November 3, 2016 -- On September 26, The Association of Career Employees (ACE) held a seminar on the administration’s proposal for switching to self-insurance for state employee group health insurance. Below are some summaries written by attendees.
**New** Video of Sept. 26 Seminar
Members of Joint Committee on Finance
September 7, 2016
There's a plan to change our group health insurance to a self-insurance model. This is a huge change and will affect active employees and retirees. It will also likely have a big impact on the health care market in Wisconsin.
Contact your legislator to request more public input. Two organizations, POWRS and ACE, have already written about some of the concerns. See their articles. ACE has also scheduled an information meeting on Monday, September 26.
Aug. 31, 2016
“Jobs at King used to be sought after. There were waiting lists of people eager to work there. Now it is difficult to attract employees because the conditions have become so difficult while employee compensation has gone backwards because of Act 10,”
Our Labor 2016 voter outreach program is underway and union members are ready to educate and mobilize Wisconsin voters this election season. Around the state, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO is hosting phone banks and canvasses.
Labor Day is September 5
Madison Area -- South Central Federation of Labor (SCFL) Laborfest '16. Labor Temple, 1602 South Park Street.
Milwaukee Area -- FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Come celebrate Labor Day with those who created it: organized workers at the festival built with volunteers and donations. #LABORFESTMKE
Flyer
Wausau Area -- Wausau Labor Day Parade starting at 4:00 pm at the corner of W. Wausau and 3rd Ave to Wausau Labor Temple, 318 S 3rd Ave. The parade will be honoring John Spiegelhoff, a true champion of Labor in Central Wisconsin and the Northwoods.
Back in the late 1990s or early 2000s, the State Employees Council worked on a PR campaign. It was part of a larger campaign put together by AFT national called "Quality Services from Quality People". Below are scans of some of the mailings we sent out.
Youth & Alcohol - Inside Pages
There will be a celebration of Civil Service's anniversary on June 17.
New Orleans Jazz Funeral for Wisconsin Civil Service
Friday, June 17 at 11:45 am - 12:30 pm
Wisconsin State Capitol, King St. Entrance
Facebook Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/149970155418147/
July 7, 2016. The law that gutted civil service, Act 150, went into effect on July 1, 2016, although some changes won't be implemented right away. Here is a link to a set of FAQs about the changes.
There was also a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform where DOA officials (Cate Zueske and Stacey Rolston) described the implementation of Act 150. Below is a link to the video (it's about 2 hours).
May 24, 2016. Here is a link to some documents about the civil service bill. Check out pages 83-89 in the document. This is the part from the Division of Personnel Management in DOA commenting on 2015 SB 285 (the bill that gutted civil service.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article which describes some of the concerns raised by state HR staff.
