MON AM News: Wisconsin sees big uptick in union petitions, following Midwest trend; Five startups chosen for gBETA program

October 28, 2024

— The number of annual union petitions in the state has more than doubled in recent years, suggesting interest in unionization is on the rise even as the share of Wisconsin workers in unions has fallen substantially.

Wisconsin had a total of 47 union petitions filed with the National Labor Relations Board in fiscal year 2024, which ran from Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024. That marked a 114% increase since fiscal year 2021, when 22 petitions were filed. That number was 28 for fiscal year 2022 and 25 for fiscal year 2023.

The increase in Wisconsin is part of a regional trend, the NLRB figures show. Midwest states had a 138% increase in union petitions over the same period, which is the highest percentage increase of any region in the country.

By percentage, Wisconsin is on the low end for these increases: Ohio had a 226% increase; Indiana had a 187% increase; Michigan saw a 160% increase; and Minnesota had a 124% increase. Among nearby states, only Illinois had a smaller percentage change with 95%.

Laura Dresser, a clinical associate professor and associate director for UW-Madison think tank High Road Strategy Center, says this trend supports the notion that U.S. workers are increasingly interested in unions.

In a recent interview, she pointed to public opinion polls showing the popularity of unions is “back to levels not seen since the 1960s,” especially among younger workers. She attributed the increase in petitions to the tight labor market that has persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The number of work stoppages and other sorts of actions that organized workers in union plants are taking are also increasing,” she said. “And also here, this is evidence that more workers want to move into the process to certify a union … That, I think, goes hand-in-hand with this other evidence of workers demanding more of work and finding different ways to do that.”

Stephanie Bloomingdale, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, says the increase in petitions “shows there’s growing demand to be able to negotiate together for a better life” through a union.

“Since Joe Biden took office, new union organizing petitions at the NLRB doubled nationally and in Wisconsin,” she said in a statement. “Yet, labor law remains outdated and too many obstacles remain for workers to get to a first contract.”

Filing a union petition with the NLRB is just the first step toward unionizing, and the process of moving from an election to signing a contract with an employer often results in “a pretty substantial waiting game,” Dresser said. Despite the interest indicated by the rise in petitions, she noted the share of unionized workers in the workforce has actually been declining.

Between 2000 and 2021, the percentage of employed Wisconsinites in unions plummeted from 17.8% to 7.9%, putting the state below the national average of 10.3% for the year. That’s according to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report from 2022 documenting the decline of unions in the state.

Ben Straka, research and government affairs associate for the Washington-based conservative think tank Freedom Foundation, argues the NLRB union petition data “don’t bear out the picture that union leaders and their allies in government would like to paint.” He also noted union membership rates continue to decline.

“What’s arguably more interesting than the total number of filings touted by (President) Biden’s NLRB is the frequency of employee decertification efforts that the current administration has actively made it harder to pursue,” Straka said in an emailed statement. “Over the past eight years, for every three attempts made by unions to organize workers in Wisconsin, there’s been at least one attempt by employees to change or get rid of their union.”

But Dresser says employers are playing an antagonistic role in the unionization process. For worksites with a lot of turnover, she noted “employers tend to know the longer they wait, the more turnover they have in staff, the less momentum and commitment they’ll have from workers” for unionizing.

“The balance is still tipped so heavily against successful unionization,” she said, arguing the state’s “right-to-work” laws make it harder to maintain private sector unions while Act 10 has had a dampening effect on public sector unions. Still, she noted other external factors are playing a role in the trend.

“As specific industries shrink or grow … that impacts unionization as well,” she said. “When we shifted from manufacturing to service, because our labor movement was more concentrated in manufacturing, that brought down the unionization rate.”

While small businesses typically don’t employ union labor, National Federal of Independent Business State Director Bill Smith notes the increase in union organizing “comes at a time when small business uncertainty is at a record high level.” He argues labor union organizing contributes to that uncertainty as small business employers look to plan for the future.

“As small business deals with high uncertainty, persistent inflationary pressures, and 90 percent reporting few or no qualified job applicants, it seems it would be difficult to make a valid case for the need for union representation, at least in the small business workplace,” he said in an emailed statement on the NLRB figures.

In addition to the union petition figures released last week, the NLRB is highlighting a 52% increase in the number of unfair labor practice charges filed with the agency’s regional Midwest offices from fiscal years 2021 to 2024. In Wisconsin, the number of annual charges filed rose from 171 to 281 over that period, an increase of 64%. Dresser says that figure shows “when workers ask for unions, they tend to face resistance from their employers.”

— Five startup companies have been chosen for gener8tor’s gBETA Social Impact Justice Tech program, including several developing AI-based services.

The seven-week accelerator program aims to help participating entrepreneurs gear up for pursuing investment, ending with a showcase event where founders will pitch their companies to a crowd of potential investors and others.

Claudius Taylor, gBETA Social Impact program manager, says each startup “is building solutions that can make a real difference in closing justice gaps, and this program will provide them the resources and mentorship needed to scale their impact.”

Participating companies include:

*FiftyOne AI, which has an “advocacy tool” that leverages AI to analyze legal and social data, supporting advocacy groups in identifying key issues and running related efforts. It’s led by CEO Wa’il Ashshowwaf.

*Driven, which has a digital platform for handling management and payment of traffic fines. It offers custom payment plans, with a goal of reducing the financial burden for those facing fines while helping municipalities with revenue collection. The company is helmed by CEO DeAngelo Smith.

*Untapped Solutions, a company using AI and machine learning to help connect “justice-impacted” people and underserved communities with job opportunities. Its platform can help nonprofits, government agencies and other groups with case management, according to the release. The company’s CEO is Andre Peart.

*CivicSync, which has a market research platform that uses AI to model consumer behavior. The business is led by CEO Moshe Borouchov.

*Layman, which has launched an AI-based legal research platform and is in the process of onboarding new customers. It provides case research tools and other legal help for “everyday users,” simplifying the complexity of legal proceedings. The company’s CEO is Esosa Ohonba.

See the release and see more at Madison Startups.

— State officials are touting the competitiveness of Wisconsin’s individual health insurance markets ahead of the open enrollment period for 2025, which starts Friday.

Residents of “nearly every county” in the state will be able to choose from at least three different health insurance carriers on HealthCare.gov when open enrollment begins Nov. 1, according to a release from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. Fifteen insurers are participating in the state’s individual health insurance market for plan year 2025.

Commissioner Nathan Houdek notes 89% of state residents who enrolled in a plan through HealthCare.gov qualified for extended cost savings provided through the Inflation Reduction Act. The average state resident who qualified for a premium tax credit last year saved $573.11 on monthly premiums, the release shows.

“Wisconsin’s competitive market has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of residents to access high quality health coverage,” Houdek said Friday in a statement.

OCI is also highlighting the impact of the Wisconsin Healthcare Stability Plan, which reimburses insurers for part of high-cost claims they pay. Without the plan in place, rates on HealthCare.gov would have risen by 19.5% for plan year 2025 based on a weighted average, according to the agency. But under the plan, rates will increase by a weighted average of 8.2% for the year.

Open enrollment in Wisconsin runs Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, but the state’s WisCovered site notes residents should sign up by Dec. 15 to get coverage starting Jan. 1.

See the release and see more on the WIHSP.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— COVID-19 activity in Wisconsin has largely been declining over the past two months or so, based on the latest wastewater monitoring figures.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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— Gov. Tony Evers has announced the first round of stewardship grants since the state Supreme Court nixed a process that gave the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee final approval on the deals.

In all, Evers on Friday announced a dozen projects valued at $7.7 million, including just over $1 million for a project in Ashland to redevelop a boat launch on Chequamegon Bay.

In February, the Joint Finance Committee rejected funding the project as GOP members argued the local community should put in more resources before qualifying for the money. Under the original request, stewardship funds were to account for 73% of the project costs with the city covering the rest through a mix of local money, federal COVID-19 aid, and donations and grants.

The guv’s office noted the city had applied for funding three times to help with the project, but the Joint Finance Committee rejected each ask.

“Wisconsin’s tradition of being good stewards of our lands has long been supported through the Stewardship Program, and I’m excited that we’re continuing to build upon our conservation efforts through these 12 projects that will help bolster the accessibility, enjoyment, and preservation of our natural spaces in local communities across our state,” Evers said.

Under the old process, any member of the committee could anonymously object to projects submitted for review, which then triggered a meeting by the full committee for a vote. Evers sued the Legislature, arguing it amounted to a legislative veto.

The court ruled 6-1 in July that the process violated the separation of powers because lawmakers had already approved appropriating the funds and requiring a second approval interfered with the executive branch’s core functions.

Along with the Ashland project, the other big grants announced include:

$1 million to assist Neenah with renovating and reconstructing seawall and shoreline in a park.
$920,000 to help Menasha rework a boat launch.
$766,133 to assist Beloit in completing a riverwalk in the downtown area.
$723,320 to help Burlington with trail and electrical improvements and the development of new gathering spaces at Echo Lake.

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