Scott Walker has rammed destructive, anti-worker policies through the Republican-controlled legislature. The result has been an economy that trails the nation in growth and is dead last in entrepreneurial activity, declining wages, and massive job loss as businesses close and companies move jobs out of the state.

MADISON - President Donald Trump's nominee to head up Department of Labor, Anthony Puzder, has withdrawn his nomination before tomorrow's confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate. While working families across the nation will rejoice at the news of Puzder's withdrawal, they should fear what may lie ahead: Labor Secretary nominee Scott Walker.

"President Trump nominated a multi-millionaire CEO who opposes raising the minimum wage and built his wealth on the backs of the workers at his restaurant chain," Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Brandon Weathersby said on Wednesday. "Gov. Scott Walker's record is even worse as he's built a national profile out of public policy that rewards the wealthy donors who help bankroll his campaigns and punishes the working families across the state."

During his tenure as Governor, Scott Walker has rammed destructive, anti-worker policies through the Republican-controlled legislature. The result has been an economy that trails the nation in growth and is dead last in entrepreneurial activity, declining wages, and massive job loss as businesses close and companies move jobs out of the state.

The facts on Scott Walker's anti-worker policies:

• Scott Walker admitted to Congress that his Act 10 reforms won’t save the state any money. [1]
• Walker’s failed attempts at reform, have had a real, harmful effect on Wisconsin families. [2]
• Thanks to Walker's cap on district revenues, over $1 billion in school district referendums were on the ballot last year. 45 out of 85 referendum questions were simple operational referendums to keep the lights on. [3]
• A Pew Charitable Trust report showed Wisconsin with the largest decline since 2000 in the percentage of families considered “middle class.” [4]
• Wisconsin’s 5.7% decrease in the number of Wisconsin families in the middle class outstripped all other states. [5]
• The median household income in Wisconsin fell 14.7% since 2000, compared to 7.2% nationwide. [6]

BACKGROUND:

[1] “At one point, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) confronted Walker about his crackdown on public employee unions. The congressman referenced a provision Walker signed into law that would require union members to vote every year to continue their membership. Kucinich asked the governor how much money the state would save from the provision. Walker repeatedly dodged the question and eventually admitted that it actually wouldn’t save anything at all.” (Scott Walker Admits Union-Busting Provision ‘Doesn’t Save Any’ Money For The State Of Wisconsin, ThinkProgress, 4/14/11)

[2] Act 10 reduced take-home pay for hundreds of thousands of people employed by schools, communities and the state by an average of nearly $3,000 each. Those cuts take over $700 million-a-year out of the state's economy. (Institute for Wisconsin’s Future, “The Price of Extremism, Wisconsin’s economy under the Walker administration”, December 2011)

[3] "In the first three and a half months of 2016, there were 85 referendum questions on Wisconsin ballots. Those proposed measures totaled nearly $1-billion. 45 of those were for districts to exceed their revenue limit." (Digging Deeper: Funding Our Future, WKOW-TV, 9/8/16)
[4] “If you feel like you’re working harder for less money, it’s not your imagination. Wisconsin ranks worst among the 50 states in terms of a shrinking middle class, with real median household incomes here falling 14.7 percent since 2000, according to a new report. The Pew Charitable Trust report showed Wisconsin with the largest decline in the percentage of families considered ‘middle class,’ or those earning between 67 and 200 percent of their state’s median income.” [Capital Times, 3/24/15]

[5] “In 2000, 54.6 percent of Wisconsin families fell into the middle class category but that has fallen to 48.9 percent in 2013, according to U.S. Census figures compiled by Pew. All other states showed some decline but none as great as Wisconsin’s 5.7 percent figure.” [Capital Times, 3/24/15]

[6] “Also, the median household income in Wisconsin was $60,344 in 2000 but now stands at just $51,467 after adjusting for inflation. That’s a dip of 14.7 percent. Nationally, median household incomes fell from $55,987 to $51,939 over the period, a decline of 7.2 percent.” [Capital Times, 3/24/15]