“With a minimum wage of just $7.25, Wisconsin is part of a shrinking number of states using the federal standard to establish the wage floor,” said Laura Dresser, report author and Associate Director of COWS. “And while many workers have seen raises in recent years, we show that a stronger wage floor would reach hundreds of thousands of workers in the state.”
High Road Strategy Center in the News
Union members march in Milwaukee ahead of 14 months of courting from politicians
Researcher Laura Dresser of the UW-Madison think tank Center On Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), says U.S. unions have both advantages and problems. Dresser says on the plus side, federal spending is starting to fund a lot of projects with union labor.
Despite low unemployment, new report shows Wisconsin’s economy is leaving some workers behind
Most wages didn’t keep up with inflation in 2022, labor force participation among Wisconsin women fell to its lowest levels since the late 1980s and the state’s unionization rate continues to decrease. That’s according to a new report, titled “The State of Working Wisconsin 2023,” from the COWS economic think tank at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The State of Working in Wisconsin in 2023
Wisconsin saw record job growth and low unemployment in 2022, while racial pay inequities eased. At the same time, inflation erased wage gains for many, women fell out of the workforce, and union activity dropped. We explore the State of Working Wisconsin 2023 with one of the report’s co-authors.
COWS report highlights decline in median wage, other labor market trends
Still, COWS Associate Director Laura Dresser notes workers in the state are “seizing the opportunity” presented by the tight labor market to secure better jobs, or higher wages in their current position. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate hit a record-low 2.4 percent earlier this year before ticking up to 2.6 percent in July.
Report has a mixed Labor Day outlook for Wisconsin workers
The State of Working Wisconsin 2023, published by COWS, a Wisconsin research and policy analysis center, paints a mixed picture of conditions for people who work for a living in the Badger State — hopeful and challenging at the same time.
Inflation erases wage growth in Wisconsin, according to COWS report
“It’s especially evident that workers with lower wages have made the strongest gains,” says Laura Dresser, associate director of COWS, in a news release. “Their progress is helping reduce some of Wisconsin’s most troubling inequities.”
Racial gaps in unemployment and wages are shrinking in Wisconsin
“Workers are seizing the opportunity provided by tight labor markets to find better jobs or improve the ones they are staying in,” COWS associate director Laura Dresser said in a press release.
All In: Student Pathways Forward featuring Laura Dresser
In this episode, host Marc Goldberg interviews Tillamook Bay Community College graduate and current college Success Coach and adjunct welding faculty Jude Schlotzhauer, college President Dr. Ross Tomlin and Laura Dresser, associate director at COWS, a research center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsin has seen record-low unemployment for over a year. What does that mean for workers?
Beyond wages, Laura Dresser, associate director of the COWS economic think tank at UW-Madison, said the tight labor market also gives workers more leverage to negotiate with their employers for more flexible hours or to …