Workers Sustain the Economy and Strengthen the Workforce 

Workers are the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy, yet they are forced to survive on wages that don’t come close to meeting the basic needs. While billionaires accumulate rapid wealth—Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, for example, grew his fortune from $3 billion in 2008 to nearly $250 billion— Wisconsin workers remain stuck with a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, with tipped workers scraping by on just $2.33. Unlike the 2023 biennial budget that included raising the minimum wage, this budget only includes a task force. Numerous reports  show that a living wage can immediately increase  access to quality housing, healthcare, child care, and education– especially for parents and caregivers.  

It is hard to believe that some working families still earn $2.33 an hour in 2025. But not getting paid is much worse: for decades,  workers across Wisconsin have fought to criminalize wage theft and hold greedy employers accountable. According to the Economic Policy Institute, from 2021- 2023, workers recovered more than $1.6 billion in stolen wages from employers. And, according to the 2022 Wisconsin Misclassification Task Force Report, Wisconsin families lose an estimated $200 million annually due to worker misclassification and payroll fraud. Enforcement alone is not enough. Despite seeing over $500,000 wages stolen in Madison, the city cannot pass a wage theft ordinance due to preempted laws from the state legislature. That’s why it is critical to take the next step and criminalize wage theft.

Proposing driver licenses in the state budget can ensure all working families travel to work safely to secure their wages. Wisconsin is home to 300,000 undocumented immigrants with jobs varying from professors, software developers, dairy farmers, pedicurists, construction, and physicians. However, as the state seeks to grow a workforce that depends heavily on transportation, undocumented immigrants are still denied the right to obtain a driver’s license. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), undocumented workers paid over $200 million in state taxes (and $97 billion across the US) in 2022. As taxpayers, immigrants deserve the right to obtain a driver’s license. 

When workers endure exploitation and violations in the workplace, they often join unions to fight for justice. According to the High Road Strategy Center, unions empower workers to demand better from their workplaces. However, Wisconsin’s anti-union policies have stripped public sector bargaining power and severely weakened worker protections. This is especially troubling in a state that, in 1959, became the first in the nation to grant collective bargaining rights to public employees. Despite ongoing efforts to undermine them, unions continue to lead the fight for workers’ rights and push back against legal barriers that make it harder to organize for fair pay and dignity on the job. It is critical for the state budget to reflect policies that protect and strengthen worker power—not just in principle, but in practice.

How does the Governor’s proposed budget support working families?

Task force on minimum wage 

The Governor’s budget proposes another task force to study raising the minimum wage – but workers need actions, not more studies. The current economic data is very clear: Wisconsin workers cannot survive on $7.25/hour ($2.33 for tipped workers) and need wages that reflect the true cost of living. 

• A $20 minimum wage is essential to ensuring all workers earn a livable income. According to the MIT living wage calculator, an individual living in Wisconsin with one child should be earning a living wage of $37.78/hour just to make ends meet. 
• According to the High Road for Strategy Center, raising wages to meet the cost of living can combat racial and economic disparities, empower low-wage workers, and build a stronger, more just economy. Raising the minimum wage would also raise wages for 1 in 4 Black workers and more than 1 in 4 Latine workers in Wisconsin. 
• Wisconsin is one of only 20 states that has not yet raised the minimum wage above the federal floor of $7.25, which was set almost fifteen years ago. Minimum wages are above $10 per hour in Michigan and Minnesota, and $13 per hour in Illinois.

“Financial stress has a huge psychological impact on relations between people; whether it’s in your home, in the community, having stability, especially for your family, has a big impact on how you interact with the world around you day to day.” 

– Faith Roska

Combating wage theft and misclassification of workers

The governor proposes establishing mandatory penalties on employers who do not comply with wage payment laws– yet criminalizing wage theft and the misclassification of workers should be the ultimate goal. Wisconsin decision makers must ensure migrant workers and immigrant workers are also getting paid secured and living wages.

• According to Worker Justice Wisconsin in 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development recovered over $700,000 in unpaid wages, and generated over 14.5 million by bringing employers into compliance. 
• Immigrant workers are often targeted due to language barriers and misinformation about their rights. Nearly 70% of undocumented immigrants work on dairy farms.
• For decades, unions and worker centered organizations like Worker Justice Wisconsin (WJW) have been fighting to criminalize wage theft for decades. Since January 2021, WJW has identified $583,631 in stolen wages, mostly in Dane County. 
• Employers also misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid paying payroll taxes and workers compensation insurance. More than 10% of construction workers are misclassified annually. And most of them are Latine workers. 

“… imagine you work for an entire month, rent is due, and suddenly the money is not coming. Well, the landlord of course does not care where it’s coming from or what the situation is. So yes, it [wage theft] affects us greatly.”

– Impacted Worker

Establishing collective bargaining rights for state and local governments

The governor’s budget proposes restoring and expanding collective bargaining rights for state and local government workers—a move that’s long overdue. Unions represent people from Black, rural, veterans, immigrant, and various backgrounds. The right to organize is one of the most powerful tools workers have to fight back against systemic racism, exploitation, and greed. When workers are organized, they win better pay, safer workplaces, and real accountability. 

• A prosperous economy depends on healthy workers. Repealing anti-union policies will allow workers to join together and fight for their rights. Unionized workers earn more, have better protections, and are a driving force behind real change for working people, all resulting in a stronger workforce.
• Supporting workers’ rights to collectively bargain and organize is critical to restoring sustainable wage growth and provide workers with leverage to negotiate  better working conditions, especially in the service and hospitality industries.

• Unions are the backbone of a strong middle class. Protecting the right to organize is key to fighting corporate greed and economic exploitation.
• While reinstating collective bargaining is crucial, the budget does not fully address employer retaliation or preemption laws that suppress local labor protections.

We learned that organizing is key to solving the issue and that it affects us as a family. It breaks the stability that we have economically. It affects our housing.”

– Impacted Worker

Expand driver license access to all

For decades, driver licenses were available to immigrant drivers, up until a federal law blocked them in 2007. This restriction harms families, limits economic participation, and forces workers into unsafe employment conditions. This proposal can:

• Restore the right to obtain a driver license to at least 50,000 individuals. 
• Keep families together. In Wisconsin there are an estimated 32,000 parents or caregivers who are undocumented that have children. Access to a driver license means they could get to school and grocery stores without living in fear of deportation.
• Support Wisconsin’s workforce and dairy industry. An estimated 47,000 undocumented workers—70% employed on dairy farms—could benefit from a driver’s license.
• Ensuring safer roads by decreasing hit and runs, and decreasing the 13% of Wisconsin drivers who lacked insurance in 2019.