On Labor Day, Madison city employees are looking for a little wage fairness. We’ll speak with Madison Professional & Supervisory Employees Association President Dan Rolfs and AFSCME Council 32 Representative Neil Rainford.
On Labor Day, we turn now to labor issues here in local government. In 2018, then-mayor Paul Soglin negotiated a collective bargaining agreement with the City of Madison’s Police and Fire unions. The contract granted protective service employees a series of 3% raises over multiple years. Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation, other city employees, barred from collective bargaining under Wisconsin’s notorious Act 10 law, saw their wages stagnate as the City instituted an austerity budget due to uncertain revenues. Now, as federal bailouts and a rebounding economy have put the city back in the black, city employees are seeking wage equity. Joining us now is Dan Rolfs, President of the Madison Professional and Supervisory Employees Association, and a Real Estate Development Specialist in the Department of Planning and Development. Also joining us is AFSCME Council 32 Capital District Staff Representative Neil Rainford.