Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Election Day is next week

As Election Day approaches on Tuesday, April 2, the labor movement in Wisconsin is mobilizing in support of our endorsed candidates across the state. Hundreds of state, county and municipal races will decide who is making important decisions on a local level every day. Two election-related constitutional amendments will be on the ballot in the form of statewide referendum questions. The Wisconsin AFL-CIO is encouraging a NO vote on both statewide referendum questions.

Review our list of union-approved candidates and see who has been endorsed in your area. A star indicates the candidate is a union member.

Click here to volunteer with our union member to union member mobilization campaign. You can join a local canvass or make calls from the comfort of your home.   

Not sure what local races are in your area? Preview what will be on your ballot, here.

Don’t forget, early voting is underway and will continue in some areas until March 31. Click here to find available early vote locations near you.

In the labor movement, we believe our democracy is strongest with full participation in our elections. Get out and vote on April 2 in the Spring Election and remind your friends, family, and coworkers to cast their ballot.

Early Vote in the Spring Election

Early voting is underway in the Wisconsin Spring Election and will continue until March 31 in some areas.

Enter your home address here to find early vote times and locations.

The upcoming Spring Election on April 2 is a chance to vote for pro-worker candidates in key roles in our cities, villages and towns and on our local courts and school boards. There will be two important election-related constitutional amendments on the ballot in the form of statewide referendum questions (Question 1 and Question 2). Local labor councils have made endorsements in races across the state and the Wisconsin AFL-CIO is encouraging union members and all voters to vote ‘NO’ on both statewide referendum questions.  

Click here to view a list of union-approved candidates on the ballot April 2.

Preview what will be on your ballot here.

Union members are getting out the vote. Click here to volunteer with our union member to union member campaign to mobilize voters for our union-approved candidates.  

As union workers, we know democracy is strongest when we use our power and vote. The labor movement is supporting candidates who support our rights and will work to protect democracy and support working people and our unions so that we can have strong communities for all.

In Win for Workers, Wisconsin Courts Determine Amazon Drivers are Employees

Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale released the following statement on Amazon Flex drivers winning employee classification in Wisconsin:

“The Wisconsin Courts have made clear that Amazon drivers are employees under Wisconsin law. This means that Amazon Flex drivers are due additional rights and benefits including access to unemployment compensation. Far too often, especially in the emerging gig economy, big and powerful companies like Amazon use the misclassification of employees as independent contractors to deny working people essential workplace rights like minimum wages, overtime pay, and unemployment insurance. Today’s Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling is a win for working people and marks an important victory in the fight to combat worker misclassification in Wisconsin and the United States.”

President Biden Committed to Building Strong Communities for Wisconsin’s Working Families

Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale released the following statement on President Biden’s March 13, 2024 visit to Wisconsin:

“President Joe Biden continues to make Wisconsin a top priority, meeting with and talking to as many Wisconsinites as possible to learn about the issues on our minds and how his administration can best uplift working people and the communities we live in. Today, President Biden will be in Milwaukee to announce that Wisconsin will receive over $39 million dollars for new projects to revitalize and upgrade our city streets and transit networks through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant program. As always, union workers are ready to do the work needed to rebuild, restore, and reconnect our communities.

Working people are proud to support President Biden as he creates good-paying union jobs and makes needed investments in local infrastructure and transportation networks.

With nearly 15 million new jobs created and record low unemployment, President Joe Biden is building an economy that delivers on America’s promise to everyone.”

Wisconsin labor will be in the house tonight as President Joe Biden addresses Congress and the nation. Plumbers Local 75 union member Rashawn Spivey from Milwaukee will attend the 2024 State of the Union as a special guest of First Lady Jill Biden. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler will attend as a guest of Wisconsin Representative and Labor Caucus Co-Chair Mark Pocan (WI-02).

Plumbers Local 75 member Rashawn Spivey is the founder and owner of Hero Plumbing. His decision to become a plumber was inspired by his mother, who worked for one of the first Black-owned plumbing businesses in Wisconsin. After graduating from a plumbing program at Milwaukee Area Technical College and completing an apprenticeship with Plumbers Local 75, support from his local union enabled Spivey to launch his own plumbing business. Spurred by investments from the Biden-Harris Administration, Spivey expanded his plumbing business to focus on lead pipe replacements. Spivey and his team have replaced more than 825 toxic lead pipes, primarily at local daycare centers, to ensure safer drinking water for his community and protect children from lead poisoning. Through historic levels of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan, the Biden-Harris Administration is working to replace every lead pipe in America in the next decade.

"We are so proud of our union brother Rashawn and so glad he got this recognition tonight," said Steve Breitlow, business manager for Plumbers Local 75 in Milwaukee. "The investments the Biden Administration has made in working people across the country are monumental, and Rashawn's work, his story and the benefit this all brings to our communities is a perfect case in point."

Tune in to President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Address at 8:00 p.m. CT tonight, Thursday, March 7, to see brother Spivey and hear how President Biden’s transformational policies are empowering workers and reshaping our economy so that it works for everyone, not just the wealthy and corporations.

The Administration has made investing in Wisconsin a top priority. Just this week, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su visited a construction site of what will be a new Madison Metro Transit facility to meet with local union workers and announce a new Executive Order from the White House to expand and strengthen Registered Apprenticeship programs in Wisconsin and across our country.

The Executive Order will increase the use of apprenticeship programs in the federal workforce and reestablish Labor Management Forums to bring workers and management together to improve the workplace. Boosting apprenticeship and training opportunities for young workers is just one of the ways the Biden-Harris Administration is taking action to support working families and create stable, lifelong union careers for workers.

The Biden-Harris Administration is reshaping our economy so it works for everyone, not just the wealthy.

Sign up to join our Labor 2024 union voter mobilization program at wisaflcio.org/mobilize so we can continue to work together with the Biden-Harris Administration to create a workers first economy with economic opportunity for all.

 

Vice President Harris Visits Madison

Vice President Harris Highlights Union Job and Apprenticeship Growth At Event with Union Workers in Madison

Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, released the following statement as Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Labor Julie Su visit Wisconsin:

“On the eve of the State of the Union Address, Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Wisconsin with Department of Labor Secretary Julie Su to meet with local union workers and highlight good job growth in our state. The Biden-Harris Administration is expanding apprenticeship programs that empower young workers through training opportunities and create stable, lifelong careers. A new Executive Order signed today by President Biden will increase and strengthen Registered Apprenticeship programs in the federal workforce as well as reestablish Labor Management Forums that bring workers and management together to improve the workplace.

By supporting workers and our unions, the Biden Administration is working to bring balance and fairness to our economy so that it works for everyone, not just the wealthy and big corporations. As Chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, Vice President Harris is leading the charge to protect the freedom to organize and bargain with our employers so that we can have good jobs and a strong middle class.

Today’s Vice Presidential visit to Wisconsin illustrates that President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to building a workers first economy in order to increase economic opportunity with good union jobs for all. These investments aren’t just helping our economy now but will have lasting positive effects for generations.”