemployed worker can collect benefits. The inclusion of this change in the State Budget was made unilaterally by Republicans in the Legislature. Despite a veto request by all labor and management representatives on the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council, Governor Walker signed this into law. For decades, the Advisory Council has made changes to UI benefits through a balanced, negotiated agreement involving employers and labor. The Department of Workforce Development estimates that workers will lose $41 million to $56 million in benefits due to the waiting period, depending on the unemployment rate. (2011 Assembly Bill 40, introduced 3/1/11; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call) [2011 WI Act 32, 06/26/2011]

Walker signed into law a bill that prevented local government's from passing paid sick leave or family medical leave laws that are more inclusive and powerful than the statewide law. The governor signed the bill into law on May 5, 2011. (2011 SB 23, introduced 2/23/11; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call)

[2011 WI Act 16, 05/05/2011]

“There will need to be electoral changes in order to get the rights back that Republicans took from working people,” said Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, a progressive advocacy group.

[Appleton Post-Crescent, 03/18/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker will be able to name political appointees to fill three dozen civil-service jobs that handle open records requests from the public under the budget-repair law he signed last week. Walker's separate 2011-'13 budget proposal would also make a political appointment out of another key civil service job - the top lawyer spot at the agency overseeing state labor law. The law would make existing civil-service positions into 37 new political appointments, including 14 general counsels, 14 communications positions in state agencies and other positions, including legislative liaisons doing lobbying for agencies. That would allow Walker and agency secretaries to hire and fire employees in those positions at will. Under the law, the civil service jobs would be classed as division administrator jobs, a kind of political appointment, and would increase that class of political appointments in the affected agencies by about 50%, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/18/2011]

But the principal hasn’t been paid back yet. Unions and liberal groups like One Wisconsin Now are also upset that M & I executives gave more money to Scott Walker during last year’s governor’s race, than the officials did to Democrat Tom Barrett.

[Superior Telegram, 03/15/2011]

“Senator Scott Fitzgerald isn’t content with illegally passing a bill which takes away the rights of 175,000 working Wisconsinites and now has expanded his attacks to disenfranchise the voices of 2.2 million more Wisconsin residents and taxpayers,” declared Scot Ross, the executive director of the One Wisconsin Now advocacy group, who referred to Fitzgerald’s latest move as a “tantrum.” [AFL-CIO, 03/14/2011]

Over two weeks after One Wisconsin Now filed an open records request for all email and written communications between Koch Industries’ lead Wisconsin lobbyist and the office of Gov. Scott Walker and the Department of Administration, the Walker administration has yet to fulfill the request. One Wisconsin Now said it is considering legal action and notes the unusual speed at which Gov. Walker’s office released staff email communications this week it claimed were proof of the administration’s willingness to negotiate with Senate Democrats in the budget repair bill dispute.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/10/2011]

The enforcement of Executive Order #108 was suspended by Governor Walker as of March 2011. This Order was signed by Governor Doyle in 2005 to encourage the employment of apprentices on construction projects for the State of Wisconsin. In this way the state would help create opportunities for younger workers to learn the skills needed for employment in the building and construction trades.

[2011 Executive Order #18, Suspending Executive Order #108, 03/09/2011]

How is the possible to split the budget review bill if the governor says repeatedly it’s got a fiscal impact, asks Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now. They sort of slipped by wirthout much notice, but Walker’s office issued a series of four news releases in late February, each one titled, “Why Collective bargaining is a fiscal issue.” [Uppity Wisconsin, 03/08/2011]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross issued the following statements regarding Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to close the State Capitol off to the people of Wisconsin and the continued mobilization against his efforts to use the government to take away the rights of working men and women and dismantle the quality of Wisconsin’s way of life.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/27/2011]

Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, speaks at a rally outside of the Wisconsin State Capital on Day 11 of protests in Madison, Wisconsin, over Governor Scott Walker’s budget repair bill.

[Ball State Daily News, 02/27/2011]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding the failure of Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to close the State Capitol to hundreds of protesters who had intended to sleep in the Capitol for a 13th night in solidarity against the governor’s disastrous budget repair plan.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/26/2011]

Scot Ross talked about the ongoing legislative battle between the governor of Wisconsin and state Democrats on the budget, and he responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. Part of Governor Scott Walker’s budget includes a proposal that would end almost all collective bargaining rights for most public employees. [C-SPAN, 02/25/2011]

It took a sneak attack in the early morning hours on Friday for Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly to pass Gov. Scott Walker's controversial budget bill, the one that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for most public-sector unions. Assembly Democrats savaged their counterparts for ramming the bill through at just past 1 a.m., screaming "shame!" and branding them "cowards." But if anyone asks Walker about the GOP's late-night tactic, he'll find himself in a tough spot: he's blatantly flip-flopped on the issue throughout his career. On the campaign trail in 2010, Walker, then a gubernatorial candidate, disavowed late-night votes by Wisconsin lawmakers. At the time, the Assembly was pulling all-nighters in order to finish its two-year legislative session, a common occurrence that's angered government watchdogs who don't approve of state business conducted when most people are asleep. In April 2010, Walker pledged to outlaw any votes in the legislature after 10 p.m. and before 9 a.m. "I have two teenagers and I tell them that nothing good happens after midnight. That’s even more true in politics," he said in a statement. "The people of Wisconsin deserve to know what their elected leaders are voting on."

[Mother Jones, 02/25/2011]

Scot Ross talked about the ongoing legislative battle between the governor of Wisconsin and state Democrats on the budget, and he responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. Part of Governor Scott Walker’s budget includes a proposal that would end almost all collective bargaining rights… [C-SPAN, 02/24/2011]

Scot Ross (far right corner), executive director of One Wisconsin Now speaks at a rally outside of the State Capital on day 11 of protests over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-repair bill.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/24/2011]

In an attempt to push through his unpopular Budget Repair Bill, Gov. Scott Walker has tried to set a Friday deadline for passage by falsely claiming that lack of action will cost taxpayers money:

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/24/2011]

If Walker is as dim a bulb as recent events have revealed him to be, the FOIA request filed yesterday by One Wisconsin Now for all communications and meetings between Walker and Koch lobbyists may prove devastating. The Kochs’ answer? “We have no choice but to continue to fight.” [The Awl, 02/24/2011]

The fight against Scott Walker’s attack on working people isn’t just in Madison–and it isn’t just about a budget repair bill, say Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now and State Assemblyman Cory Mason. Hundreds of people are protesting and attending town halls in towns across the state, sometimes towns with only a few thousand people living in them. And if you think the fight is messy now, just wait until Walker rolls out his actual budget. [Uptake, 02/22/2011]

One Wisconsin Now’s petition opposing Scott Walker’s unprecedented power grab and move to take rights away from Wisconsinite’s while refusing to negotiate with them. [The Lost Albatross, 02/20/2011]

“Gov. Walker and the Republican Legislature are trying to ram this (bill) through in less than a week,” said Scot Ross, the executive director of One Wisconsin Now. “The senators have rightfully taken matters into their own hands.”

[Capital Times, 02/17/2011]

Research by One Wisconsin Now, a progressive watchdog group, has shined a lot of light on the reasons why Walker is being so stubborn. As it turns out, he screwed up badly. [The Brandeis Hoot, 02/17/2011]

Using a recently released analysis by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB), the organization “One Wisconsin Now” said the Walker plan would add at least $30 million directly to the 2011-13 budget, despite Republican promises to not add to the deficit. [Milwaukee Community Journal, 02/16/2011]

Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate will be flooded with over 16,000 petitions signed by Wisconsinites united against Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to use the government to take away the rights of workers across Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/16/2011]

One Wisconsin Now, the progressive watchdog group that has provided the closest monitoring of Walker’s budgetary gamesmanship, explains: “Since his inauguration in early January, Walker has approved $140 million in new special-interest [Unions, 02/16/2011]

Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, joined Ed Schultz to talk about the dramatic growth in the number of people opposing Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union bill. [MSNBC, 02/16/2011]

Scot Ross, head of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, said: “No Wisconsin governor has deployed the military against public employees as far back as the 1930s, showing just how radical the steps are that Gov. Walker is taking to consolidate his power.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 02/15/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker’s scheme to allow the government to take away the rights of Wisconsin workers is part of an unbalanced and potentially unconstitutional proposal that would add at least $30 million to the state’s credit card and allow the Governor’s health agency director to slash health care access and raise costs without the approval of the legislature.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/14/2011]

Scot Ross of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now said no governor has used the military against public employees as far back as the 1930’s. He said current events show “just how radical the steps are that Gov. Walker is taking to consolidate his power.” [RiverTowns.net, 02/14/2011]

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to use the government to take away the rights of workers across Wisconsin has generated more than 5,000 petition signers in less than one day from all corners of Wisconsin to demand state legislators reject Walker’s undemocratic plan.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/13/2011]

“No Wisconsin Governor has deployed the military against public employees as far back as the 1930s, showing just how radical the steps are that Gov. Walker is taking to consolidate his power,” said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [Wisconsin State Journal, 02/13/2011]

Shrapnel from the crashing Truth-O-Meter then hit the progressive political organization, One Wisconsin Now. The group added up the cost of three Walker tax giveaways, noting the governor had added $140 million in new special interest spending to the state’s mounting budget deficit. [Capital Times, 02/11/2011]

“Unpaid furloughs ordered to help balance Milwaukee County's 2010 budget could compromise public safety, according to law enforcement and court officials. The impact of furloughs -- or other substitute budget cuts - -could range from slower prosecutions to delayed trials and criminal arrest warrants, the officials said. Restraining orders in domestic violence cases also might be slowed, they said. The furloughs may force him to make ‘triage decisions’ in which charges for lesser crimes are delayed or skipped so prosecutors can focus on serious felony cases, said District Attorney John Chisholm.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 01/18/2010]

“...Walker said privatizing airport operations could enable the county to "actually turn a profit and use the revenue to pay down debt." He also said the money from an airport privatization could be used to help pay for the county's bus system without increasing the property tax. ...He sought but failed to win County Board support for a study on airport privatization for 2009, and he didn't address the issue in his 2010 budget. ...Three county supervisors attending Walker's speech said they remained opposed. Supervisors Johnny Thomas, Christopher Larson and Theo Lipscomb said it would be unwise for the county to entrust one of its prime assets to private firms. They warned that fees for a variety of services at the airport would likely be increased.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 01/13/2010]

“Richard Abelson, head of the county's largest union, wasn't buying ‘this new soft, gentle and fluffy Scott Walker.’ Walker's layoff remarks mean little and are likely aimed at voters in next year's governor's race, said Abelson, executive director of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Walker is the leading Republican candidate for governor. Walker's latest comments don't square with his actions, Abelson said. ‘He was the one who cried wolf with the layoffs in November and the furloughs and reduced hours in July. He's the one who has been trying to scapegoat county employees for years,’ Abelson said. Walker repeatedly threatened layoffs this year, starting in March; unsuccessfully attempted to impose shortened workweeks; and ordered four furlough days for 2009, then rescinded half of them.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/29/2009]

“Nonunion Milwaukee County workers will get reduced pensions, higher health insurance costs and no seniority raises in 2010, under action approved Thursday by the County Board. ...County Executive Scott Walker favors the measure. Supervisors, Walker and other elected officials were excluded from the pension trims...The employee benefits concessions apply to just 717 unrepresented employees, but also are aimed at leveraging similar concessions from the roughly 4,700 county employees who are union members. The combined savings, if applied to all county employees, was estimated at $7.5 million.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/18/2009]

“Over the last eight years, we’ve worked together to maintain funding for essential government programs without increasing the property tax levy from the previous year, cut debt by over 10%, and cut the county work force by over 20%.”

[Scott Walker, 11/20/2009]

“Memo to Milwaukee County employees: Never mind. That was the upshot of a Friday session that ended with a new deal to avert the Thanksgiving layoffs of 180 county workers intended to avoid a 2009 budget shortfall. Notices had already been sent to those targeted for layoffs by County Executive Scott Walker. But Walker told county supervisors if they could scrape up $600,000 to $1 million in savings from a budget already purportedly scraped clean, some or all of the layoffs would be rescinded. After a lunch-hour meeting between Walker's top aides, County Board Chairman Lee Holloway and Supervisor Elizabeth Coggs, the layoff suspension was announced...Walker had announced the layoffs Wednesday, saying new figures still showed a $3 million year-end deficit looming. With so little time left before the end of the year, the only option was layoffs, Walker said. Walker backed off the layoffs after supervisors obtained promises of some $523,000 in budget savings from department heads, including a surprising offer of $1 million from Parks Director Sue Black.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/31/2009]

“Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s plan to temporarily lay off up to 180 employees as a last-ditch move to balance this year's budget prompted finger-pointing and shouting Thursday from county supervisors. ...Supervisors accused Walker of mismanagement and his department heads of hiding what appears to be one of the major causes of the county's 2009 deficit -- a change in the formula used by the state to reimburse the county for low-income patients' care. A shortfall in anticipated sales tax revenue also was blamed. ‘The administration failed, and the county executive failed,’ said Supervisor Michael Mayo Sr. ‘We're supposed to be in this together,’ said Supervisor Elizabeth M. Coggs, who complained that supervisors routinely have been shut out of critical information by Walker's department heads. ‘The only time we are in this together is when the crap hits the fan.’” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/30/2009]

“Milwaukee County employees would bear a heavy burden of budget-balancing pain in County Executive Scott Walker's proposed 2010 budget, with nearly $41 million in pay and benefits cuts and the elimination of nearly 400 jobs. The proposal includes a 3% across-the-board wage cut for all county workers, a new employee pension contribution of 5% of a worker's salary, a boost in health care contributions and more furloughs...Walker was immediately criticized by supervisors and unions for unrealistic budgeting and the potential for plunging the county into a costly labor dispute. The County Board has a tentative contract with the county's largest union that calls for a two-year pay freeze in exchange for no layoffs and no privatized jobs - a deal that would go out the window under Walker's proposed budget. That raises the likelihood the county could be accused of bad-faith bargaining, warned Supervisor Lynne De Bruin. "We are creating a war with our largest union," she said. Walker has threatened to veto the tentative contract, and on Thursday the board delayed action on it.’”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/24/2009]

“Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker exceeded his authority in attempting to unilaterally cut union employees' hours as a budget-cutting move, according to an arbitrator's ruling issued Wednesday.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 07/02/2009]

“Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker on Friday added an employee wage freeze to his growing arsenal of tools aimed at avoiding large budget shortfalls. But as with other ideas he's broached -- most notably a 35-hour work week and accompanying pay cuts -- the county executive ran into immediate resistance and accusations he's playing politics with people's lives. Walker said he's not bluffing about the need for the cutbacks or the likely alternative -- layoffs. All county department heads have been asked to draft layoff plans in case the freeze and his other efforts are rebuffed, Walker said...The county is projected to face shortfalls of nearly $15 million this year and $90 million next year. Walker had no estimate of savings linked to a wage freeze.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/29/2009]

“Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker on Thursday ordered five-hour weekly unpaid furloughs for most county employees through the rest of 2009 as a way of offsetting a projected $15 million deficit this year…Walker's shorter workweek order affects at least half the county workforce, including managers. The cut also could be extended to 60% or more of the nearly 5,000 county employees. …For affected county workers, losing five hours of reduced pay a week would amount to about a 12.5% cut.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/14/2009]

“Milwaukee County's 2008 overtime spending is on pace to match or beat last year's record $15.8 million tab, despite extra recruitment and hiring of mental health and corrections workers, an analysis of county spending records shows. The overtime bill for the first 10 months of this year was $14.4 million. Overtime costs for November and December are expected to drive the bill to more than $16 million. ...Amid the economic downturn, Walker imposed a partial hiring and travel freeze in September to help ward off a year-end deficit. He credited such moves with keeping the county in the black. But critics on the County Board say Walker has courted overtime growth by too thinly staffing county departments.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/05/2008]

“The Milwaukee County Court System once again survived the veto pen of County Executive Scott Walker this budget season, holding onto more than two dozen court staff members. On Nov. 19 the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted 16-3 to override a partial veto by Walker, which would have slashed more than $1.3 million in 2009 funding for combined court-related operations... The board restored all 27 court staff positions, which county executive Scott Walker sought to either eliminate or replace with more cost efficient personnel. Nine clerical assistants -$499,826- and eight deputy court clerk judicial assistants -$592,448- were slated for elimination by Walker, who also planned to substitute nine administrative interns in place of nine legal research interns at an estimated savings of $220,000.” [Wisconsin Law Journal, 11/24/2008]

“Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s 2009 budget would potentially lay off 339 employees, mostly through privatizing food service, housekeeping, skilled trade and vehicle maintenance workers, supervisors were told Monday. ...County Board Chairman Lee Holloway called Walker's budget ‘the worst budget that I've experienced in 16 years on the board in terms of the cuts and the complications.’”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/07/2008]

“Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said Tuesday he'll scale back the amount of his paycheck he returns to the county, if he's re-elected to another term April 1. Walker will cut the sum he gives back from $60,000 annually to $10,000. ...He joked today that his decision to continue giving back nearly 47% of his salary every year has been unpopular with his wife. He said he felt it was important to still return a portion annually and that he had settled on the $10,000 figure.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/19/2008]

Walker announced the unusual midyear layoffs and workweek changes in a ‘Dear County Employee’ e-mail message after what he described as several rushed meetings with stunned department heads scrambling to patch a $7.8 million deficit in the county’s 2003 budget...Walker’s email to employees blamed the current-year deficit on ‘a number of unanticipated occurrences including significant revenue shortfalls in a number of departments, loss of state revenue and loss of investment earnings.’”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/13/2003]

"It’s important for the federal government to move ahead with legislation that lets people live the American dream.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/18/2002]

The Milwaukee County Labor Council voted Wednesday night to endorse Milwaukee Ald. Thomas Nardelli in the Milwaukee County executive's race. The council, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, includes about 150 unions with about 60,000 members living in Milwaukee County. The union met with a series of candidates last week but put off an endorsement until Wednesday, after it met with Nardelli. The Milwaukee County Labor Council, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers both endorsed Walker’s opponent, Alderman Thomas Nardelli for Milwaukee County Executive. The Council had about 150 unions with about 60,000 members in Milwaukee County.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/07/2002]

The commission appears to be incapable of using common sense in most of these cases. Time and time again their rulings defy logic to the public.”

[Associated Press, 03/21/2000]

[1993 AB 587, 06/17/1993]