“If you have already done the work, you
should be first in line to get paid,” says Phil Neuenfeldt,
Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. “But the
only way that our laws will improve is if the Assembly hears from a lot
of working people before Thursday.”
With less than a week left in the legislative session, union members and labor leaders from around the state are contacting the Assembly about SB 2 the Wage Protection Act.
Currently when a business fails in Wisconsin there is a $3,000 cap on the unpaid wages and benefits that a worker can attempt to collect for the labor that he or she has already supplied. After that, big banks swoop in and claim whatever assets are left.
Senate Bill 2 would increase the amount of unpaid wages and benefits that a worker can collect before the banks take their share to $10,950.
Banks are structured to handle financial losses, working families are not. Many Central Labor Councils and local unions have already sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, urging him to put working family need above big bank greed. 
Don’t let the State Assembly leave working people in the lurch. Call on your Assembly Rep. to pass SB 2 before the legislative session ends on April 22:
1-800-362-9472Not sure who your Assembly Rep. is?
The hotline above will help you identify your Rep. and provide you with a direct toll-free number to his or her office.
Click here to read about workers who were unable to collect the wages and benefits that they were owed from Reliant Glass and Door in Sheboygan.
Click here for more information about SB 2.
(In the pictures above, affiliated union leaders prepare or display the letters that they have sent to Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan in support of the Wage Protection Act. Top Row (from left to right): Willie D. Ellis, President of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council; Terry Hayden, Business Manager of UA Local 434; Glenn Stark, President of UAW Local 72; Robert Lutze, President of the Lakes Regional Labor Council; and Michael Bolton, Director of USW District 2. Left Column (from top to bottom): Gary Burns, President of the Southeastern Wisconsin Building Trades Council; Brad Schwanda, Political Director of UAW Region 4; Jeff Arnold, President of the Waukesha County Labor Council; and Penny Sikora, Legislative Director for ATU Local 998. Right Column (from top to bottom): Arlin Ziemann, Business Manager of IBEW Local 953; Alan Simonis, President of ATU Local 998; Jack Connell, President of the Greater West Central Area Labor Council; and Roger Clark, Vice President of the Southeastern Wisconsin Building Trades Council. Photos By: Justin Geiger, Greg Hinds, Andy Thompson, and Jenissee Volpintesta. For individual photo credits and for more pictures of our statewide effort to pass SB 2, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157623732987035/.)
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