State of Working Wisconsin
For more than two decades, the State of Working Wisconsin has presented the workers’ perspective on the Wisconsin economy. The State of Working Wisconsin 2023 provides the most recent data available on wages, jobs, disparities, and unions to build a stronger understanding of what is going on in the state’s labor market.
Featured
Facts from the Frontline
The union manufacturing jobs that once flourished in Milwaukee have since been replaced by low-wage, non-union service jobs, exacerbating racial and economic disparities. Properly addressing the impact of this shift starts with restructuring the city’s service sector.
Worker Power Levels the Playing Field
Strong community benefit agreements are the most certain and robust way for communities to obtain real and lasting returns from large-scale private developments such as the proposed Iron District in Milwaukee.
Playing with Public Money in Milwaukee
Asking for public money for sports stadiums, developers promise economic development, urban renewal, and neighborhood revitalization. Despite the big promises, public investments are often neither transparent nor accountable.
COWS High Road Strategy Center in the News
Union members march in Milwaukee ahead of 14 months of courting from politicians
Researcher Laura Dresser of the UW-Madison think tank Center On Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), says U.S. unions have both advantages and problems. Dresser says on the plus side, federal spending is starting to fund a lot of projects with union labor.
September 26, 2023Despite low unemployment, new report shows Wisconsin’s economy is leaving some workers behind
Most wages didn’t keep up with inflation in 2022, labor force participation among Wisconsin women fell to its lowest levels since the late 1980s and the state’s unionization rate continues to decrease. That’s according to a new report, titled "The State of Working Wisconsin 2023," from the COWS economic think tank at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
September 7, 2023The State of Working in Wisconsin in 2023
Wisconsin saw record job growth and low unemployment in 2022, while racial pay inequities eased. At the same time, inflation erased wage gains for many, women fell out of the workforce, and union activity dropped. We explore the State of Working Wisconsin 2023 with one of the report’s co-authors.
September 7, 2023- More