Equal Pay for Equal Work Huddle

media release: State workers, their unions and supporters will call for equal pay for equal work, especially justice for limited term employees (LTEs), at a gathering on Thursday, May 9, at 4:30 pm in the Wisconsin Capitol, inside the Rotunda near the bust of Bob La Follette on First Floor. During Public Worker Appreciation Week, state workers are calling for a stop to the misclassification of Limited Term Employees – including “temporary” employees at UW. This event is sponsored by the State Worker Power group.

LTEs currently provide essential staffing for state programs but are paid significantly less than counterpart permanent employees to do the same work. They also have no paid sick leave nor vacation, and a delay to get health insurance. Over 100 LTEs are paid less than $15 an hour.

LTE work is not limited to seasonal tasks, and is widespread among many agencies, in blue collar, technical, professional and scientific job classes, and many work six years in this status or more.

Related problems in state agency staffing include historically high vacancies, decades of wage caps, attacks on the Civil Service system, and over a billion dollars a year in wasteful private consulting contracts.

Workers in LTE status are widely abused, contributing to high turnover, poor morale and erosion in the quality of public services. This is unfair to the people of Wisconsin who deserve quality public services.

SEE OUR EXHIBIT IN THE CAPITOL ROTUNDA NEAR BUST OF FIGHTIN' BOB - IT SHOULD BE UP 5/6 (around noon) and through Friday 5/10.