Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce's "Official Petition to Wisconsin Legislature" Supports Assembly's Budget Version - Surprise!

Our friends at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) presented an official* petition to top legislative leaders on Thursday with much fanfare. The purpose was to oppose the Senate budget proposal which WMC misconstrues as an $18 billion tax hike.

A reading of the petition and the WMC website list of its board of directors reveals the following:

• Nineteen members of the WMC Board of Directors did not sign the petition. That is almost half.
  • Notably absent is William R. Bertha of US Bank and Mark F. Furlong of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation.
    • However M&I is represented by Chilton branch manager, Joan Lechler and the M&I Foundation is represented by its own president, James Wigdale.
  • While Todd Linstroth of Michael, Best & Friedrich, LLP signed on, Nancy J. Sennett of Foley & Lardner, LLP, did not.
  • It was nice to see that Church Mutual Insurance Company, Gunderson Lutheran, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and Humana all took a pass.  But Aspirus Wausau Hospital inked the petition.
  • In terms of companies with old fashioned industrial images, signers included The Boldt Company, J.P. Cullen & Sons, Inc. (That one surprised me.), The Manitowoc Company, Inc., and John Deere Horicon Works.
  • Industrialists that did not sign include ATC, D&S Manufacturing Company, Inc., EVCO Plastics, InSinkErator Division of Emerson Electric Co., Northern States Power, and the Integrys Energy Group of Green Bay. 
  • Alliant Energy's President and CEO did not sign, but four of its executives did.
  • A major retailer who did not sign was Johnsonville Sausage, LLC.
• Other noticeable signings from non-board WMC  members:
  • Clear Channel Communications. They must be begging me to cancel my service.
  • Culver Franchising. That is a disappointment. Other disappointments include:
    • S.C. Johnson
    • Sargento
    • Schoeps Ice Cream
  • Not surprising, on the list, was a division of Nestle`
• Two colleges signed on:
  • The Milwaukee School of Engineering
  • Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland  (represented by Barbara Dodge)
• One municipality endorsed the effort:
  • The city of Oconomowoc, Julie Huebner, identifed as Payroll, but I believe is the HR Coordinator

I assume that some of these absent companies may have signed and WMC did not have their names on the petition at the time of submission. Or perhaps WMC will pressure some of the nonsignatories to sign in order to prove me wrong.

There is no place on the petition that notes that the companies are listed for purposes of identification only. The press release notes that these 'executives' from 1000 businesses employ 125,000 workers.

The Wisconsin Senate should take this petition for what it really is: another in a long series of Republican propaganda pieces. The WMC has little credibility left since it constantly trumpets how Wisconsin has become such a bad place to do business.  (It's really not so bad when you've got the Assembly still firmly in your pocket.)

* def. Characteristic of or befitting a person of authority. 

Comments

[nonheroicvet]

Thanks for helping me decide which shopping opportunities to persue.