
The Wisconsin AFL-CIO today released the Working Family Values Report Card, which gives grades to the gubernatorial candidates on a handful of issues critical to Wisconsin’s working families. Governor Scott Walker earned all ‘F’s on issues ranging from increasing the minimum wage to protecting Social Security and Medicare, whereas Mary Burke earned ‘A’s due to her strong support for pro-working family policies.
“Whether it is backing the rights of employees to bargain collectively, believing that the minimum wage ‘serves a purpose’ in the lives of hard working people, or supporting equal pay for equal work so that women aren’t forced to continue earning 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, Scott Walker earned an F on every subject,” said Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt. “On issues important to the working families of Wisconsin, Scott Walker needs to go back to school and study harder on the challenges facing hard-working women and men in our state.”
The AFL-CIO Working Family Values report card was created by grading each candidate for governor on a handful of key issues important to working families in Wisconsin. Those issues include:
§ Increasing the minimum wage
§ Pay equity
§ Protecting Social Security and Medicare
§ Supporting job creation in Wisconsin
§ Tax fairness and closing corporate tax loopholes
“It’s hard enough for working families in Wisconsin to make ends meet these days. The last thing they need is to send Scott Walker back to Madison so he can continue to push an agenda that puts corporate interests ahead of their needs,” added Neuenfeldt. “That’s why we support Mary Burke, because she will look out for working families.”
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Candidates On Issues Important to Working Families
Scott Walker:
X Terrible Record On Creating Jobs In Wisconsin
o Failed to create 250,000 jobs by the end of his term as promised and the state has been at the bottom of Midwest job growth. (Source: Politifact).
o Has hurt the middle class and eroded living standards for Wisconsinites by pushing Act 10, which hampered the rights of public employees to collectively bargain (Source: Mother Jones).
X Opposes Increasing The Minimum Wage
o Said he doesn’t believe the minimum wage “serves a purpose” (Source: Journal Sentinel).
o Opposes raising the minimum wage in Wisconsin (Source: WMTV).
X Against Pay Equity
o Repealed the Equal Pay Enforcement Act, which protected women from wage discrimination. Instead, Walked has made it harder for Wisconsin women to be on an equal playing field (Source: Huffington Post).
X Stands In The Way Of Affordable Health Care
o Refused to expand Medicaid to cover Wisconsin families who lack affordable health coverage (Source: Associated Presshttp://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/scott-walker-rejects-medicaid-expansion-proposes-alternate-plan/article_f9b15e52-7667-11e2-9d9f-0019bb2963f4.html).
X Has Slashed Education Funding
o Made the biggest cuts in education funding in Wisconsin’s history, hurting Wisconsin’s grade schools and universities and robbing Wisconsin teachers of the resources they need to succeed (Source: Associated Press, The Capital Times, Wisconsin Democratic Party).
X Opposes Tax Fairness
o He championed tax cuts that would disproportionally benefit the wealthy and wrote budgets that raised costs on middle class families by reducing the Earned Income Tax Credit (Source: Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal).
Mary Burke:
X Will Jumpstart Wisconsin’s economy
o A former executive, she has a plan to create jobs and invest in Wisconsin’s economy, improve wages, and put people back to work (Source: Campaign Website).
o Will restore collective bargaining rights for public employees, which will help improve living standards for Wisconsinites who have been harmed by Act 10 (Source: Journal Sentinel).
X Supports Increasing the Minimum Wage
o Supports increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 (Source: Associated Press).
X Supports Pay Equity
o Pledged to restore the Equal Pay Enforcement Act, which Scott Walker repealed in 2012. The law would make it harder for employers to get away with gender based wage discrimination (Source: Wisconsin State Journal)
o Called on the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work (Source: Daily Kos).
X Supports tax fairness and the closing of corporate tax loopholes
o Will lower the tax burden on the middle class through tools like college tuition and student loan deductions and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to help the working poor (Sources: Associated Press, Bloomberg Businessweek).
X Health Care
o Will expand Medicaid to cover Wisconsin families who lack affordable health coverage (Source: Journal Sentinelhttp://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/scott-walker-rejects-medicaid-expansion-proposes-alternate-plan/article_f9b15e52-7667-11e2-9d9f-0019bb2963f4.html).
X Education
o Will review Wisconsin’s education funding formula to make sure school districts and teachers have the resources they need to succeed (Source: Associated Press).
o Supports measures to make higher education more affordable (Source: Journal Sentinel).
