News

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. 

FAQs on Civil Service 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).

Public Hearing Video, Wisconsin Eye

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.

Act 150

Legislative Council Summary

Scholarships are available from the South Central Federation of Labor for WPEC members in southern Wisconsin.  See the attached Scholarship Rules for the details such as eligibility.   The deadline is July 1, 2016.

Cover Letter

Rules

Application

Have you been shorted by the new STAR payroll system?  If yes, you can file a missing wages claim with the Department of Workforce Development. 

“If the employer refuses to pay wages earned on the regularly established payday, the employee should request payment. If the employee does not receive payment after 6 days, the employee may file a claim with the department [Dept. of Workforce Dev.] Once a claim is filed, the department will seek to resolve the matter with the employer.”

DWD Brochure

DWD Website

In preparation for the Civil Service Teach-In, there will be a series of building meetings in some public office buildings in Madison.  These meetings will update people on what to expect at the Teach-In.  The meetings are scheduled for: 

460 Science Dr., Meeting Room 2 - Tuesday, January 5, 11:45 am

DHS, 1 W. Wilson St., Room B155 - Tuesday, January 5, noon

GEF 1/DWD/DCF, Room H305 - Wednesday, January 6, 11:45 am

DOA, 101 E. Wilson, Yahara Room 114 - Wednesday, January 6, 11:45 am

City–County Bldg., MLK Blvd., room TBA - Thursday, January 7, noon

DNR/GEF 2, Room G09 - Thursday, January 7, 11:45 am

Please plan to attend. 

Wisconsin Capitol, 12:00 - 1:00 pm

Wisconsin Civil Service, a 110 year old system for clean government, is on the chopping block today. The GOP-sponsored Senate Bill 285 would eliminate impartial testing of many state job candidates, and would centralize hiring in the highly politicized Department of Administration, which is tightly controlled by the governor. The bill would also eliminate major components of merit hiring, just cause, and seniority job security protections - all important in protecting our state agencies from succumbing to cronyism and partisan politics.

GOP leaders are selling their plan on lies that barely obscure their real aim of making it easier to hire political cronies and fire whistleblowers. This continues the unrelenting attack on public employees and clean government waged by Scott Walker, who has stripped away workplace rights and dramatically slashed take home pay for public employees across the board.

Union brothers and sisters and clean government advocates are fighting to stop the demolition of a system that has protected state services from political shenanigans for more than a century. AFT-Wisconsin is a member of the new Wisconsin Coalition to Save Civil Service, which is sponsoring a Teach-In on Civil Service at the Wisconsin Capitol on Tuesday, January 12 from 12:00-1:00 pm. All union members and allies are encouraged to attend.

Some resources about civil service. 

Article by our Attorney - "Civil Service System: Proposed Bills Change Hiring and Firing Processes" by Timothy Hawks and Michele Sumara. 

The History of Wisconsin Civil Service System - written by OSER to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Wisconsin's Civil Service System. 

Letter to Editor by Klein - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Letter to Editor by Klein - Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to Editor by Hynum - Capital Times.  A slightly edit version also ran in Wisconsin State Journal. 

Why do RX drug deductibles range from $400 in Madison to $2547 in Oshkosh?  Citizen Action of Wisconsin and State Senator Dave Hansen released a new report on the consumer cost of prescription drugs in Wisconsin. 

October 5 -- PHONE BANKS will be held on Monday, October 5 in Milwaukee (WI AFL-CIO, 6333 W. Bluemound Rd.) and Madison (Madison Labor Temple, 1602 S. Park St. #212) from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to protect Wisconsin's tradition of civil service. Contact Emily Mueller in Milwaukee at ekitchin@wisaflcio.org, or Wendy Strout in Madison at wstrout@aflcio.org with questions or to RSVP.

October 6 -- PUBLIC HEARING.  On Tuesday, October 6, the Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform will hold a public hearing on the civil service bill. The hearing will begin at 8:30 a.m. in room 411S of the Capitol, and will continue until 6:00 p.m. with a recess between 11:50 and 2:00. If you're able, please share your testimony about why this bill is bad for Wisconsin. (If you're unable to testify, you can still register against the bill on that date.)

The Bill