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Business groups want state to re-open, but scientists say it’s too soon
The state’s largest business group and more than four dozen trade groups and local chambers of commerce are urging Gov. Tony Evers to lift his COVID-19 pandemic-related Safer-at-Home order and begin to reopen the state within two weeks. But researchers who are studying the spread of COVID-19 warn that following such a calendar could have […]
Foxconn files report claiming more than 600 employees
Nearly half of the employees Foxconn hired in 2019 came on board during the last month of the year, and about 60% were hired in November and December together, the company’s latest report on its Wisconsin hiring shows. The company submitted the required report to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. on April 1, as one […]
Evers: Drive-in church services OK under ‘Safer at Home’
Wisconsin religious groups who want to gather for drive-in services in which worshipers remain in their own cars may do so and not violate the state’s “Safer at Home” order, Gov. Tony Evers said Thursday. The governor issued a statement after the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) sent Evers a letter Thursday that […]
Lawyer: Court ignored its own rules in hearing on postponing election
A lawyer is questioning the state Supreme Court’s consideration of briefs from three outside parties opposing Gov. Tony Evers’ executive order to postpone Tuesday’s election, while rejecting a motion to enter the case from voting rights groups he represents who favored the postponement. The three briefs that the high court accepted before ruling 4-2 against […]
New guide offers tips to deal with medical debt
Just as the pandemic novel coronavirus is making thousands of Wisconsin residents sick, a new guide on how to deal with medical debt has been published online. Fighting Forward: Challenging Medical Debt was unveiled Tuesday by HealthWatch Wisconsin, part of ABC for Health, based in Madison. ABC for Health is a nonprofit public interest law […]
Activists showed up; lawmakers did not
For several weeks, Laura Valderrama has been watching the growing alarm over whether Wisconsin lawmakers would really try to force state residents to vote on April 7, exposing themselves to the spreading novel coronavirus. A week ago, she and friends decided to try to do something about it. On Saturday, five of them traveled to […]
Who will be left out if COVID-19 medical resources fall short?
Growing fears of a shortage of lifesaving treatment for COVID-19 is prompting concern among activists and organizations who look out for the rights of people with disabilities. This week, the Survival Coalition, an umbrella group of several Wisconsin disability rights groups, wrote a letter to Gov. Tony Evers stating that their members “share concerns regarding […]
Health care workers scrap old routines, confront new risks
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the country, health care workers find themselves on the front lines. The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus has led hospitals and clinics to upend their routines and made the people who work in them risk their health and their lives. Shifts have been extended and staffers have been […]
Trump labor board passes rule to enshrine results of a ‘rigged election’
Amid a wave nationally of impromptu ‘wildcat’ walkouts by workers calling attention to job hazards as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal agency responsible for enforcing workers’ rights has suspended union elections and, effective Wednesday, published a new rule that advocates say will thwart workers who want to organize a union. The new […]
COVID-19 comes to the bargaining table
As the COVID-19 illness changes everything, Wisconsin unions and employers whose workers they represent have been making changes of their own — or trying to. The results are mixed. They reflect strained labor relations in some workplaces and a culture of collaboration in others. “This stuff is unprecedented,” says Dave Branson, president of the Building […]
Evers urges lawmakers to convene as state readies for surge in patients
As the state braces for an expected surge in COVID-19 patients, Gov. Tony Evers reiterated his call Monday for the state Legislature to return to session, but stopped short of pinning down a date. The state is still preparing for a sharp influx of patients, both those who need acute care and those who have […]
Evers wants all vote-by-mail election, gets GOP rebuff
Gov. Tony Evers called on state lawmakers Friday to pass legislation authorizing absentee ballots to be sent to all voters in the state and converting the April 7 election of state and local offices and the Democratic presidential primary to an all-mail election — but got a swift thumbs down from the top Republican in […]