Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Injured Workers Gain New Benefits

In the month of April, 2012, the Wisconsin Worker Compensation Advisory Council (WCAC) successfully amended the Worker Compensation law of Wisconsin. The WCAC is made up of five Labor and five Management representatives who study and advance worker compensation law reforms by recommending positive changes to the Wisconsin Legislature and Governor.

 

The following are the major changes to the worker compensation system:

1)    A modest increase in the permanent partial disability rate (PPD) for new injuries, increasing from current rates of $302.00 to $312.00/week, for injuries occurring before 1/01/2013, and to $322.00/week for injuries in 2013 (cash benefits are free of all taxes)

2)    An agreement to modestly limit the range of situations in which an injured worker suffering permanent disfigurement may receive compensation for the effect of the disfigurement on their future earning potential. Workers will need to show an actual wage loss due to disfigurement in the work setting.

3)    An agreement to allow an injured worker engaged in a program of vocational retraining following a work injury to work on a limited part-time basis(up to 24 hours) while also in school, without reduction of WC retraining benefits (meaning workers can work limited part-time while retraining and not suffer benefit reductions).

4)    A significant, major, positive change to allow injured workers, who are certified by the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), to have the employer and their insurance carrier pay the reasonable costs of tuition, books, and fees required during a program of approved vocational training. This provision also speeds the return to work and reduces significantly the financial burden for workers. Tuition costs can be substantial, since training can last up to 80 weeks. Workers can attend public or private colleges or programs.

5)    An agreement to reign in some medical costs by narrowing the range of what constitutes reasonable medical providers fees for certain medical services to injured workers, while still continuing to allow injured workers their choice of medical provider who may treat them for their work injury.

6)    An agreement to provide an audit of the medical expense databases used in determining what are the correct rates for medical providers, by Labor, management, and health care providers in a special committee.

7)    Finally, WCAC created a special committee to study ways to permanently fund the cost of providing regular and periodic increases in the weekly indemnity (money) benefits paid to those who are the most seriously injured -- those injured workers found to be permanently and totally disabled by their work injury (PTD benefits). This reform is a high priority item for Labor.

In sum, the changes represent an advancement of worker compensation rights without undermining the rights of injured workers. More work needs to be done and is proceeding in the meetings of the Council and the study committees recently created. Workers who have ideas for positive change can contact Council members at the DWD website under Worker Compensation Division.

We Fight On

One day longer, one day stronger.  Thank you for your dedication, hard work and solidarity in this fight -- a struggle which is far from over.

Though Walker was shielded with a flood of secret corporate cash, Wisconsin made its voice heard. While we came closer to recalling Walker than many expected, we ended up coming just short.

The work we did together was about much more than just this one election.

We laid the groundwork for a powerful movement to push back against extremist policies everywhere. Messages of solidarity and support have been pouring in from around the country and around the world.  Our energy and momentum has inspired working people from all walks of life to stand together in solidarity in unprecedented ways.

We have marched together in the snow and the sleet.  We have knocked doors and made phone calls in the rain and the sunshine.  We are proud that we have created a new, energetic, broad-based movement for working people that is defying the odds.

A movement that will continue to change, grow and adapt to best represent all working people of Wisconsin.

Today we come together in solidarity and strength.  So many of us poured our hearts and souls into this election and while we did not recall Scott Walker, we reclaimed the State Senate and proved that working people will stand up and fight for our rights.

Thank you immensely for all your efforts.  I know thousands of you knocked doors, made phone calls, leafleted work sites, stamped postcards and talked with your family, friends and neighbors on the issues important to working people.  Your efforts were not in vain.  They provide the organization and grassroots infrastructure necessary to fight back against Citizens United and corporate power in politics.

We take great pride in the unprecedented grassroots effort that mobilized hundreds of thousands of people across the state in defense of economic justice. We look with hope toward a future in which the movement that we have created continues to resist the “divide and conquer” agenda that Scott Walker and his billionaire ideologue backers want to force on Wisconsin and America.

Though dark clouds may temporarily obscure the horizon, we stand together, united in solidarity.

Let's GOTV!

At 13 offices across Wisconsin, union members are geting out the vote for working families!  Whether going door to door, making phone calls, receiving messages in the mail, or flyer-ing worksites the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO member to member program is firing on all four cylinders in support of Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell. 

The time is now!  We are in the final days of our historic campaign to recall Scott Walker and restore democracy to Wisconsin.  Together, our grassroots efforts will make the difference on June 5. 

Volunteer offices are open across Wisconsin daily until 8:00 pm on Tuesday, June 5.  Click here to find a location near you. 

At a Milwaukee phone bank Kathy Brenner, a retired Briggs & Stratton Machinists, makes calls to talk about Walker’s worst-in-the-nation job record.

“If we keep Scott Walker in office, we will have no jobs left by the time he gets out,” explained Brenner.  “As Governor, he is pushing backwards policies, like rejecting high-speed rail and making deep cuts to our communities, which cost our state jobs.” 

Janet Bollow, a retired teacher, explains that every person who signed a recall petition needs to get to the polls to vote on Tuesday. 

“People are very disenchanted with the state of affairs in Wisconsin,” said Bollow.  “Scott Walker lied his way into office.  Never once did he campaign on attacking collective bargaining rights.  That was his hidden agenda.  He refuses to compromise, he refuses to listen to the people, his whole leadership style is disrespectful.” 

We need all hands on deck now!  Every door knocked, every phone call made, will make a difference on June 5. 

Sign up for a GOTV shift here, or help make calls from home by clicking here.

Bill Clinton Fires up Wisconsin Voters

President Bill Clinton energized voters at Pere Marquette Park in Milwaukee Friday morning joining Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell in the final days of the historic recall vote. 

Clinton attacked Scott Walker’s “divide and conquer" leadership approach saying that no elected official can be successful without collaborative cooperation. 

Noting that the Pledge of Allegiance mentions the idea of a nation "undivided under God," Clinton declared, "Every day when a child in Wisconsin says the Pledge of Allegiance, it's a rebuke to the far right's winner-take-all, take-no-prisoners, divide-and-conquer, constant-conflict philosophy of government."

"Ordinarily, I'm against recall elections," Clinton said. "But sometimes it's the only way to change a disastrous course."

Join Bill Clinton in supporting Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell, leaders who will bring our state together to create jobs.  Vote on June 5 and make history!

Join us this weekend to get out the vote as we go door to door and make phone calls. 

Click for volunteer locations.  

Sign up for a shift.

Special Delivery! Wisconsin Recall Mail Headed your Way

If you have been following our blog you know that union members are knocking on doors and making phone calls to talk with fellow union members about why recalling Scott Walker is essential to preserving a strong middle class in Wisconsin.   

What you may not know is that as part of our member-to-member political program, union members are also taking the time to hand-write notes to fellow union members about the upcoming June 5 election.  

This grassroots form of communication is letting union members know how other workers have been personally impacted by Scott Walker’s union-busting attacks on the middle class.

Kari Held, a blind occupational therapist at Milwaukee County Mental Health and member of Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, volunteered her time Saturday to hand-stamp postcards at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.  

Held works with schizophrenic, bipolar and people with serious and persistent mental illness (S.P.M.I.) at the day treatment center at Milwaukee Mental Health.  

Despite her 22 years of experience working with S.P.M.I. patients, then Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker proposed to eliminate Held's position in 2009.  You can read the full-story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here.

“As Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker did not have the peoples’ interests in mind,” explained Held.  “He certainly did not have our patients’ interests in mind when year after year he excessively cut mental health services.  Now, as Governor, Scott Walker again does not have the people's interest in mind and is overturning important laws.  He is taking away union rights, he is taking away equal pay rights for women and he is costing Wisconsin jobs.”

Held continued, “I know Tom Barrett will have the peoples’ interest in mind.  He will do more for the people of Wisconsin and more for our mentally ill.  We need to vote Scott Walker out of office on June 5 and elect a true champion for working people, Tom Barrett.”  

Held, alongside her service dog Trista, hand stamped over 1,000 postcards on Saturday.

If you are a union member in Wisconsin, check your mailbox for this special delivery and head to the polls on June 5 to vote for Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell.

If you want to volunteer, click here for list of locations. 

 

Recall in the Rain

Although it was a rainy start to Saturday in much of Wisconsin, there was no stopping recall volunteers from taking to the streets or picking up a phone to talk with fellow union members about recalling Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch and four anti-worker state Senators on June 5.  

In Duluth, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Horicon, La Crosse, Madison, Menasha, Milwaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, and Wausau union members were out in full force having one-on-one conversations with fellow Wisconsinites.

Bonnie Pedraza explained that a little rain did not bother her as she grabbed a walk packet from the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.  

A retired nurse from the VA hospital, Pedraza was volunteering with her union Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (WFNHP).  

“I’m here because we need to recall Scott Walker.  If he stays in office, tens of thousands of poor people will lose their health care," said Pedraza.  "Besides for being amoral, in terms Scott Walker should understand, this is not cost effective for our state.”   

Sherry Pearce, an RN, was volunteering to call fellow union members before her p.m. shift, encouraging all she spoke with to vote for Tom Barrett on June 5.   

“I support Tom Barrett because he will stand up for Wisconsin.  He will stand up for our nurses and for health care rights. Tom Barrett will be an advocate for working people,” said Pearce.    

Maryan Torres explained that “as a Milwaukee County nurse Scott Walker has taken away my right to collectively bargain with my employer and that is why I am working to recall.  We have lost our contract, we have lost our voice at work and we have lost our ability to speak out on behalf of our patients to improve their care.”  

John Behote, a painter with International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) D.C. 7 from Oak Creek, hit the streets to talk with fellow union members with John Jorgensen, also a painter. 

“I want to recall Scott Walker because we need jobs," said Behote.  "Under Scott Walker, Wisconsin is dead last in job creation.  We need Tom Barrett because we need more jobs.”  

To join in our efforts, click here and find your nearest volunteer location.  

Offices will be open Memorial Day and everyday through June 5! Hours are 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Saturday and noon to 7:00 p.m on Sunday.

Vote to reclaim Wisconsin.  Vote Barrett & Mitchell on June 5.  For more photos of recall action click here.  

20 Day Count Down!

There is no time to waste!  In just 20 days Wisconsinites will head to the polls on June 5 and make history.  We will stand up to reclaim Wisconsin.  We will vote to put an end to Scott Walker’s worst-in-the-nation jobs record.  We will join together to preserve a Wisconsin that honors and respects its working people. 

We are fighting for a Wisconsin where the right to vote is encouraged, not taken away.   A Wisconsin where our Governor does not have a criminal defense fund.  A Wisconsin where our schools and communities are given the proper support to thrive. 

Vote Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell on June 5.  They will fight for working families and a strong middle class.

Together, united, we will defeat Scott Walker on June 5.  With less than three weeks to go until recall election day, there is no time to lose.  Here are simple ways that you can help:

1.    Volunteer - Click here for statewide locations where you can volunteer. 

2.    Donate – Click here to the Wisconsin Worker Defense Fund.  Checks can be sent to:

6333 W. Bluemound Road, Milwaukee WI, 53213

 

In the next 20 days, we must make sure that every person in Wisconsin understands that recalling Scott Walker is about preserving a strong middle class and stopping his job-killing policies which reward out-of-state corporate millionaires at the expense of Wisconsin families.

We have the opportunity to show the world that a people-powered movement can overcome corporate money, but we need each and every one of you to get involved and to vote on June 5. 

Wisconsin Union Members: Working to Recall

Wisconsin union and community members took to the streets last weekend going door-to-door to talk with fellow Wisconsinites about the importance of the June 5 recall elections. 

In Duluth, Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Menasha, Milwaukee, Racine and Wausau phone banks and canvass staging locations were buzzing with talk about reclaiming Wisconsin and recalling Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Sen. Moulton, Sen. Fitzgerald, Sen. Van Wanggaard and Sen. Petrowski. 

The St. Louis Sisters from Milwaukee and Racine were at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council to make phone calls.  The sisters collected thousands of signatures to recall Scott Walker and his fellow cronies last winter.  Doris, Jean, Mary and Doloris stood on street corners ranging from the corner of Hope and Capitol, 13th and Oklahoma, Brady St. and Wisconsin Ave.   One sister is a retired member of Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (W.F.N.H.P.). 

“We are working to recall because Gov. Walker is trying to destroy the middle class,” said Doris St. Louis.  “He is trying to divide us as working people and as middle class Wisconsinites.  Trying to bust unions is no way to move forward.” 

Michael Hauser, an 8th grade teacher at MPS and member of Milwaukee Teachers Education Association grabbed a walk packet from the Milwaukee Area Labor Council before knocking on doors in the Milwaukee area. 

“I like to keep it simple,” said Hauser.  “Scott Walker is for the rich and I am for everyone else.” 

Candice Owley, President of the W.F.N.H.P., and Michael Rosen, President of A.F.T Local 212 pumped up their members before hitting the streets.

Mahlon Mitchell, a Wisconsin Fire Fighter, who is running against Rebecca Kleefisch on June 5 for Lieutenant Governor also addressed the crowd in Milwaukee. 

“Our Governor is talking to a billionaire about how he wants to divide and conquer middle class citizens of our state,” said Mitchell.  “They have the money but we have the people and we are ready to do the hard-work of knocking on doors and talking with our friends and neighbors about the June 5 election.” 

Unity Runs Strong in Wisconsin Recall Race

Chants of “Recall Walker” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Scott Walker has got to go” rang out loud and clear through the streets of downtown Madison yesterday as hundreds marched up State Street in support of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Wisconsin Fire Fighter Mahlon Mitchell. 

Barrett and Mitchell won statewide primaries on Tuesday.  Barrett will take on Scott Walker in the gubernatorial election and Mitchell will challenge Rebecca Kleefisch for Lieutenant Governor.  Both recall elections, along with four State Senate recall elections, will take place on Tuesday, June 5. 

Solidarity was the theme of yesterday’s rally and it was clear that removing Gov. Scott Walker from office is a unifying goal.

“We have to recall Scott Walker now,” said M.L.H., an administrative support worker at UW-Madison who gathered signatures to recall Walker and Kleefisch last winter and was in attendance Wednesday’s rally.  “Everyone has to get involved, no one can sit this one out -- this election is too important.  Scott Walker is diabolical.  Why is he making it harder for people to vote and taking away worker's rights?  The thing I am most disgusted with is what he has done to destroy collective bargaining rights.” 

Unity March, Madison, May 9, 2012

Speakers at the rally included Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt, We are Wisconsin’s Kristen Crowell, John Nichols of The Nation, Kevin Gundlach of the South Central Federation of Labor, State Representative Chris Taylor, Mary Bell of the Wisconsin Education Association Council and Jim Garity of AFSCME Council 40. 

 

Get involved in reclaiming Wisconsin today!  Click here for a statewide list of locations where you can volunteer. 

Primary GOTV Schedule & Locations

Help us get out the vote for working family candidates for Tuesday’s primary!  Can you volunteer to do a 3-hour shift before Tuesday?  You can bring a friend or come solo.  All locations will be running the following shifts during primary GOTV, but feel free to stop by anytime as shifts are flexible. 

•    Saturday, May 5:  9am-Noon; Noon-3pm; 3pm-6pm; 5pm-8pm
•    Sunday, May 6:  Noon-3pm; 3pm-6pm; 5pm-8pm
•    Monday, May 7:  9am-Noon; Noon-3pm; 3pm-6pm; 5pm-8pm
•    Tuesday, May 8:  9am-Noon; Noon-3pm; 3pm-6pm; 5pm-8pm

Locations

Milwaukee-area
•    Milwaukee Area Labor Council - 633 S. Hawley Road, Milwaukee, WI 53214
•    WI for Falk Office - 8431 W. Cleveland Avenue, West Allis, WI 53227
•    WI for Falk Office - 701 W. National Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53204
•    WI for Falk Office - 6918 W. Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, WI 53223
•    WI for Falk Office - 2510 East Capitol Drive, Shorewood, WI 53211

Madison-area
•    Madison Labor Temple - 1602 S. Park Street, Madison, WI 53715
•    WI for Falk Staging Area - Liberty Park Pavilion - Mount Horeb, WI
•    WI for Falk Office - 1571 Ivory Drive, Sun Prairie, W 53590
•    WI for Falk Office - 412 S. Baldwin Street, Madison, WI 53703
•    WI for Falk Office - 122 State Street, 5th Floor, Madison, WI 53703
•    WI for Falk Office/AFT-WI - 6602 Normandy Lane, Madison, WI 53719

Northeast WI/Fox Valley
•    WI for Falk Office - 325 Towbridge Drive, Fond du Lac, WI 54937
•    WI for Falk Office - 1104 Wisconsin Avenue, Sheboygan, WI 54081
•    WI for Falk Staging Area - 1124 Washington Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220
•    Winnebago Labor Hall - 2211 Oregon Street, Oshkosh, WI 54902
•    WI for Falk Office - 2256 Main Street, Green Bay, WI 54302
•    WI for Falk Office - 614 W. College Avenue, Appleton, WI 54911

SD 13 & Waukesha
•    WI for Falk & We Are WI Office - 916 Clinton Street, Waukesha, WI 53186
•    WI for Falk & We Are WI Staging Area - 1015 Labaree Street, Watertown, WI 53098

SD 21/Racine
•    Racine Labor Temple - 1840 Sycamore Avenue, Racine, WI 53406

SD 23/Eau Claire & Chippewa Falls
•    Eau Claire WEAC Office - 2004 Highland Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54701
•    Eau Claire Labor Temple (member-to-member phones only, 3-8pm Sunday, noon-8pm Monday) - 2233 Birch Street, Eau Claire
•    WI for Falk Office - 1219 Menomonie Street, Eau Claire, WI 54703
•    We are WI Office - 1 North Bridge Street, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

Menomonie
•    WI for Falk Office - 105 21st Street. N., Menomonie, WI 54751

La Crosse
•    IAMAW District 66 - 1307 Market Street, La Crosse, WI 54601

SD 29/Wausau
•    WI for Falk & We Are WI Office - 120 Clark Street, Wausau, WI 54401

North-Central WI
•    WI for Falk Staging Area - 1901 W. River Street, Rhinelander, WI 54501
•    WI for Falk Office - 1205 2nd Street, Stevens Point, WI 54481

Superior
•    WI for Falk Staging Area - 916 Hammond Avenue, Superior, WI 54880