Gov. Evers Signs Bills Releasing Long-Awaited Pay Raises for UW System Employees

While these raises for UW building trades employees are based on the collective bargaining agreements between the UW Board of Regents and the Wisconsin State Building Trades Negotiating Committee, they match the four percent increase that was negotiated, agreed upon, and approved by the Wisconsin State Legislature and Gov. Evers for the 35,000 non-represented UW employees in the 2023-25 biennial budget passed in July. Still, the wage increases signed into law by Gov. Evers today were long-delayed as the Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER) refused to authorize the collective bargaining agreements and introduce the legislation necessary for implementation. After nearly six months of Republicans’ unconstitutional obstruction of these increases, JCOER finally approved the wage adjustment for non-represented employees in December 2023 and, at the same meeting, also approved the collective bargaining agreements.

“As one of our state’s largest employers and economic drivers, our UW is critical to the well-being of kids, families, and communities in every corner of our state,” said Gov. Evers. “All our UW faculty, staff, and workers should be treated with dignity and respect. So, while I’m glad these well-deserved pay increases will finally be in the hands of the UW building trades employees who’ve earned them, these workers never should have had their wages held up for political games in the first place. Period.

“Republicans’ obstruction of basic functions of government have harmed tens of thousands of people across our state—folks, that’s wrong,” Gov. Evers continued. “Wisconsinites expect government to work for them, not against them, and for elected officials to do their jobs and get things done. I will continue to fight every effort by Republicans in the Legislature to unconstitutionally and unlawfully obstruct our administration from doing the right thing for Wisconsin.” 

This comes as Gov. Evers filed a lawsuit in October challenging legislative Republicans’ unconstitutional and unlawful obstruction of basic government functions, including blocking pay raises for about 35,000 UW System employees already approved through the biennial budget, repeatedly blocking conservation projects selected under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, and preventing updates to the state’s commercial building standards and ethics standards for licensed professionals. The governor’s lawsuit remains ongoing, and additional information is available here.