Unions in Wisconsin are significantly weaker than they were a decade ago and wage growth over the past quarter-century was stagnant, according to a new report from COWS, a policy institute housed at UW-Madison.
Year: 2021
Where Employment, Wages And Unions Stand In Wisconsin
Wisconsin Public Radio’s Central Time interviews Laura Dresser on the new “Working Wisconsin” report, tracking the trends in wages, jobs and organization for the state’s labor force during the last year. We find out about …
Better Wages, Stronger Benefits Key To Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery, UW-Madison Study Finds
“Many of the problems that the State of Working Wisconsin has documented for more than two decades were really exposed and exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and its impact on work,” said Laura Dresser. “The …
Wisconsin’s Labor Movement is Having a Big Moment
UW-Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) released its annual State of Working Wisconsin last week. It showed union membership nationwide has been declining since it peaked in 1964. At that time, 1 in 3 Wisconsinites belonged to …
Will the end of pandemic-related unemployment benefits ease Wisconsin’s worker shortage?
Laura Dresser, associate director of COWS at UW-Madison, is skeptical of claims that characterize enhanced unemployment as a disincentive. Dresser pointed out that the San Francisco Federal Reserve study also found only a small fraction of workers receiving …
Labor unions see opportunity in worker shortage
Laura Dresser, associate director of COWS, blamed public policies for the decline. Dresser pointed out that in neighboring Minnesota, union density was actually higher than the national average, sitting at 15.8%, according to the U.S. …
Enhanced unemployment benefits ending, but workforce challenges expected to persist
“Since the collapse, the question has been ‘when will we get back to normal?’” Laura Dresser, COWS associate director, said in a statement. “But ‘normal’ for low-wage workers has long been unsustainable, leaving too many …
Wisconsin Workers in 2021
Laura Dresser, a labor economist and Associate Director of COWS at UW-Madison, explains its 2021 State of Working Wisconsin report and how jobs and wagers are changing on the Friday, September 3, 2021 broadcast of …
WisBusiness: The Podcast with Laura Dresser
“I think we all need to be thinking about how the Wisconsin economy is going to face labor market tightness just on a pure demographic basis, and how we move to a quality level of …
COWS report highlights wage growth over past 40 years
The annual State of Working Wisconsin report from COWS found the state’s median wage rose from $17.48 per hour in 1979 to $20.24 per hour in 2020, with “strong wage growth” in the past two …