Statement on the closing of Oscar Mayer in Madison
“At the end of last week, Wisconsin had 9,341 workers affected by mass layoffs and plant closings; add 1,000 more.”
“I am devastated for the hard working men and women of the greater Madison area that have given their professional lives to Oscar Meyer. The effect of this plant closing on the people and economy of Dane County will be felt for years to come. With the loss of 1,000 jobs, both laborer and management, the mass layoff number for Wisconsin this year is abysmal.”
“At the end of last week, Wisconsin had 9,341 workers affected by mass layoffs and plant closings; add 1,000 more. At this pace we may double the number of mass layoffs and plant closings from 2014. These job losses are a direct result of the failed leadership of Governor Walker and the Republican Legislature who have followed him blindly on this road to economic ruin. We will never, ever grow the economy with the failed policies of Governor Walker of cutting wages for workers and giving tax breaks to rich companies and people.”
Note: Mass layoffs in Wisconsin have increased dramatically in 2015 leaving thousands of Wisconsin workers unemployed and looking for work. New data from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development shows that 9,431 Wisconsin workers(not including Oscar Mayer) have been affected by mass layoffs and plant closings so far this year compared to 6,186 in all of 2014.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by State Sen. Jon Erpenbach
The job losses that have occurred since 2010 appear to be in the production area. These are jobs that typically support two service sector jobs in the community like local government, retail, healthcare, education, etc. Following the 07-08 deep recession, Kenosha and Janesville lost two car plants and the Fox Valley at least four paper mills. This is another 50,000 production and related service sector jobs lots. Walker’s Act 10 robbed 15% of public wages and pension payments upon retirement that has killed off another 50,000 small business jobs due to loss in incomes and compounded annually.
Wisconsin is in a downward spiral and contraction with no end in sight. Further proof is Wisconsin leading the nation in drop in annual family wages lost, worst in the nation in business startups, and number one in working age people leaving the state. This is a very ugly trend.
If you would like to discuss off line, I have a job creation solution to this horrid mess. While Republicans hold all the power, it would not likely take any kind of traction.