Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Eliminating Work Permits for Kids

A bill would continue to roll back child labor law in Wisconsin. Yesterday, the Assembly Committee on Labor held a public hearing on a bill to eliminate all Child Labor Work Permits for kids (AB 442) and roll back Wisconsin’s child labor laws. This bill was passed in the Senate in October. It can now be voted on by the Assembly.

Click here to tell your Representative to stop the rollback of child labor law in Wisconsin and vote NO on Assembly Bill 442 the elimination of work permits for 14- and 15- year olds.

Work provides value to young people: in the wages they make, the work ethic they develop, and in the lessons they learn on-the-job. Our current child labor work permit process keeps kids safer at work by involving parents, providing critical information about where kids are working to Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and provides necessary funding for child labor law enforcement in our state.    

Assembly Bill 442 will completely end work permits for all children, and in doing so will eliminate parents’ ability to sign off on employment for their child and receive critical information about their child’s job. Eliminating child labor permits also eliminates the current funding mechanism, a small $10 fee per permit paid by the employer, for the enforcement of child labor regulations in Wisconsin.

Assembly Bill 442 follows past efforts to roll back child labor laws. In 2017, the Legislature and former Governor Walker took away the right of parents to approve work for 16- and 17-year olds. Just last session, similar politicians attempted to pass a law that would expand the hours of work for some teenagers. Fortunately, Governor Evers used his veto to strike down last session’s attempt to further weaken child labor laws.  

Through the 2017 child labor rollback and a few other states’ similar rollbacks, we have unfortunately seen a rise in teens harmed at work and working in hazardous and/or illegal jobs for their age over the last seven years. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of minors employed in violation of child-labor laws was up 283% from 2015, and just last year was up 37% from the previous year.

Over and over, backers of this bill have complained and made wrong claims about cumbersome paperwork and red tape, yet Wisconsin’s child work permit process has changed. Parents and guardians now go online to approve employment digitally.

Child work permits play and have played an essential role in protecting Wisconsin kids for over 100 years. The permit process provides the DWD enforcement office with critical information, such as how many 14- and 15 year-olds are working, where they are working and what job tasks they are performing.

Eliminating child work permits in Wisconsin ends key parental oversight and weakens child labor enforcement mechanisms. Contact your Representative today in opposition of AB442.

Union-Made Thanksgiving 🦃

 

Set your table with solidarity. Union members make a variety of products for your Thanksgiving celebration. From Ocean Spray products, some of which are made in Wisconsin by members of the Machinists Union (IAMAW), to Birds Eye Vegetables made in Darien by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1473 to crescent rolls made by Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers (BCTGM) members and more -- there’s a bounty of union-made food items to help you celebrate Thanksgiving. You can even serve your meal on union-made plates with union-made cutlery.

When you buy union, you're supporting good jobs in our local communities -- jobs that provide living wages and benefits, safe working conditions, and dignity and respect for work. Look for these quality products, produced by union members, when preparing for your Thanksgiving feast.

Shop at a union-represented grocery store in Wisconsin. For a list of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1473 union grocery stores in Wisconsin, click here.

 

 

 

Union-Made Thanksgiving

Turkey

• Boar’s Head
• Butterball
• Foster Farms
• Thumann’s

Ham

• Cook’s Hickory Smoked Spiral Sliced Ham with Honey
• Tyson

Dinner Rolls

• Arnold
• Bimbo Mini Croissants 
• Bimbo Dinner Rolls
• Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• Pillsbury Ready-to-Bake Dinner Rolls
• Sara Lee
• Schmidt
• Wegmans Dinner Rolls

Vegetables

• Birds Eye
• Del Monte
• Dole
• Hanover Foods
• Ore-Ida

Cranberries / Cranberry Sauce

• Dole
• Ocean Spray

Stuffing

• Arnold
• Kraft Stove Top
• Oroweat
• Stroehmann
• Schwebel’s

Sides 

• Betty Crocker
• Kraft Mac & Cheese

Dessert

• Cool Whip
• Dianda’s Bakery (San Francisco)
• Entenmann's Cookies and Cakes
• Marie Callender’s
• Reddi-Wip
• Sara Lee Pies and Cheesecakes

IBEW Local 159 Members Light Up Holiday Season

Thousands of lights, 50 plus light displays, dozens of IBEW Local 159 apprentices, members and retirees, truckloads of equipment and months of preparation all lead up to a flip of the switch this Saturday, November 11, for the Grand Opening of the 2023 Holiday Fantasy in Lights at Madison’s Olin Park.

 

Plan your visit to the Union-Made 2023 Holiday Fantasy in Lights:

Holiday Fantasy in Lights

November 11- December 31

Olin Park, 1156 Olin Court, Madison WI

Lights on dusk until dawn

Free Admission

Candy canes distributed 4:30pm to 10:00pm

 

The skills, expertise, and time of IBEW Local 159 union members make this annual holiday tradition possible. The work begins months in advance when IBEW Local 159 retirees weld, bend, and assembly the light displays and then install the lights. IBEW Local 159 apprentices and retirees spend days pounding in stakes, tightening wires, and laboring to erect and secure over 50 holiday light displays around Olin Park. From Santa Claus to the Wisconsin State Capitol, Puff the Magic Dragon, Frosty the Snowman and more – the Holiday Fantasy in Lights is sure to include all your holiday-time favorites.

“The preparations for Holiday Fantasy in Lights begin in June every year,” stated IBEW Local 159 Business Manager Mike Killian. “This is a true team effort. Retirees stay active with their time working on this project and apprentices get to learn the ropes in a way that creates a deep sense of community and togetherness.”

 

Will Fulton, IBEW 159 pre-apprentice, learned about electrical work in a high school class and knew it was his calling.

Sam Haak, a first year IBEW Local 159 pre-apprentice, who has been working to secure and light the displays around Olin Park can’t wait to bring his girlfriend to see the finished display he has spent so much time on.

Kyle Cummings, a first year IBEW Local 159 pre-apprentice, has enjoyed getting to run the boom while on site.

Ariana Florin, IBEW Local 159 pre-apprentice, loves getting to work outside and has gained a deep sense of community working together with apprentices and retirees on the Holiday Light project.

 

And Mark Hoffman, IBEW Local 159 retiree, who will be moonlighting as Santa this holiday season (pictured right) has been working on his Santa Claus beard since June.

 

 

IBEW Local 159 members Tom Lemens and Rich Nelson are the co-directors of the Holiday Fantasy in Lights.

“Holiday Fantasy in Lights brings the spirit of Christmas to Madison, IBEW-style,” says Co-Director Rich Nelson. 

“Seeing the joy on everyone’s face as they travel through, bringing the kids and hearing all the stories of the different generations who came as kids and now they are bringing their own kids to the lights, that makes all the long hours more than worth it,” explains Co-Director Tom Lemens. “IBEW members are honored to be able to do our part to continue a deeply-loved holiday tradition.”

A thirty-five year tradition

How did the Holiday in Lights begin? In 1989, contractors and the local union worked through a joint committee and brainstormed ways to use their skills to give back to the community. They came together around the idea of building coloring book character-like light displays for the holiday season and the Holiday Fantasy in Lights was born. What started as 10 light displays at Warner Park in 1989, has now grown into over 50 light displays at Olin Park.

 

 

Enjoy this free union-made 35-year tradition as you celebrate the holiday season. Holiday Fantasy in Lights runs nightly at Madison’s Olin Park, November 11-December 31, lights on dusk until dawn.

 

Veterans are heroes; they don’t deserve a shutdown

Veterans are the embodiment of dedication to our nation, but many don’t realize that their commitment doesn’t end with their military service.   Almost 1 in 3 federal workers are veterans, and the U.S. government is the largest employer of disabled veterans. Many continue to serve by taking on pivotal roles in the federal government—from the Transportation Security Administration to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.   If the extreme Republicans who control the U.S. House don’t pass a budget deal by next Friday—a deal that doesn’t make devastating cuts to the programs that working families depend on—then the government could shut down, posing risks to those veterans’ paychecks and their ability to pay their bills. Will you take a moment to support our veterans? Sign now to tell your member of Congress: No cuts to veteran-supporting programs and no shutdown. A shutdown would also affect the essential services, benefits and economic stability of all veterans, creating long delays and challenges enrolling in government services and programs. That financial stress and uncertainty during a shutdown could exacerbate mental health issues that are common in the veteran community. And a government shutdown could result in the temporary closure of national memorial sites, crucial spaces for reflection and remembrance for veterans and their families. That’s why we need your help to urge Congress to say no to extreme budget cuts that could hurt veterans and their families across the country.

Veterans don’t deserve to have their livelihoods used as a political football. Their sacrifice and dedication deserves recognition and stability, not uncertainty. They deserve a budget that creates good jobs and protects veterans and their families, not another shutdown. Tell your member of Congress: No cuts to family-supporting programs and no shutdown! Thank you and happy Veterans Day.