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Since it took aim at public sector unions in 2011, Wisconsin’s Republican-run Legislature passed a series of laws designed to undercut private sector unions and keep local governments from raising minimum pay and working conditions on municipal and county contracts.
Lawmakers also eliminated the requirement that the “prevailing wage” be paid to workers on state-funded construction projects. The biggest change hit in 2015, when Wisconsin became the 25th state to pass so-called “right-to-work” legislation.
The changes, labor leaders and experts say, have caused flattened real wages for construction workers, higher pay for their bosses and local governments stuck offering wages that make it difficult to hire contractors — and hard for those workers to make a living.
The state’s “right-to-work” law prevents private sector unions from requiring workers covered under a collective bargaining agreement to pay dues. Non-dues paying members are often referred to as “free riders.”
Union leaders concede they took a financial hit after the law was enacted. But they say there’s new energy now among workers, with strong majorities continuing to financially support their unions — even though monthly dues are now voluntary and the drop in...
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