Author: Wisconsin Examiner

A GOP-authored proposal to grant unemployment pay to employees who quit their jobs to avoid a COVID-19 vaccine has exactly the wrong end of the stick, a small business lobbying group says. “The best thing that can be done to help address labor shortages and help small businesses is to increase vaccination rates,” according to Main Street Alliance, which issued a statement on the draft legislation. In an unusual move, the office of Governor Tony Evers swiftly announced the his intentions for the proposal should it reach his desk. “@GovEvers will veto this bill,” tweeted spokesperson Britt Cudaback just...

While other hospitality industry operators bemoan that their cupboard is bare when they try to hire workers, the owners of one Milwaukee venue are pursuing a dramatically different approach. Bounce Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Area Service & Hospitality Workers union (MASH) announced an agreement on August 6 that sets the stage for Bounce to reopen in the coming weeks after being closed for 18 months in the COVID-19 pandemic. Bounce’s owners did not simply acquiesce to MASH as a representative for their employees, however — they extended an enthusiastic invitation to the union. “I think unionizing can be a...

As the resurgence of COVID-19 continues, driven by the especially contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, masks are coming back, and vaccine mandates are cropping up. A growing number of employers, primarily in health care and related fields, have announced they will require employees to be vaccinated or subject them to frequent tests for the virus. This week, the Wisconsin Medical Society urged that all health care employers establish a vaccine requirement. Meanwhile, state and local public health officials have begun urging everyone — vaccinated or not — to wear masks in public indoor spaces as a further protection...