AFSCME Wisconsin Statement on Assembly Speaker Robin Vos & Republican Caucus Proposed COVID Legislation

The COVID-19 legislation proposed by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and the Assembly Republican caucus further endangers the health and safety of Wisconsinites and essential workers. As introduced, the proposal is an utter disgrace to our communities.

Despite Wisconsin’s designation as a COVID-19 hotspot, the proposal forces state employees to return to their physical offices by January 31, 2021 and requires state buildings to fully open to the public. These measures endanger the lives of AFSCME members, our families, and neighbors.

AFSCME Wisconsin President Paul Spink commented, “Robin Vos’s plan guarantees that more public workers will contract COVID-19 and that they will spread it to the people they work so hard to protect. This plan is beyond misguided; it’s actively malicious.”

AFSCME Wisconsin Executive Director Patrick Wycoff stated, “Speaker Vos is willing to gamble with the lives of hardworking Wisconsinites in a brazen attempt to score political points. While essential workers protect our children and show up to staff prisons, mental health facilities and hospitals, the Republican caucus went missing in action. Now they return from a 230-day vacation with legislation that puts essential workers and all citizens in harm’s way.”

Executive Director Wycoff continued, “The latest bill authored by Speaker Vos and his Republican caucus is another example of divide and conquer tactics which pit worker against worker and put the collective health of our state at risk. We call on the Governor to veto this bill in its entirety. We thank the Speaker and Assembly Republicans for reminding us that as much as we want people to do the jobs that they were hired for, or elected to do, it’s safer for everyone if some people just stay home.”

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.