Can you donate now to join our fight?

We just launched the Power to Appoint Fund to highlight the important role Dem Govs play to ensure integrity in our country’s judicial process and protect fundamental freedoms. Your support will ensure we can make crucial investments in key states and protect our democracy. Please don’t wait: rush your gift to elect Democratic governors! >>>

Lily Ledbetter Anniversary A Sad Reminder Of Walker's Anti-Middle Class Record

Latest News

Five years ago today, President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, requiring that women receive equal pay for equal work as men. But in Wisconsin, working families might have trouble celebrating the anniversary.
Consistent with his long record of failing the middle class, Governor Scott Walker repealed the state’s pay equity law in 2012.
“Pay equity isn’t just a women’s issue – it’s a family issue and an economic issue,” said Sabrina Singh, Deputy Communications Director for the DGA. “Unfortunately, repealing the state’s equal pay for equal work law is just the tip of the iceberg of Scott Walker’s long record of failing Wisconsin’s middle class. He cut taxes for corporations and wealthy investors and paid for it with a $1.8 billion education cut, all while failing to deliver on his core promise to create 250,000 new private-sector jobs. Wisconsin needs a governor who will fight for equal treatment for women and economic security for all Wisconsinites – that’s what they’ll get in Mary Burke.”
BACKGROUND:
Walker Repealed Equal Pay for Equal Work Law. “Walker repealed the ‘Equal Pay Enforcement Act,’ which was passed in 2009 when Democrats controlled the Legislature. It allowed discriminated workers who have already proven their case to a state agency to then sue their employer in state circuit court for compensatory and punitive damages up to $300,000.” [Associated Press, 5/15/12]
HEADLINE: Wis. Gov. Signs Budget Cutting Education $1.85B. CBS News reported in 2011, “Gov. Scott Walker signed his first budget Sunday, a plan that… slashes funding for public schools and the University of Wisconsin System.” [CBS News,6/26/11]
Budget Extended Tax Breaks to “Corporations and Investors.” CBS reported of the budget, “It also reduces the amount schools can collect from property taxes and other revenue combined, which translates into another education cut of about $800 million. While schools are seeing deep cuts, Walker’s budget extends tax breaks to manufacturers, multistate corporations and investors.” [CBS News, 6/26/11]
PolitiFact: Walker Less Than Half Way to 250K Jobs Promise by End of 2013. The Journal Sentinel/PolitiFact reported in December 2013, “We use a combination of the best-available numbers to measure Walker’s progress on meeting his 250,000 jobs promise. For the first two years of his term the annual reports say the state added 63,672 jobs… That brings the total number of jobs added since he took office to an estimated 104,372, or about 42 percent of the total the governor promised. Put another way, he’s got 145,628 jobs to add with 13 months to go. You can see an updated version of our monthly jobs graphic here.” [Journal Sentinel/PolitiFact, 12/27/13]

###