Hey there, folks. Governor Tony Evers here.
I declared 2024 the Year of the Worker in Wisconsin because I want addressing the workforce challenges that plagued our state for generations to be a top priority.
And the results speak for themselves.
We had historically low unemployment and eight consecutive months of record-high employment.
We also saw record-high enrollment in both our Registered and Youth Apprenticeship programs and launched the state’s first-ever Teacher Apprenticeship Program.
We had a heck of a year in 2024, but just because the Year of the Worker is over doesn’t mean that we’re going to slow down in 2025.
That’s why I put forth a budget that made bold investments to bolster our workforce and ensure Wisconsin’s prosperity can continue into the future.
Unfortunately, while employers are still struggling to find workers and our state continues to see generational workforce shortages, Republican lawmakers gut my budget plans to bolster our workforce in key industries.
Republican members of the state’s budget committee voted to gut:
- Grants to local organizations to address local workforce needs and barriers to work;
- Investments in our state’s Registered Apprenticeship Program and Fast Forward workforce training opportunities, including AI and teaching; and
- Supports to connect workers to jobs, including the highly successful Worker Connection Pilot Program and Youth-to-Registered Apprenticeship supports.
And they gut key plans to support working parents, like providing paid family and medical leave and investing in child care to make it more affordable and accessible.
The most frustrating part for me as governor is that Republicans consistently reject basic, commonsense proposals that can help kids, families, and Wisconsinites across our state.
And they have yet to offer any real or meaningful plans of their own to address the pressing issues facing our state.
>From axing middle-class tax cuts and property tax relief to stripping out investments to clean up our water and feed hungry kids, Republicans gutted over 600 proposals from our budget.
Republicans need to get serious about getting things done.
Thank you.
