Wisconsin Civil Service Birthday Party

media release: Gathering on the State Street side of the Capitol to call for a stronger Wisconsin Civil Service System. A short program will commence around 5 pm. 

This event is sponsored by the Wisconsin Coalition to Save Civil Service, which includes public sector unions and good government groups. Organizations in the coalition include AFSCME Council 32, American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin, South Central Federation of Labor, Association of Career Employees, Wisconsin Professional Employees Council, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and the NAACP.

In June, 1905, Wisconsin became one of the first states in the nation to implement a Civil Service system at the state level. Instead of using just political appointees, hiring and promotion in state agencies was to be done by merit, as measured objectively. Instead of a "who you know" system of patronage, it was a "what you know" system, to get rid of the Spoils system. In the 1930s, our state employee unions were born to preserve and shore up Civil Service. It's more important than ever today as corporate priorities threaten to overwhelm the public interest inside our agencies.  

We celebrate our Wisconsin Civil Service system each year at this time and point out the ways it needs to be strengthened. One of the worst blows in recent history was Act 150 signed by Gov. Scott Walker in 2016 that abolished the requirement for Civil Service exams, and made other changes. Constant vigilance is required to stop political parties from using state agencies to carry out partisan priorities or bend to corporate pressures, instead of serving the public, fully and fairly. We do not want corruption, we want clean government. That's why we support and celebrate Wisconsin Civil Service at this time of year.

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