Latest news with #Act10
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nurses launch strike at Meriter hospital, the first in the facility's history
Striking nurses and supporters circle the UnityPoint Health-Meriter hospital in Madison on the first day of a five-day walkout Tuesday. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner) With a spirited rally, a picket line march around the building and a small brass band, nurses at UnityPoint Health-Meriter hospital in Madison launched a five-day walkout Tuesday, reiterating their demands for changes in safety practices, minimum ratios of nurses to patients and improved pay. The strike — the first ever by nurses at Meriter hospital — is scheduled to run through Saturday. It follows the end of bargaining on Monday, May 19, when the nurses' union bargaining team turned down the hospital management's latest proposal. Services Employees International Union (SEIU) Wisconsin and UnityPoint Health-Meriter have been in negotiations since earlier this year on a new contract covering about 950 nurses. The nurses' most recent two-year agreement expired in late March and they have since been working without a contract. The nurses' contract demands include establishing required ratios of nurses to patients, improved safety for hospital employees and pay increases — particularly for senior nurses, according to union officials. 'Time and time again, Meriter's management refused to meet us halfway,' said nurse Lindsey Miller, one of three bargaining team members who spoke at the strike's opening-day rally Tuesday morning. 'At our last bargaining session, it was management, not nurses, who walked away from the bargaining table.' Miller said the most recent management officer included 'an unacceptable raise that doesn't cover the cost of living' and made 'no progress' towards the nurses' union's demands for staffing commitments or security improvements. 'I am striking because I love working here,' said Madison Vander Hill, a birthing center nurse and one of six union speakers at the rally. 'I love getting to walk alongside and care for families as they go through one of the most transformative experiences of their lives.' Vander Hill said she and other nurses were striking 'because we must see tangible change from management in order to ensure that safety and security are prioritized and the things we love about the work that we do are protected.' Her coworker, Audrey Willems Van Dijk, said the nurses' concerns extended to concerns for the hospital's patients. 'We are fighting for every single person who walks through Meriter's doors,' she said. 'Yes, we deserve adequate compensation, but more than that, we deserve safety and security for ourselves and our community. We deserve respect.' Dane County Executive Melissa Agard declared her support for the nurses and connected their dispute with former Gov. Scott Walker's signature legislation after he took office in 2011 — Act 10, stripping most public workers of most union rights. 'It was his mission to crack the foundation of union rights in the state of Wisconsin. And that crack has continued not only in Wisconsin but across our nation, and you guys are here to say, 'No more,'' Agard said. As the strike got underway this week, Meriter told nurses that health benefits — including health insurance — would be cut off as of June 1 for nurses who do not report for their first scheduled shift during the strike this week. A union spokesperson said the effect of the order would be to cut off benefits for strikers for the month of June if the two sides don't reach a tentative agreement on Thursday, when their next bargaining session is scheduled. Meriter spokesperson Nicole Aimone confirmed in an email message Tuesday that nurses who do not report for their first shift during the strike will be put on 'inactive status' through Sunday, June 1, with their benefits ending as of that date. Nurses whose benefits are cut off would have to use the federal law known as COBRA to maintain their coverage, paying for their insurance out of pocket. The law, enacted in the 1980s, enables fired or laid-off workers to maintain their employer's health insurance temporarily at their own cost. 'They will have the ability to re-enroll once they are placed back into active employee status,' Aimone said. The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over the hospital's action. 'It is outrageous and it is disgusting,' said Ben Wikler, the outgoing chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, addressing the rally. Wikler went on to lead hundreds of sign-carrying nurses and supporters in chanting, 'Union busting is disgusting!' 'When management says you'll lose your health insurance if you insist that there [should be] enough nurses on the floor to make sure that everyone is taken care of — it is disgusting,' Wikler said. He described the dispute in the larger context of President Donald Trump's return to the White House. 'They think that the Trump administration and the National Labor Relations Board that this administration has gotten is going to turn its back on working people,' Wikler said. 'They will still have to come back to the negotiating table and they will have to do what's right, because you are building the power to make them do what's right,' he added. The hospital is continuing to operate during the strike. Aimone said that the hospital has contracted with an outside agency for replacement 'travel nurses' to support ongoing patient care. She said she did not have information on the cost for the contract nurses who are filling in during the walkout. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
I was union leader and Democratic delegate. Party needs to hear these truths.
With a decisive win in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court race and Donald Trump's polling cratering, Democrats in Wisconsin and nationwide appear to be full of themselves in thinking they may have turned the tide in winning over working class voters. But as bad as Trump is doing, Democrats are doing even worse. In March, the Democratic Party hit an all-time polling low. Their low poll numbers come, despite Trump wrecking the economy, arresting sitting Judges, and helping his billionaire funders, like Elon Musk. Ironically, the reasons behind the Supreme Court victory, should give Democrats a wakeup call. Just take a look at the Supreme Court race. What were the issues that drove voters to the polls, besides contempt for Elon Musk? They were all issues having to do with combatting the other side's agenda and what Republicans took away: Abortion and the freedom to make your own medical decisions Gerrymandering and the right to have fair elections Union rights and the right of employees to have a voice in the workplace through Act 10 and right to work laws. The Democrats were right to fight all the Republican attacks on our freedoms, but working people want more than just opposing the other side. They want policies that will actually make their life better, and on that, Democrats have failed. Opinion: Former Gov. Tommy Thompson omits real reason for rough Supreme Court race Working people don't want to go back to the pre-Trump era, as Democrats seem to think. The very reason Trump became popular was because those times weren't good for mainstream Americans. Just look at Milwaukee. When I was a young man, I was offered employment at three manufacturing sites in the same week: AO Smith, American Motors and Allis-Chalmers. Three companies that paid a living wage, good retirement benefits and good health insurance. Those companies are long gone, along with so many others, including Cutler Hammer, Ladish, Harnishfeger, Allen Bradley and the list goes on. What they all had in common were family supporting jobs and strong unions that made a good life possible. Where did that work go? Thanks to NAFTA, and other 'free' trade agreements, supported by Democrats (thanks Bill Clinton) and Republicans, those companies fled or fell to the way-side trying to compete with cheap and in many cases, slave labor, abroad. Opinion: We asked readers about arrest of Milwaukee Judge Dugan. Here's what you said. And now who is talking about bringing back American jobs? It's Donald Trump, not the Democrats. His plan is unserious and has no chance for success, but he realizes, unlike most Democrats, what is bothering working families. Democrats, while certainly less onerous than Republicans, have failed miserably to fight for an agenda that would attract working people. What would a bold agenda look like that would move Trump voters? Let's start with just four issues: Revitalizing the economy, centering on attracting jobs that have a legitimate chance of growing in the United States. That plan would include passing the PRO Act, a bill that has stalled in congress and would make it easier for workers to join unions and have a real voice on the job and earn a living wage. It's no coincidence that when wealth in this country was more evenly divided, unions were strong. Make medical care affordable and accessible by expanding Medicare to everyone. Reform our tax system, so the wealthy pay their fair share, rather having a society where one man makes more than 50% of the population. Develop "fair" rather than "free" trade agreements, that emphasize what's in the interest of the American worker. This agenda is popular among the vast majority of people, but you will find few Democrats willing to purse this. Even now, the only thing you hear from members in Congress and at the local and state level, is Trump bashing. Letters: Of course Sen. Ron Johnson wants to cut Medicaid. He's rich and doesn't need it. Democrats spent four years criticizing Trump's first term and then, when they took office, they offered a few decent, but certainly not bold, alternatives to Trump. They lost office, once again, because their agenda was weak and did not meet the moment. Next time a Democrat runs for office in your area, ask them what their agenda is, rather than just what they're against. Maybe it's time for a third party that actually has a popular agenda. Frank Shansky worked at the Allis Chalmers Corporation in the 1970s and 80s and was chairman of the UAW Local 248 bargaining committee. He also served as the Director of the American Federation of Teachers Local 212 at Milwaukee Area Technical College for 30 years and was an elected delegate to the Democratic Party convention twice. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here's how Democratic Party can win back working people | Opinion
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New U.S. Education Department appointee worked on Scott Walker's education policy, Act 10
One of the newest U.S. Department of Education appointees worked on Wisconsin's Act 10 and private school voucher expansion under former Gov. Scott Walker, according to a Department of Education news release. Michael Brickman, now-senior adviser at the education department, worked on education policy for Walker from 2011 to 2013, and worked in communications on Walker's campaign from 2009 to 2010. In that time, Walker passed Act 10, which banned most collective bargaining among public employees, including teachers and professors. The act was overturned last December but put on hold, meaning it's still in effect while the case is in progress. Walker, with Brickman as an adviser, grew private school voucher programs, creating the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and eliminating the enrollment cap for Milwaukee's choice program. In a Fordham Institute post from 2013, Brickman cites the Walker administration also expanded charter schools, virtual schools and open enrollment. The early Walker administration also led school accountability efforts, like the school report card system. It initially tied state test scores to NAEP standards, a move that's been back in the news in recent months after state superintendent Jill Underly decoupled score benchmarks from those national standards. Gov. Tony Evers recently vetoed a Republican-led bill that would have reversed Underly's decision. Brickman has worked for the Department of Education and the conservative think tanks American Enterprise Institute and Cicero Institute in the past. He has also served as a senior education fellow for the Institute for Reforming Government, a conservative nonprofit. Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@ or on X at @nadiaascharf. This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: New U.S. Education Dept. appointee led Scott Walker's education policy
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Scott Walker talks tariffs, Medicaid, Act 10 at UW-Madison event
MADISON – Former Gov. Scott Walker made an appearance on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Monday night, and talked with students about a number of topics, including President Donald Trump's tariffs and the state's Act 10 collective bargaining law. Walker spoke to nearly 100 students and members of the public at Grainger Hall, in an event hosted by Young America's Foundation, of which Walker is the president. Here's what Walker had to say. Walker said he isn't typically supportive of tariffs, and favors open trade. But, he said, Trump is doing what he believes needs to be done to get America back on the same playing field as everyone else. Walker said that if anyone had read Trump's book, "The Art of the Deal," they would know he's a fan of tariffs. "I think that can end up being a good thing as long as we eventually get the free trade because again, then Americans can compete," he said. "We can innovate." But, he countered that the tariffs should not be permanent. They should end by Labor Day, and not be a permanent part of American policy. "To me, tariffs are not a long-term solution, but I think there's probably some merit, at least in what the president and some of his allies are trying to do right now to push back and at least attempt to level the playing field as much as possible," he said. Walker said both of his children attended public schools, and he's a big supporter of education. But education shouldn't be controlled by the federal government, and should instead be left to individual states and communities. "I have much more faith in the people, whether I agree with them all, in state government, I still have much more faith in the people in the state government and your school districts and your local communities to invest the dollars that we spend in education," he said. "You send the resources and the responsibilities back to the states, and, in turn, back to school districts." Walker said he's a supporter of Medicare and Social Security at the federal level, because those help elderly people who have paid in their whole lives, and those who need access to health care but are not able to work. But he highlighted Medicaid as in need of reform, and spoke about how he changed qualifications during his term as governor to ensure that there was no wait list for people who needed help, but that those who were able to work wouldn't qualify. He said he made it so people who were able to work were enrolled in training, to help them get out of poverty and in a job that could provide them health care. "To me, that's one of those things where it just makes sense, not only for a dollars-and-cents standpoint, because you'd save money, but I would argue, on a higher plane, the goal of government shouldn't be to get you on assistance," he said. "I have no problem providing support, but for those who are able, always felt like public benefits should be more like a trampoline and less like a hammock. You know, we'll give you help, but we want you to back up if you're able to. It shouldn't be something you rest comfortably for the rest of your life." At the end of the event, students were given the opportunity to ask questions of Walker, a few of which touched on Act 10, the law passed during his time as governor that barred collective bargaining for most state employees. Walker said that he pushed for Act 10 because the state was in a large deficit, and his other options would have been to cut Medicare further, raise taxes or lay off a huge number of state employees. The better option was to have state employees pay for their benefits and cut back on the money being spent on unions and bargaining. "I saw negative impact of what's called collective bargaining, where public sector unions were really dictating what the county did, what cities did, what schools and others did," he said. "Property taxes went down. Schools were the same or better. People liked what they saw." He was also asked about the recent state Supreme Court election, where liberal candidate Susan Crawford defeated conservative Brad Schimel. Walker said that the liberal majority on the court might be able to overturn Act 10, which would change things for Wisconsin. Walker also highlighted why police and firefighters weren't included in Act 10 and were able to maintain their unions. It came down to people needing an emergency response, even if Act 10 protests were going on or if there was a union walk off. The National Guard could staff prisons if correctional officers walked off, or could staff state mental health facilities if there was a walk-off there. But communities would have been hit hard if there was a walk-off including officers or firefighters. Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@ and on X @SchulteLaura. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Scott Walker talks tariffs, Medicaid, Act 10 at UW-Madison event
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Act 10, abortion laws, gerrymandering: Status of issues before Wisconsin Supreme Court
Now that Dane County Judge Susan Crawford has been elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, cementing its liberal majority until at least 2028, attention turns to which high-profile cases she could play a role in deciding. Crawford doesn't take office until Aug. 1, so she won't be involved in cases until then. She replaces outgoing liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who didn't run for re-election. The legal status of abortion, the future of collective bargaining for public workers and the state's congressional maps are among the issues that dominated debate during the race, and the high court could have the final word on them. There's another topic that's likely to keep coming up after Crawford joins the bench: Recusal. On the campaign trail, Crawford was frequently asked whether she'd step away from cases that address laws she challenged, including voter ID and Act 10, as a private attorney representing liberal groups. Crawford said she'd look at the specifics of each case, including the parties bringing the lawsuit and the arguments they're making. Legal experts say recusal isn't necessary for a case broadly related to a justice's previous work — that would lead to a slippery slope. Here's the status of major political issues in Wisconsin and whether the state Supreme Court is currently considering them: More: Here's what Susan Crawford's Wisconsin Supreme Court win means for who controls the court In December, Dane County Judge Jacob Frost overturned Act 10, the 13-year-old law that banned most collective bargaining among public employees, sparked massive protests at the state Capitol and turned then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker into a nationally known political figure. The judge placed his ruling on hold, meaning the law is still in effect. In February, the Supreme Court denied a petition to bypass the court of appeals and take up the case directly. So, the case now sits in appeals court and is in progress — the parties that appealed have an April 4 deadline to file briefs. If the three-judge appeals panel's ruling is appealed again, it would go to the state Supreme Court, which is highly likely. Depending on the timing, Crawford could be part of the final ruling. More: Now that Act 10 has been overturned, what's next for Wisconsin teachers, professors and others? Actually, there are two. The court heard oral arguments for one case in November. That case is about whether the state's 1849 law specifically bans abortions or whether more recent laws or court rulings override it. The court hasn't decided that case, and conservative candidate Brad Schimel accused the current justices of delaying a decision on a politically important issue, but the timeline isn't really out of the ordinary yet. More: Brad Schimel accused the Wisconsin Supreme Court of slow-walking the 1849 abortion case. Is that happening? Crawford won't be part of the decision in that case. But it's possible she could be involved in a second case led by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, asking the court to recognize a "constitutional right to bodily autonomy," including abortion. The court hasn't scheduled oral arguments in that case, and it's been nearly a year since the court ordered parties to file responses. That was a signal it could consider Planned Parenthood's decision. Wisconsin bans abortions after 20 weeks. Providers like Planned Parenthood resumed abortions in Wisconsin in fall 2023 after a judge on a lower court signaled she didn't believe the 1849 law applied to consensual procedures like abortions. More: Would Susan Crawford have to recuse from any abortion case? Why experts say she wouldn't. In December 2023, the state Supreme Court declared Wisconsin's legislative maps unconstitutional. Newly drawn boundaries reduced Republicans' advantage, and Democrats picked up 14 seats in 2024 while falling short of a majority. Shortly after that decision about maps for the state Assembly and Senate, the court rejected a request to reconsider the state's congressional boundaries. Crawford received heavy criticism from conservatives after participating in a virtual "donor briefing advisory" billed as a "chance to put two more House seats in play for 2026." That apparently refers to Wisconsin's competitive western and southeastern U.S. House districts, represented by Republican Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil. More: Supreme Court race puts spotlight on congressional maps as GOP files complaint against Crawford Crawford has said she simply introduced herself and explained to the Democratic donors why she was running. Her campaign said she has never commented on congressional redistricting, publicly or privately. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries advocated for electing Crawford, saying he thought she could participate in redrawing congressional districts more favorably for Democrats, adding to Republicans' criticism. Again, there's no current lawsuit before the Supreme Court challenging the district lines for Wisconsin's eight U.S. House members. But it's possible one could be filed. More: Hakeem Jeffries says a Crawford victory could lead to congressional maps better for Democrats It's hard to predict what other issues could arise in state government or politics that would spur a future Supreme Court case. For example, one of Gov. Tony Evers' vetoes in the 2023 state budget led to a lawsuit that the court is currently considering. But we can look at the court's list of pending cases for an idea of the types of issues they weigh in on. Those include a case asking whether the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is a "state actor" and a lawsuit about PFAS that could impact whether the state can pursue charges against a manufacturer of the "forever chemicals." More: When is the next Wisconsin Supreme Court election? This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Will Susan Crawford be part of Supreme Court Act 10, abortion cases?
