Wisconsin Business Voice - Summer 2019

REFORM WISCONSIN

EDUCATION VOICE

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

JUDICIAL ADVOCACY

End Taxpayer Funded Lobbying

Work-based Learning

Hiring Former Inmates

Fighting in the Courts

Summer 2019 Issue 33

Will Rural Wisconsin Rebound?

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In This Issue...

Summer 2019 Issue 33

Will Rural Wisconsin Rebound?

PAGE 20 6

F RO M T H E P R E S I D E N T WMC: An Annual Report

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G OV E R N M E N T R E L AT I O N S WMC’s Growing Footprint in Judicial Advocacy

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C R I M I N A L J U ST I C E R E F O R M Tech College Partners With Corrections on Workforce

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LO CA L G OV E R N M E N T Your Tax Dollars are Working Against You

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S M A L L BU S I N E S S S P OT L I G H T J&R Machine

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C OV E R STO RY Will Rural Wisconsin Rebound?

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E D U CAT I O N VO I C E Creating a Workforce That Closes All the Gaps

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C O O L E ST T H I N G M A D E I N W I S C O N S I N Do You Make It?

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W I S C O N S I N P O P U L AT I O N Wisconsin’s Decade-Long Population Shift

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C E O S U RV E Y CEOs Back Trump on Tariffs

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F U T U R E W I S C O N S I N P RO J E C T Town Hall Puts Focus on Rural Wisconsin

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Thinking about the U.S.-imposed and retaliatory tariffs, would you say 12 14 they have had a positive or negative impact on your business?

Population Shift Among Age Groups

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21%

28 Positive

26

32

2010

27%

Unsure

34

Present 18-65 Under-18 65-and-over

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47%

Negative Table of Contents | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019

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WMC Reforms Key to Business Growth

WISCONSIN

President/Publisher Kurt Bauer

Editor Nick Novak

By Nick Novak WMC Senior Director of Communications & Marketing

T

here is no secret about where Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) stands on policy issues. We unapologetically advocate on behalf of the business community, and when needed, we strongly defend the policies we have helped enact.

Our members know this. Lawmakers know this. And reporters know this. That is why our opponents typically have a target on our back. Unfortunately for them, we know the policies we advocate for and defend help grow the economy, create new jobs, raise wages and improve the quality of life for Wisconsinites.

There is no better example of this than looking at what businesses and CEOs outside of Wisconsin think of our economy.

They want to come here. They want to invest in Wisconsin. And they want to provide opportunity for our workforce.

Mark Hogan, the Secretary and CEO of the state’s economic development agency, made this clear in a recent speech to the Milwaukee Rotary Club.

Why do businesses want to move to Wisconsin and create new jobs here instead of other states? One slide in his presentation summed it up: Right to Work, Prevailing Wage Reform and the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit (MAC).

These policies – all signature reforms enacted thanks to our efforts at WMC – are what open the door for economic growth in Wisconsin. Not only do these policies keep great Wisconsin companies here, they are the first step in attracting new businesses to the state.

Before anything else is discussed, site

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Summer 2019

Art Direction/Production Kyle Pankow

Contributing Writers Kurt R. Bauer, Nick Novak, Scott Manley, Chris Reader, Vicki Martin, Cory Fish, Lane Ruhland, Brittany Rockwell, Rob Fleming, Stephanie Borowski, David Egan-Robertson, Chandler Swansen, Adam Jordahl, Mary Claire Olson Potter

Advertising Sales Nick Novak, nnovak@wmc.org

selectors look to policies like Right to Work and the MAC. During his speech, Hogan said, “If you’re not Right to Work, you don’t get the opportunities.” In a not so humble statement, I’d add that without WMC, Wisconsin wouldn’t have Right to Work.

We are on the front lines fighting for Wisconsin businesses. Since 1911, when our founding members stood up to policymakers who wanted to implement the first state-based income tax, to 2015 when we made Wisconsin the 25th Right to Work state and, now, as we staunchly defend the MAC against attacks from the governor and legislative Democrats, WMC has always been on the side of the business community.

We can’t do this alone though. Our members drive our policy agenda. Our members are key to keeping Wisconsin on the right track. And our members are the ones who deserve the credit for growing our economy.

All of you stand shoulder to shoulder in an unparalleled force, and we are grateful for your commitment to making Wisconsin the best place to live, work and play. n

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | From the Editor

Wisconsin Business Voice is published quarterly by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. WMC is Wisconsin’s chamber of commerce, manufacturers’ association, and safety council representing businesses of all sizes and from every sector of the economy.

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WMC: An Annual Report

By Kurt Bauer WMC President & CEO

W

MC doesn’t publish a written annual report the way many public corporations do. To some extent, this quarterly magazine serves a similar purpose. Via columns, articles and coverage of events, Wisconsin Business Voice summarizes what the various moving parts of WMC, Inc. have accomplished during the preceding three months prior to publication, and what we are working on in the short- and long-term.

In that regard, this magazine is an important accountability mechanism for our members. As such, I will take a break from writing about a public policy issue, and instead present an abbreviated annual report of WMC, Inc. First off, WMC is a hybrid organization. We were founded as the Wisconsin Manufacturers’ Association (WMA) in 1911 at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. In the 1970s, WMA merged with the Wisconsin State Chamber of Commerce, which was founded in the 1920s. About the same time, Wisconsin Safety Council (WSC) also merged with WMA to create the modern Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business association (more on WSC later).

WMC’s official mission statement is to make Wisconsin the most competitive state for business in the U.S. Our unofficial mission is to solve Wisconsin’s economic challenges and help employers succeed.

If you think of us like a business, then our most important product is advoca-

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Summer 2019

cy. No other business association has as many registered lobbyists (six), and WMC has invested more resources to lobbying the legislature and state agencies on behalf of our members than any other organization in Wisconsin the last four years running, according to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

WMC also engages its two in-house attorneys to challenge government agencies when they fail to follow the

By any measure, WMC, Inc. is currently in a very strong financial position. law, legislative intent or established legal precedent (see Scott Manley’s column on page 8 for more details). Further, WMC is the only business group in Wisconsin with a lobbyist dedicated exclusively to environmental issues, which is an increasingly important policy area – particularly on permitting.

Through our Issues Mobilization Council (IMC), WMC has raised and spent nearly $13 million since 2016 to educate the public on the importance of public policy, including positions elected officials take on issues important to the business community. WMC also raised $454,000 for our political action committee (PAC) and conduit funds between 2016 and 2018. That is about $100,000 more than WMC raised in the six years prior to that period. By

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | From the President

the way, no dues dollars are used for IMC, the PAC or conduit. Those funds are raised separately.

WMC Foundation is our affiliate for education and research. Wisconsin Business World, which teaches high school students about business and economic literacy, is a signature WMC Foundation program. Established in the early 1980s, Business World conducts two multi-day summer camps held at St. Norbert College in De Pere and UW-Madison. During the school year, Business World holds one-day “mini” programs, usually at a local high school or technical college. During the 2018-19 academic year, Business World held 23 such programs – a new record – reaching more than 2,300 young people, also a new record. Business World is 100 percent funded by member donations.

If you believe it is important to expose young people to the free enterprise system at a time when polls show millennials are embracing socialism over capitalism, I encourage you to visit www.wisbusinessworld.org to learn more about this unique program.

The Future Wisconsin Project is another WMC Foundation program. It was created in 2014 to bring diverse stakeholders together in order to identify and address Wisconsin’s long-term economic challenges and opportunities.

This past spring, Future Wisconsin issued a report on Wisconsin’s workforce competitiveness, which outlines strengths and weaknesses, as well as highlights national best practices to

help Wisconsin businesses address workforce pipeline and quality challenges. You can view the report and learn more about Future Wisconsin, including our annual Town Hall and Summit, at www.futurewi.org.

WMC also has a for-profit Service Corporation that has provided a full line of competitively priced insurance products to the business community since the 1950s. Last fall, WMC created an Association Health Plan to help smalland medium-sized businesses offer their employees affordable coverage.

Beyond health, the Service Corporation also offers dental, vision, property and casualty, life and disability and many other products. To learn more, visit www.wmcinsurance.org.

Now, as promised, back to Wisconsin Safety Council, which is a chapter of the National Safety Council (NSC). Last year, WSC received two recognitions for excellence from NSC, including the Honor Chapter designation and the Most Improved Chapter, which is awarded based on the number of training programs held, attendance and overall financial performance. WSC is Wisconsin’s number one provider of safety training, and also hosts one of the largest safety and health conferences in the nation. The most recent event, held in April, attracted 1,972 at-

tendees and had 206 exhibitor booths.

You can learn about WSC programs, including our customized on-site training offerings, at www.wisafetycouncil.org.

In addition to working with the Washington-based National Association of Manufacturers, WMC is part of the “chamber federation.” We work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and in turn, WMC operates the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce Executives (WCCE), which provides professional development to Wisconsin’s local chambers of commerce professionals.

Through print and electronic publications like the one you are reading, WMC offers a perspective on news and opinion neglected or completely ignored by other media outlets. For example, our Capitol Watch e-newsletter keeps business leaders up-to-date on governmental actions and political developments that affect Wisconsin’s business climate. Morning Digest summarizes state, national and global business news. WMC’s lobbyists also publish Policy Updates on tax, energy, regulation, human resources, the environment and other timely issues. And our video productions, like the Two Minute Drill, are a great way to inform, and perhaps even entertain.

WMC does all of the above with a relatively small, but growing staff of

around 35.

All aspects of WMC undergo an annual independent financial audit that is overseen by the WMC Board of Directors’ Audit and Finance Committee.

The most recent one, conducted in the spring, gave WMC, Inc. a clean bill of health.

Audited financials also show that between 2015 and 2018 net revenue for WMC, Inc. grew 14 percent. During the same period, net income grew an impressive 863 percent, net fund balances grew 92 percent, while liabilities dropped 24 percent. I am proud of that performance, especially when you consider WMC repaid a million dollar-plus remodeling loan early, and fully funded and sold a legacy staff pension plan during this same time-period.

WMC also exceeded our budgeted new member goal in 2018, and our membership retention rate is above average compared to peer organizations.

Not to mention that attendance at WMC, Inc. events (WMC, WMC Foundation and WSC) increased from 2017 to 2018.

By any measure, WMC, Inc. is currently in a very strong financial position.

As you can see, WMC, Inc. is a complex organization with many moving parts all working together to make Wisconsin businesses stronger, safer and more competitive. n

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Summer 2019

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WMC’s Growing Footprint in Judicial Advocacy

By Scott Manley WMC Senior Vice President of Government Relations

S

ince our formation in 1911, WMC has been well-known for its policy advocacy before the Legislative and Executive branches of government.

At the very first meeting of the Wisconsin Manufacturer’s Association in January of 1911, Chairman Paul Carpenter of the Falk Company asserted that “one of the most important duties of the new association will be to support constructive, conservative legislation and to defend the citizens of Wisconsin against radical and harmful legislation.”

Thus was born WMC’s lobbying mission, which has consistently outranked all other lobbying organizations in both the volume and breadth of lobbying activity.

At a later meeting of the board of directors during WMC’s inaugural year, the importance of keeping a close eye on the Executive Branch was discussed. Edward Barrett, president of Port Washington furniture manufacturer Wisconsin Chair Company, “suggested the association watch the administration of existing laws, and cited a wrong done his company by one of the factory inspectors employed by the Wisconsin Industrial Commission.”

For over 100 years, WMC has advocated the business community’s point of view on legislative policy, and has worked diligently to hold Executive Branch agencies accountable. These efforts continue to be at the forefront of WMC’s lobbying efforts. However, circumstances have dictated that WMC increase its advocacy efforts in another area: the Judicial Branch of government.

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Summer 2019

Advocacy in and before the courts is nothing new to WMC – we have been involved in litigation and judicial advocacy since our inception. In fact, WMC supported a legal challenge to the income tax when it was first enacted back in 1911.

Over the years, WMC has been involved in a wide variety of litigation, including considerable effort spent in court defending the Constitutional right to corporate free speech. We have won many favorable precedents in this area, as well as important victories related to taxation, tort liability and employment regulation.

However, WMC’s past judicial advocacy has largely been reactionary – primarily being done on an ad hoc basis when a case that could significantly impact businesses presented itself.

That approach has changed.

WMC’s judicial advocacy is now much more focused and strategic, with a primary emphasis on holding government accountable to the law.

Because Republicans have held strong majorities in both houses of the Legislature for nearly a decade, special interest groups representing labor unions, trial lawyers and radical environmentalists have been unable to advance their agenda through the legislative process. Instead, they have been utilizing activist judges to pursue their preferred policies via the judiciary.

Liberal special interests have used lawsuits as a weapon in our court system to overturn environmental permits for businesses, overturn pro-growth

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Government Relations

reforms like Right to Work and establish new theories of legal liability for which businesses can be sued.

These lawsuits are a threat to the competitiveness of Wisconsin’s business climate, which is why WMC’s efforts to fight back against them is so critically important. Just as businesses needed a voice when their interests were under attack in the legislature back in 1911, so too do businesses need a voice in the judiciary at a time when activists are abusing our court system to undermine the law.

Our longstanding goal of holding government accountable to the law is another reason for WMC to be involved in courtroom advocacy. Decades of free market legislative reforms will be of little use if executive branch agencies either ignore or actively thwart the law.

Government agencies must be held to account, and WMC is uniquely positioned to fight on behalf of businesses when government exceeds the boundaries of the law.

And that’s precisely what we are doing.

Following are examples of the cases in which WMC has used advocacy in the Judicial Branch to further the interests of our members, and protect the competitiveness of our business climate: • Wisconsin Property Tax Consultants v. DOR: WMC filed a lawsuit against the Department of Revenue (DOR) challenging DOR’s decision to unlawfully deny Wisconsin manufacturers a recently-enacted personal proper-

ty tax exemption for machinery. We are currently awaiting a briefing schedule in circuit court for this case.

• League of Women Voters v.

Knudson: A Dane County judge overturned all of the pro-growth reforms enacted in the December 2018 Extraordinary Session – including those that make it easier to hold unelected bureaucrats accountable to the law.

WMC filed a brief asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take this case on appeal, and filed a brief with the Court on the merits in May. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Dane County judge.

• Foxconn Water Permit: An environmental group challenged the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) permit that allows the City of Racine to supply water to the Village of Mount Pleasant for the Foxconn LCD display manufacturing campus. WMC petitioned to become a party to the permit challenge, and submitted a brief explaining why the DNR permit should be upheld. The judge in this case recently ruled in our favor by reaffirming the water diversion permit.

• Enbridge Energy v. Dane County: The legislature passed a law prohibiting local governments from setting certain requirements on oil and gas pipelines that would block development of fossil fuel infrastructure. Dane County passed an ordinance violating the state law in an attempt to hamper an infrastructure project, and WMC filed a brief with the Supreme Court asking for the unlawful ordinance conditions to be overturned.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Enbridge, finding Dane County violated the law.

• Tetra Tech v. DOR: This case raised the question of whether courts should give deference to state agencies’ interpretation of the law in legal disputes.

Giving agencies deference places them at a tremendous advantage when a business or individual challenges their decision-making. WMC filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that giving agencies deference raises significant constitutional due process concerns because doing so tilts the scales of

justice in favor of the government, thus denying businesses and individuals a fair and unbiased review in court. The Supreme Court agreed, and ruled that giving agencies deference in legal disputes is unconstitutional.

• Papa v. DHS: This case raises the question of whether an agency can subvert the legal requirement to go through the rulemaking process when issuing new regulations by simply adding new legal requirements to a policy manual or so-called “guidance document.” Avoiding the rulemaking process is troubling to the regulated community because that process provides many safeguards, including review and approval by the governor, public hearing and comment opportunities and legislative review. Agencies increasingly regulate outside the rulemaking process, thereby robbing citizens of their right to be governed by consent. WMC filed a brief with the Court of Appeals asking that certain Department of Health Services (DHS) regulations be struck down because they were not promulgated as rules following the statutorily-defined rulemaking process. We are awaiting a decision in this case.

• Clean Wisconsin v. DNR: An environmental group challenged nearly a dozen high capacity well permits issued by the DNR in an attempt to block economic activity they disliked. WMC intervened in the case via the Great Lakes Legal Foundation, and submitted briefs explaining that agencies like the DNR may only regulate with as much authority as the legislature has given them – they cannot invent their own authority to regulate. The case is currently pending before the state Supreme Court, and will be important in terms of defining the limits of agency regulatory authority.

• Machinist Lodge 1061 v.

Wisconsin: This case involves a labor union challenge to Wisconsin’s Right to Work law. The union claimed the law is unconstitutional because it deprives them of their property right to dues payment from workers. WMC filed a brief supporting the Right to Work law, which was ultimately upheld by the Court of Appeals.

Mayo v. Injured Patients & Families Compensation Fund: The Court of Appeals ruled in this case that Wisconsin’s cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases was unconstitutional. That decision significantly expanded tort liability, and threatened to increase the cost of healthcare in Wisconsin. WMC filed a brief in the Wisconsin Supreme Court making the case for the constitutionality of our medical malpractice caps. The Court agreed, and upheld the caps as constitutional.

• Wisconsin Bell v. LIRC: WMC filed a brief asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn a decision that greatly expanded employer liability in workplace disability discrimination cases involving a discharged employee. The lower court decision was not based in law, and would have established Wisconsin as an outlier for disability discrimination claims. The Supreme Court agreed with WMC’s position, and overturned the lower court’s decision.

These are just a sampling of recent cases in which WMC has engaged in advocacy on behalf of our members.

The need for the business community to participate in courtroom advocacy is growing rapidly, especially now that we have an Executive Branch that disagrees with many of our past reforms.

To meet this new challenge, WMC has added attorneys Corydon Fish and Lane Ruhland to our advocacy team. Having two in-house attorneys demonstrates the seriousness of our commitment to holding government accountable to the law. Cory and Lane are already making a positive impact for the business community with favorable outcomes in legal cases, and they will continue to do so.

One-hundred and eight years ago, our founders recognized the need to influence policymaking in the Legislative and Executive Branches of government.

Today, we are building upon that vision by aggressively defending business interests in the Judicial Branch as well. n

Government Relations | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019

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Working with Former Inmates

By Chris Reader WMC Director of Health & Human Resources Policy

W

ith record levels of employment in Wisconsin, employers everywhere and in all industries continue to struggle to find enough workers. There is no room for error today. Employers have to make every hire count, and they have to look in places that perhaps were overlooked in the past to find quality talent.

One such overlooked population is the Wisconsin prison system. With 23,482 inmates at the end of May, 95 percent of whom will be released one day, this is a population that employers should not ignore. If the number of inmates housed in the prison system is compared to Wisconsin municipalities, it would be on par with cities like De Pere, Mequon and Watertown.

Recently, I had the opportunity to tour Fox Lake Correctional Institution, a medium-security facility that houses over 1,300 inmates daily. Warden Randall Hepp was gracious to show me the workplace training that inmates currently have available to them. I was surprised at the high level of career and technical education programs currently available.

With the backing of the local technical college, inmates have the opportunity to learn several different technical skill sets while serving their time at Fox Lake, such as automotive technician, masonry, millwork, computer drafting, machine tool operator, outdoor power products technician and production welding. One comment I made to the warden during the tour was that each

of the training areas was top-line and could have been lifted from any shop floor in the state. They were state-ofthe-art areas teaching real world skills.

That said, I was disappointed because there didn’t seem to be a strong connection between the training inmates receive and job placement upon release. There wasn’t a connection between the training and the state apprenticeship program. There wasn’t a real-world connection to employers and future job prospects. That’s not to fault the institution, or the corrections system, or employers, it’s simply recognizing the current reality – a reality that frankly is logical.

It’s hard for lawmakers to take a serious look at investing state tax dollars at helping inmates when there are so many other priorities that need funding.

It’s hard for employers to look at inmates, people with serious criminal records, as a talent pool, especially when there is uncertainty on if and when a particular individual will be released, not to mention the uncertainty on where the person will be released.

Yet, for employers looking for talent, for inmates who have a greater chance of success after prison if they have a good job, for policymakers looking to reduce recidivism and the overall population of the costly correctional institution, focusing on improving career and technical education programs within the correctional system is exactly where a stronger state focus is needed.

This is not to say there haven’t been

efforts. Certainly some employers have partnered with local correctional institutions to help with inmate training. The Wisconsin Technical College System is also working with correctional institutions to provide curriculum and select training for inmates. Likewise groups like Koch Industries and SHRM are encouraging employers to offer second chances to individuals coming out of the prison system.

But more needs to be done to break down the silos and ensure that there are opportunities for inmates to succeed upon release. WMC is currently meeting with stakeholders to determine how we can best enter this policy debate and influence positive outcomes.

The best defense from recidivism is a good-paying job. A good-paying job comes from the combination of the state making quality job training available, inmates willing to take on those opportunities and employers willing to give second chances.

As Warden Hepp preaches, every decision his inmates make has an impact today, tomorrow, and years down the road. That also applies to the decision policymakers make about improving training for inmates, or the decision employers make about helping inmates get ready to succeed upon release. n To learn more about how one Wisconsin technical college is working to train inmates for the workforce, read the article on the next page from MATC President Dr. Vicki Martin.

Human Resources Policy | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 11

Tech College Partners With Corrections on Workforce

By Vicki J. Martin, Ph.D. President, Milwaukee Area Technical College

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hen Washington County manufacturer Custom Equipment LLC needed to find skilled talent in this hypercompetitive, low-unemployment labor market, the Richfield firm joined a growing number of companies turning to a largely untapped source of talent: inmates preparing to leave prison and reenter the general population.

The company partnered with Milwaukee Area Technical College and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) to find employees they need.

“We need to very much be a participant in the community,” Company President Terry Dolan told the Wall Street Journal in May. Facing a need to ramp up its workforce as it competes with larger employers, Custom Equipment, which builds the Hy-Brid Lifts brand of scissor lifts, now employs three soonto-be released inmates. Dolan attended the graduation ceremony for the three marking the end of their certificate program at MATC. MATC is able to offer this opportunity in part because it is one of fewer than 70 higher educational institutions nationwide – and the only one in Wisconsin – currently authorized to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Second Chance Pell pilot program. The pilot allows individuals who are currently incarcerated to access financial aid that can cover the cost of their postsecondary education and training.

Through Second Chance Pell and previous MATC-DOC partnerships,

12 Summer 2019

more than 100 formerly incarcerated individuals have earned MATC Computer Numerical Control (CNC) training certificates and 18 are in the process of earning a welding credential; 292 have participated in a newer two-year associate degree program through technology-based, distance learning with 11 Wisconsin DOC adult institutions. The college also works with the Milwaukee County House of Corrections in Franklin directly and through a contract with the nonprofit agency UMOS. MATC provides GED, CNC, office technician and OSHA safety training to inmates and recently released individuals. More than two dozen students have completed these programs and additional inmates are starting courses this summer.

Some students have participated in multiple programs, and many returned to MATC to continue their education after their release.

MATC’s experience shows success: • The average course completion rate for courses within the associate degree distance learning program stands above 80 percent.

• More than 90 percent of the inmates who finished CNC training between April 2015 and December 2017 and were released found employment.

• The first students to participate in the welding certificate opportunity, in fall 2018, earned an average GPA of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) and 86 percent of the students who continued on to earn a technical diploma are already working before their release.

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Criminal Justice Reform

• All students in the first group of CNC trainees at the Milwaukee County House of Corrections are working in the field.

• The college’s results mirror those from national surveys, which point to an impact beyond businesses and the individuals themselves.

A 2013 national RAND Corporation study found that inmates who participate in postsecondary correctional education were 13 percent more likely to gain employment after release. The same report found that postsecondary program participants were 43 percent less likely to commit another crime than those who did not participate in the program, reducing future criminal justice system costs and increasing public safety in the community.

With these powerful results in mind, Dr. Sadique Isahaku, dean of MATC’s School of Liberal Arts and Sciences joined MATC CNC graduate Mike Williams -- who landed a job at SnapOn Tools after his release -- and staff from the Vera Institute of Justice to visit Washington, D.C. in April. The team shared the college’s experience with representatives from the offices of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman and the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. A month after their presentations, the Department of Education announced it would expand the Second Chance Pell pilot to provide more colleges and individuals with access to financial aid

From left to right: Mike Williams; Terrell Blount, program associate, Vera Institute of Justice; Dr. Sadique Isahaku, Dean, MATC School of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Samantha Baker, Legislative Assistant, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06); Micah Haskell-Hoehl, senior government affairs associate, Vera Institute of Justice

while incarcerated, a move the Vera Institute estimates could reduce incarceration costs in Wisconsin by $5.2 million each year.

This is news worth celebrating. As MATC’s experience shows and national data confirms, quality postsecondary and technical training can narrow the skills gap, help individuals find a new, more positive path in life and help our state as a whole reduce the costs of incarceration and challenges of recidivism.

As businesses, your participation is at the center of this work. If you are interested in a partnership, I look forward to collaborating with you. n

Mike Williams works in a surface grinding class at the college’s Downtown Milwaukee Campus

For more information, please contact Dr. Vicki Martin at 414-297-6322.

L to R: Brian Walsh, Sr. Program Associate, Vera Institute of Justice; Dr. Sadique Isahaku, Dean, MATC School of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Brian Moulton, Senior Counsel, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.); and Mike Williams

Dr. Sadique Isahaku, Dean, MATC School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Mike Williams during their visit to Washington, D.C. to share the success of MATC’s efforts with Second Chance Pell

Criminal Justice Reform | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 13

Your Tax Dollars are Working Against You

By Cory Fish WMC General Counsel and Director of Tax, Transportation & Legal Affairs

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hile you head off to work today to earn your paycheck, your tax dollars are also at work – against you. Local governments are spending your tax dollars lobbying to eliminate property tax caps, create new local taxes and fees, and gain

14 Summer 2019

more authority to regulate the lives and property of the residents who live in their communities. All of these policies would make it more expensive to live, work and own a home in Wisconsin.

By the most conservative measure, governmental entities spent over $5

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Local Government

million in tax dollars lobbying the state legislature during the 2017-18 legislative session. The two largest taxpayer-funded lobbying entities – the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and the Wisconsin Counties Association – spent over $1.5 million last session,

more than any privately funded company or group.

Five million in tax dollars is a significant underestimate, as it only captures the amount spent directly lobbying legislators in Madison. Local governments employ a wide variety of other tools to influence lawmakers including non-binding referenda (remember the

dozens of marijuana referenda in the fall of 2018) and political ad campaigns (including ads encouraging lawmakers to raise property taxes), all financed with your tax dollars.

This level of spending begs the question: why do local governments need lobbyists in the first place? Municipalities already have thousands of effective advocates in their own elected officials.

Taxpayers elect and compensate these local officials with the expectation that they will represent their constituents’ interests. When local officials hire contract lobbyists or third-party associations, they outsource to private groups their duty to represent their constituents. This outsourcing not only drives up costs and decreases transparency, but is also unnecessary and inefficient, as local officials already have sufficient access to state legislators.

In fact, local officials have access to legislators that most lobbyists and private citizens could only dream about.

State legislators regularly attend local government meetings, they proactively reach out on issues that may impact their local elected officials and many local officials have their legislators on speed dial. The real value for local officials in funding third-party associations and contract lobbyists is the lack of transparency.

Local governments can – and do – use taxpayer dollars to fund a third-party association or contract lobbyist to advocate for public policy directly contrary to the interests of their own taxpayers. These associations and contract lobbyists are private entities not accountable to voters. Shifting advocacy efforts to these private groups allows local officials to indirectly advocate for unpopular policies like tax increases that harm their constituents while protecting themselves from voter backlash and avoiding transparency rules like public meetings and open records laws.

The state legislature should ban

the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for contract lobbyists and third-party associations that lobby. Further, the legislature should prohibit local governments from spending taxpayer dollars on political campaign ads. Since local governments already have thousands of elected and appointed officials with significant access to legislators and other state officials, this ban would not reduce local governments’ ability to address state-level issues. The ban also would not stop local governments from joining third-party associations that provide vital services like the promotion of best practices and trainings. It would only prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars being spent on lobbying. Instead, this ban would increase the transparency and accountability of local officials when they lobby the state government.

Any prohibition would not be an infringement upon our inalienable right to free speech. Only people have rights.

Unlike people, governments have powers, not rights. Therefore local governments do not have an inherent right to spend your tax dollars on Madison lobbyists.

If municipalities have problems they would like the state legislature to address, local officials already have the relationships and funding needed to access their state representatives, without paying millions to professional lobbyists. It is wrong that local governments can spend your tax dollars on lobbyists in Madison pushing for higher taxes and more regulatory authority while evading accountability. Money currently being “donated” to anti-business political ad campaigns, spent on private lobbying contracts, or given as membership dues to third-party associations that lobby could be used to provide tax relief or better spent on improving roads, education, law enforcement and public safety in local communities. n

Local Government | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 15

Following the Rules on Rulemaking

By Lane Ruhland WMC Director of Environmental & Energy Policy

W

isconsin has made tremendous progress on improving the regulatory climate in the last decade. No small part of this improvement is due to 2017 Wisconsin Act 57, otherwise known as the “REINS” Act. However, the impact of good policy is only as good as its implementation, which has been lacking.

The REINS Act provided additional accountability, transparency and necessary legislative oversight at various times during the rulemaking process.

Perhaps most importantly, it significantly overhauled an agency’s requirements in drafting Economic Impact Analyses (EIA)s. The Act requires an agency to determine whether a proposed rule has $10 million or more in compliance costs over a two-year period.

If the agency makes this finding, the agency is prevented from promulgating a rule absent authorizing legislation or a modification of the rule to bring down compliance costs. Further, the Act allows the Joint Committee on the Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR), the legislative body tasked with the oversight of administrative rulemaking, to call for the preparation of an independent EIA. Under Chapter 227, Agencies are required to complete an EIA for each proposed administrative rule. The purpose of the EIA is to present policymakers, the public and the regulated community with the real potential economic impact and societal benefit of each proposed regulation.

16 Summer 2019

Often, the regulated community’s only opportunity to weigh in on an EIA is after the agency has drafted a rule and prepared the EIA. Absent significant stakeholder input prior to rule drafting, many EIAs often fail to adequately address the $10 million compliance threshold.

In fact, some agencies still use out-of-date forms that do not require the additional REINS Act analysis.

Current EIA forms require the agency to estimate the implementation and compliance cost to business and also requires an agency to check a box determining whether the proposed rule results hits the $10 million over two-year threshold. Often the ultimate “compliance cost” finding is simply a net cost across all affected entities.

In their analyses, agencies will lump together widely different industries with vastly different environmental requirements and balance their associated costs with another industry’s potential cost avoidance, which they label as “cost savings”. This does not accurately reflect the true compliance cost of regulation. For example, municipal wastewater treatment facilities seeing a positive economic impact from a proposed regulation, does not negate the compliance costs of private industry. The purpose of the cost benefit analysis should not be balancing “cost savings” with compliance costs. It should be to balance the true compliance costs with the actual societal benefit derived from the additional cost,

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Regulatory Reform

i.e., the amount of reduction in water pollution.

What is especially problematic here, is that often agencies will portray the new regulation as simply codifying their existing practice, or explaining that participation is voluntary and therefore there are no compliance costs. Anyone who is subject to permitting knows that often “voluntary” programs are the only economically viable option, and are not voluntary at all. Further, compliance costs of the proposed rule should not be compared to long standing agency policy, it should be compared to the previous administrative rule. An agency should not be allowed to establish a policy outside of rulemaking that could have significant compliance cost, and then later simply adopt that policy and claim that there is no economic impact because they are just “codifying longstanding practice.”

There are a number of regulations in the pipeline in the environmental realm that could result in compliance costs for one entity which greatly exceed the $10 million threshold. WMC is making a concerted effort to review EIAs and comment on their adherence to state law to ensure that policymakers and the public are fully informed of the potential cost and benefit of any new regulation.

It is critical that the legislature participates in this process as well and reviews each EIA for compliance with state law. Again, regulatory reform is only as good as its implementation. n

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| wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 17

Small Business Spotlight

Company Profile Company Name: J&R Machine Location: Shawano Founded: 1992 Website: www.jrmachine.com CEO: Tim Tumanic Number of Employees: 36

18 Summer 2019

What is J&R Machine?

J&R Machine is a contract manufacturer producing complex CNC machined parts. The company offers a broad range of capabilities, including prototyping, engineering, CNC machining, thread rolling, fabrication, assembly as well as many secondary value-added services. J&R has been ISO certified since 2002 and is currently at the up-to-date 2015 standard. J&R Machine provides turnkey manufacturing and project management to some of the biggest names in the oil and gas, renewable energy, defense, fire protection, medical technology, hydraulics, heavy equipment and auto racing industries. Diversification is always the target of new business development, keeping the company strong during down cycles of offsetting markets.

from 2004 to 2010, J&R went through a reorganization to point the company in a sustainable and profitable direction.

Much of the commodity work done before the reorganization was being lost to offshore manufacturing, so higher-value work needed to be our new target. The new focus was defined as “becoming an OEM servicing company that just happens to be a manufacturing facility.� J&R evolved into a onestop-shop for purchasing departments inside major OEMs. To this day, we are still building on that foundation and the direction set forth by the reorganization. J&R has invested heavily throughout its reorganization and most recently expanded the facility by close to 50 percent, adding new machinery at a combined value of over $4 million.

Can you expand on the background of the company?

What have you done recently that has had a positive impact on your business?

When I founded the company in 1992, we started out as a manufacturer of simple pins and bushings. When economic slowdowns hit the company, J&R struggled to stay profitable. There was plenty of work, just not the right kind, and we got extremely close to closing our doors for good. That is how bad it got. We put a plan in place, and

J&R’s continuous improvement policy, which encompasses multiple tracking, guidance and real time adjustment programs, has had a positive impact.

One example of this is the software in place on all our CNC machines called DMG Mori Messenger. This system gives real-time feedback on the CNC machines state of operation: currently

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Small Business Spotlight

running, idle or in process of being set up. This system has been put in place to give comprehensive feedback that helps J&R make extremely informed choices on machines and their purchased options. It provides a baseline for future machine purchases to further enhance up-time, efficiencies and productivity.

What has been an obstacle faced at J&R Machine?

The cultural transformation at J&R had to be the biggest challenge. Getting everyone on the same page was tough, especially coinciding with the changes set forth for reorganization.

Several personnel changes happened during this period, with countless hours of acquisition and onboarding of new employees. J&R began targeting younger employees for hire with soft skills like communication, strong work ethic and thirst for knowledge. This is where J&R’s involvement and investment in the local high schools’ Tech Education programs proved fruitful.

The partnership with the Shawano and Bonduel High Schools allows J&R to give back to the community, while helping develop potential new employees simultaneously. n

Fun Facts: • J&R Machine received the 2018 Award of Distinction in the Small Category from the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce and was presented with the 2018 Manufacturer of the Year Award in the Small Category from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC).

• Parker Tumanic, now 32, started doing odd jobs in the shop at just 13 years of age! Parker now holds an important role as Vice President and is a key player in the success of the company, overlapping many positions including engineering, operations, CNC programming, quotation and perishable supply management.

Upcoming Small Business Committee Meetings: Wednesday, October 9

Wednesday, December 11

For more information on WMC’s Small Business Committee, contact Brittany Rockwell at brockwell@wmc.org or 608.258.3400.

Small Business Spotlight | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 19

Will Rural Wisconsin Rebound?

By Nick Novak WMC Senior Director of Communications & Marketing

T

wo years ago, I wrote a cover story for this magazine about the need to focus on challenges facing rural parts of Wisconsin. I spoke with manufacturers, dairy farmers, retailers and others about the many challenges these small communities face.

Since then, more investments have been made in rural broadband services – though more could still be done. Businesses have invested more in workforce development – the state has, too.

And WMC Foundation has turned the focus of its Future Wisconsin Project to

20 Summer 2019

rural areas of the state.

If we are being honest, rural Wisconsin communities have great stories to tell. They offer unmatched recreational opportunities, the cost of living is much lower than urban areas in the state and Midwest, schools are better than those in places like Milwaukee and crime rates are also lower.

So, is rural Wisconsin making a comeback?

Statistics Show Some Positives Nationally, there is good news for rural parts of the country.

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Cover Story

In July 2017 – the latest data available – 46.1 million people lived in non-metropolitan areas of the United States. That means that 14 percent of the population lived in 72 percent of the nation’s land area, according to the federal Department of Agriculture. This number has seen relatively small decreases for the past six years, but from July 2016 to July 2017, the number actually saw a small uptick of 33,000 people.

This could mean that following the recession, people are once again becoming more mobile and considering

moving out of urban areas and back into non-metropolitan areas (read more about why people are moving on page 38).

While the non-metro population increased 0.07 percent, it is far from what it was in previous years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 1976 to 2010, non-metro areas in the U.S. consistently increased in population – with peaks at 1.5 percent in 1977, 1.2 percent in 1995 and 0.7 percent in 2006. The good news, however, is that it is back in the positive after six years of decreasing.

The news locally for Wisconsin is mixed. The number of counties losing population is decreasing, and the state as a whole is actually increasing in population. However, the working age population is not growing and over the last decade, half the state is growing while the other half is shrinking.

From 2010 to 2018, the state added about 126,000 people to its populatoin with 38 counties adding roughly 146,000 people and 34 counties losing nearly 20,000.

Looking at individual counties, 14 lost population from 2017 to 2018. Milwaukee County was the only one on that list that was not considered rural. The number of counties losing population is down from 20 in 2016 to 2017 and 33 in 2015 to 2016 – a clear improvement.

Some counties have actually stopped the bleeding when it comes to population declines. Marquette County lost 333 people from 2010 to 2014, but then added 363 people from 2015 to 2018 for a net gain of 30. Clark County lost 342 people from 2010 to 2015, and added 360 over the last three years for a net gain of 18. And, Iowa County lost 253 people from 2010 to 2016, but then added 333 in just the last two years for a net gain of 80.

Other rural counties have not overcome their losses in previous years, but places like Dodge, Marinette and Polk Counties each lost about 1,000 people or more from 2010 to 2016 and have now added a combined 1,040 people in the last two years alone. If the trend

continues, these counties will catch up to others who have started to grow their population again.

While these are positive trends for some of the state’s rural areas, Wisconsin businesses may not be able to reap the benefits. The number of young people in Wisconsin is shrinking and the working age population is projected to be stagnant through the year 2040 (read more about this on pg. 32).

Business Community Takes Action WMC Foundation Executive Director Wade Goodsell spoke at a recent Townhall for the Future Wisconsin Project, and he repeated a line that has been used numerous times since the Project’s kickoff in 2014. “If the business community doesn’t lead on the state’s economic future, then who will?”

It is this belief that helped launch the Future Wisconsin Project five years ago.

Since then, the Project has brought attention to the state’s workforce shortage, not only the skills gap but the body gap and helped push policies that increased workforce development and talent attraction.

This year, the Project has turned its attention to rural Wisconsin. After releasing a report in the spring that underlined challenges for the state and best practices to move forward, it became apparent that rural parts of the state are especially impacted by changing demographics, population shifts and the workforce shortage.

Luckily for Wisconsin’s communities, companies are already on the forefront of these economic challenges.

“As of recent data, there are 113,964 members of the available labor pool who are willing to take a job in manufacturing.

That number decreases substantially with increased commute times,” said Nicki Johnson, Director of Human Resources at Mayville Engineering Company, Inc. (MEC). This sounds like a lot of potential workers. However, Johnson also points out that within 50 miles of the MEC headquarters – located in Mayville with a population of just under 5,000

people – there are 30,000 posted jobs.

“Ultimately, we need to retain and grow our population in our local communities,” added Johnson. “We also have to provide lucrative opportunities for both professional and manufacturing jobs to entice Dodge County workers to work within the community they live in and not commute to surrounding areas.”

As discussed above, Dodge County lost 1,395 people from 2010 to 2016.

But, the County has started to add back population and gained 483 people in the last two years.

Companies are also taking a role in retaining people in rural communities.

Not only do businesses need to attract workers, but they need to keep workers from leaving.

“We are finding out that we have to develop strategies that keep the young people in the area before they leave immediately following high school. That’s an area that we have to spend an awful lot of time addressing,” said Rusty Schieber, Vice President of Operations for Brakebush Brothers in Westfield.

This means companies like Brakebush are starting to work with young people far before they are thinking about a career.

“We’ve got to get into that sixth, that seventh, that eighth grade and start showing these people who are going through the schools, to young children, what careers are available in the community, as well as, the potential that they can earn at these positions,” Schieber added. “That’s going to surprise families, as well as surprise kids, what truly is available in their immediate community.”

MEC has focused on changing the narrative about manufacturing to keep young people interested in a career, while also keeping them close to home.

“Manufacturing jobs have traditionally been viewed as low-paying, dirty and dangerous. MEC has focused on changing those stereotypes by being constantly present in our area schools,” Johnson told Wisconsin Business Voice. “Some ways we achieve this

Cover Story | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 21

engagement are giving presentations in classrooms as well as plant tours, offering youth apprenticeships and job shadow opportunities in all departments, providing one-on-one training to teachers and students, collaborating with tech ed classes to design and create items through the fabrication process, giving mock interviews, evaluating applications and resumes and sharing opportunities at career fairs.”

This has been paying off. Johnson highlights the story of one young woman who started with MEC as a youth apprentice during her junior year of high school. She worked full time in MEC’s robotic welding, metal finishing and spot welding departments. She graduated with a full-time position at MEC, went through the company’s Internal Weld Camp, and within three months, she was a full-fledged welder – which came with a significant pay increase.

Johnson says more stories like this are needed to grow Mayville and other small towns’ working-age population.

Additionally, both Johnson and Schieber expressed needs for affordable housing, improved transportation infrastructure and increased high-speed broadband as things that could help attract and retain working-age people to smaller communities.

Benefits of Rural Wisconsin Most rural-based employers view their community as a family. They see the investments they make in business as investments in the lives of the people who live near their facilities.

“Having a company in a rural area allows MEC to be a part of the fabric of the community. We have the luxury to build relationships with the students and teachers in our local schools, providing them with an understanding of the stability available to them for their future employment and in their community,” said Johnson. “We are able to be involved in festivals and other events.

Our community knows we support them and can be relied upon because we invest in them with our time and expertise

22 Summer 2019

Population Change by County 2010-2018

+50,000

0

-2,000

in whatever ways we can.”

Additionally, rural Wisconsin offers numerous benefits that metro areas cannot. A key factor being cost of living. In fact, the Wisconsin Rapids/ Marshfield metro area – located in central Wisconsin just north of Brakebush Brothers – has a cost of living that is 8.0 percent lower than the Milwaukee metro. Further, it is 14.7 percent lower than the Twin Cities and 20.6 percent lower than Chicago, according to Bankrate.com.

Schieber, of Brakbush, sees this – and a multitude of other reasons – as evidence that people will seek out careers in rural Wisconsin. The key, he says, is that they also become part of the community.

“We are seeing an awful lot of people

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Cover Story

come, they want to work for us in the rural environment, but they have not yet made the step to want to live there,” he said in an interview. “I want to see the next step happen, not only do you work for us, but you live in the community that we are providing for and that the dollars we’re providing you as wages and benefits are actually going back to better the community as a whole.”

While projections show rural Wisconsin and smaller communities stagnating, the people who live there – and some recent statistical trends – argue that the future is bright. It will just take investments from the business community and government to ensure these trends continue. If that happens, rural Wisconsin’s population and potential will theoretically rebound. n

Activity: Industry: Widgets: Soils: Method: Material: Product: Key Features:

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Like Crystal Clean.

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This beverage manufacturer thought they had their maintenance cleaning process bottled up. They tested a more refreshing option and found out the old way couldn’t hold water.

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Learn more about this Success Story at Mirachem.info/ART-0108

| wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 23

©2017 CSS-1743

GOLF OUTING Wednesday, July 31

A celebration of business

in Wisconsin!

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE! VISIT WWW.WMC.ORG For more information contact WMC Foundation Executive Director Wade Goodsell, 608.258.3400 or wgoodsell@wmc.org WMC Foundation is dedicated to a better Wisconsin by providing information on the state and its economy, promoting the value of the free enterprise system and advancing efforts that ensure a high quality of life for our ÂŽ citizens.

WMC runs Wisconsin 24 Summer 2019Foundation wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Business World , as well as events including Business & Industry Luncheon and the Future Wisconsin Summit.

Attraction & Retention Strategies for Employers

By Rob Fleming Resident Managing Director, Aon

W

ith the U.S. employment rate at a record low, the demand for top talent is high. According to a recent 2019 Global Risk Management Survey, failure to attract or retain top talent has been identified as one of today’s top risks for U.S. employers. As baby boomers retire and Generation X moves up in the ranks, millennials will make up an increasing percentage of the workforce. It is estimated that millennials will become 50 percent of the workforce by 2020, and three quarters by 2025.

Although millennials have characteristics in common with other generations, there are important differences in what they value. While balancing the needs of the multi-generational workforce should be top of mind, what does the need to attract and retain millennials mean for employers? What should you be doing differently?

Below are key strategies to consider: 1. Develop a Strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP): A strong EVP, i.e. the whole employee experience of working for an organization, is about clarifying the employment contract—articulating what you expect and in turn delivering on what employees expect. Competitive pay and rewards are very much part of an EVP and many employers are getting much more clear about the value proposition for top performance. The EVP has a positive impact on employee engagement, recruitment and retention.

2. Establish an Effective Recruit-

ing Process: Making a great first impression is everything when it comes to the candidate experience.

From the initial application to the final interview, the candidate experience should be easy and accessible, customized, and rewarding. An engaging, respectful, and positive candidate experience establishes a trusting relationship, with the likelihood of the candidate accepting the job offer.

3. Introduce Creative Benefits: In today’s shifting employment landscape, employee priorities and motivations are complex, and as a result, employers need to be creative in their offerings. With a solid benefits plan–and looking outside of the box for options to engage staff–employers can ensure they are market leaders who can attract and retain top talent in the process. Our research shows that employers are shifting away from monetary rewards and are moving towards customized rewards that represent real value to employees, such as flexible working hours, agile working, wellbeing benefits, and parental leave.

4. Build a Culture of Engagement: The best employers build and sustain a culture of engagement, with leaders who understand that employee engagement is not just a “nice to have” but critical to achieving business results. The financial implications of an engaged workforce are significant. Research reveals consistent, statistically sig-

nificant relationships between higher levels of employee engagement and financial performance.

5. Give Frequent Feedback: In addition to rewards, frequent feedback is key. Look at ways to make every conversation an opportunity for concrete, transparent, actionable feedback. Consider how you can use texting, internal social media platforms and gamification to provide feedback practically anytime, anywhere.

6. Offer Flexible Career Progression: The traditional vertical progression model won’t work with this new generation, as it doesn’t meet their expectations for progression, movement and enrichment. Consider taking an unconventional approach if it enhances engagement but remember to be consistent with overall organizational needs. This can be an excellent way for employees to explore new challenges, develop skill sets and contribute in new ways to the organization.

Employees are the driving force behind the success of an organization. With thoughtful, well-executed plans, employers can enjoy higher levels of engagement, retention and productivity while cultivating a culture of belonging. n For more information contact Rob at robert.j.fleming@aon.com.

Sponsored Content | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 25

Creating a Workforce That Closes All the Gaps

By Stephanie Borowski President & CEO, GPS Education Partners

E

veryone is in agreement that business and industry must come together with leaders in education to find sustainable solutions to the growing workforce shortage gripping Wisconsin. Just as important, community leaders must also play a part in workforce development strategies that support economic development and community growth. Across the state of Wisconsin, leaders focused on solving this issue are collaborating on ways to make closing the skills gap a top priority. However, this is a complex problem and may require time and patience.

Experts report that the growing skilled labor shortage is not isolated to a gap in skills, but that the lack of awareness, experience, opportunity, and people entering the workforce leaves employers struggling over their ability to get workers with the skills they need. The problem is only exasperated by the fact that Baby Boomers are retiring at a rapid rate and taking their tribal knowledge with them.

This article focuses on students in secondary education who may have an interest in a technical career and who may benefit more from hands-on learning. It also re-introduces the concept of augmenting traditional educational models with work-based learning activities, where students gain opportunities to learn, develop, and demonstrate crucial career-readiness skills.

Work-based learning offers considerable advantages to employers, educators, students, and the communities in

26 Summer 2019

which they live.

Employer Investment in Education Businesses must shift from a focus of “hiring” talent to “investing” in developing the talent they need. This shift requires employers to look at bringing high school students into programs that help them develop the next generation of talent needed for high-demand technical jobs, versus waiting for four-year college graduates to complete their education and still not fill their needs. With businesses engaging in appropriate levels of educational leadership, assessment, and support, post-secondary education and hands-on training opportunities can become attainable goals for all students.

As businesses adapt to an increasingly competitive economy, it is now more important than ever to align the outcomes of education to the needs of employers, especially as companies invest in new technologies. Besides directly impacting employer success, there is a powerful need to provide students access to meaningful work experiences.

Engaging in work is a transformational experience for young people. Students build confidence when relevant education exposes them to the realities of employment and access to mentors, role models, and new learning environments.

Many employers, especially mid-sized companies that have fewer resources or means, are searching for ways to incorporate youth into their workforce development plans, but report that they do not know where to begin.

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Education Voice

Connecting today’s classrooms to tomorrow’s careers Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational model that gives students exposure to the world of work through a set of sequenced and coordinated activities. Various forms of work-based learning include tours, job shadowing, internships, on-the-job training, and more recently, a growing number of high school youth apprenticeships.

Work-based learning addresses the shared goal of employers and educators in preparing students with the knowledge and skills necessary for entry and advancement in a particular career. Quality work-based learning programs help students meet graduation requirements while also aligning them with industry and job-specific training along with technical certifications that provide employers the talent pipeline needed to help close the skills gap. Students seeking careers that require more education are also in a better position to continue on to post-secondary education.

Based on the Work-based Learning Journey designed by GPS Education Partners, students follow an integrated continuum of career awareness, exploration, experience, preparation and development around learning and work activities that help support accelerated transitions from youth to adult, secondary to post-secondary, student to employee, and jobs to careers.

When executed properly, quality

work-based learning models enable students to learn about careers, reflect on their interests, set career goals and develop the skills and employability traits needed for a productive future.

Barriers for businesses Although many companies are convinced of the potential benefits of employing youth through work-based learning programs, there are still some that are not convinced there is an adequate return on their investment.

Additional barriers exist for employers in communities with higher poverty, systemic inequity, and lower performing schools. But it is here where workbased learning programs can make the biggest impact.

When employers can link youth employment strategies to their business strategy and identify a champion within their organization, typically someone in the C-suite, they are far more likely to succeed with long-term talent pipeline growth and can rationalize the investments needed to support it.

Fully deploying a work-based learning strategy within a business is not an easy task, but when done correctly, employers who provide youth apprenticeship opportunities should expect to see the following benefits: • Access to more qualified and motivated potential employees • Evaluate potential employees in work settings prior to hiring • Development opportunities for the incumbent workforce • Influence curriculum development to meet business & industry requirements • Develop the next generation of

skilled labor within the company culture • Improve the quality of life and skills in the community • Reduce turnover of entry-level employees One approach is for businesses to create internal programs or to partner directly with local educational institutions. These approaches are typically less effective with small to mid-sized companies who don’t have the resources, experience or time to plan and execute work-based learning programs.

So how do businesses find the talent needed without the internal capacity to meet all of the training needs required to build their own talent with youth?

Taking the partnership approach A growing number of employers choose to partner with nonprofits or other intermediaries that play a key role in the implementation, scaling, and quality management of WBL opportunities. Intermediaries can streamline the talent development process, provide customized job training and essential soft skill development, and support the employee training process. Intermediaries are typically not a business nor a school, but they have expertise in both so that they can understand how to meet each of their unique needs.

Profile of a quality work-based learning Intermediary GPS Education Partners (GPSEd) is a nonprofit that operates a statewide Department of Workforce Development Youth Apprenticeship consortium in manufacturing throughout Wisconsin. For nearly 20 years GPSEd has

served as an intermediary partner to schools, businesses, and communities to provide scalable, quality work-based learning solutions that impact educational systems, talent pipeline needs, and help sustain communities.

By facilitating employer-school partnerships, we are able to deliver custom talent solutions that provide training, industry and educational certifications, apprenticeships, and career services to create better pathways for students while delivering measurable business outcomes that drive both personal and economic success.

GPSEd’s work-based learning programs also include the development of vital skills necessary for students to gain and retain employment. These skills are commonly referred to as character or essential soft skills and include coaching in reliability, leadership, cultural awareness, interpersonal skills, professionalism, conflict management, and work ethic, to name a few. These skills serve employers well but remain with the individual for a lifetime.

Encouraging involvement It is vital that we begin this work together now to address workforce challenges, create access, and provide equal opportunity for all students to find, experience, and define their pathway to success. n GPSEd supports local communities by keeping Wisconsin talent in Wisconsin businesses. If you’d like more information on work-based learning visit us at www.gpsed.org or email info@gpsed.org.

Education Voice | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 27

2019 Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin Contest madeinwis.com

Aug. 12-30

Sept. 17-22

Nominations Accepted

1st Round of Bracket Voting

Sept. 9-15

Sept. 23

Popular Vote to Determine Top 16

Announce Top 8

Sept. 16

Sept. 24-29

Announce Top 16

2nd Round of Bracket Voting

Sept. 30

Announce Top 4

Oct. 1-8

Final Round of Voting

Oct. 8

Announce winner at Business & Industry Luncheon (Milwaukee)

Oshkosh Corporation employees with their Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

What is the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin?

B ack by popular demand, the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin Contest will kick off Monday, Aug. 12. In partnership with Johnson Financial Group, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) will accept nominations during the final weeks of summer, and Wisconsinites will begin voting on Sept. 9.

The contest has become a staple leading up to Manufacturing Month in October. In fact, over the last three years, more than 400,000 votes have been cast to determine the Coolest Thing. Winners have included Harley Davidson’s Milwaukee Eight engine and Oshkosh Corporation’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Taking a different path, voters chose Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe

in 2018 and its Sea Salt Caramel Pecan Kringle.

But, it is anyone’s game again this year! Manufacturers are encouraged to nominate a product they make in Wisconsin and then use any marketing efforts they deem necessary to win.

In the past, companies have used billboard ads, social media campaigns and one company even asked a Green Bay Packer play to tweet about his support.

The competition will include four rounds of voting. The first round from Sept. 9-15 will determine the Top 16 Coolest Things Made in Wisconsin. In recent years, over hundreds of products have been nominated. Once the Top 16 are chosen by voters, they

will be placed into a tournament-style bracket called “Manufacturing Madness.”

Products will compete against each other in head-to-head matchups until we reach the Top 4. Then a popular vote will determine a winner, and the Champion will be crowned on Oct. 8 at the WMC Foundation Business & Industry Luncheon.

What does the winner get? Aside from bragging rights and plenty of media attention, the winner will take home a trophy specially designed and manufactured by E.K. Machine and EFCO Finishing. n If you would like to nominate a product, please visit www.madeinwis.com.

Harley Davidson Employees following their 2016 win.

Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 29

Expansion of Intermodal Transportation Needed

By Cory Fish WMC General Counsel and Director of Tax, Transportation & Legal Affairs

R

ail intermodal freight shipment – the movement of cargo in shipping containers or trailers by more than one mode of transportation including rail – is often the most effective way for shippers to move products in the United States. Together with trucks and cargo ships, railroads haul thousands of intermodal containers filled with everything from technology to toys. In the United States, over 14 million containers and trailers were moved by rail-based intermodal in 2017 (most recent data). And with our increasing reliance on just-in-time delivery, intermodal will only continue to grow.

Intermodal transport could be especially valuable for Wisconsin because manufacturing and agriculture are the largest drivers of our state’s economy, employing one in five workers and making up more than 20 percent of our state’s gross domestic product.

These industries will increasingly rely on intermodal freight shipment to move goods in a cost effective manner over any significant distance as trucking becomes increasingly expensive. The American Trucking Association estimates a national shortage of 175,000 truck drivers over the next 10 years alone. Further, increased regulations have reduced productivity. Both of these externalities increase costs for shippers. By increasing access to freight rail, intermodal has the potential to offer a lower cost alternative than shipping solely by truck.

For most Wisconsin businesses,

30 Summer 2019

accessing intermodal means moving freight down to one of the half dozen facilities that ring Chicago by truck and loading their containerized freight onto rail there. This creates complications of its own as trucking down to Chicago is costly in both terms of time and money. Trucks can wait for hours in line at these terminals, which cuts into the amount of time a driver is allowed to work and makes it hard to do more than one delivery per day. Further, moving the freight by truck from the factory or farm field to an Illinois terminal is incredibly costly. WMC members have said it costs as much to truck one container of freight from the Fox Valley to Chicago by truck as it does to ship that container by rail from Chicago to a port on the west coast. The time delays at the Illinois facilities could get worse as one facility will be closing this year.

However, Illinois’ loss could be Wisconsin’s gain.

There is certainly a business case to be made for intermodal in Wisconsin.

As part of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Intermodal Subcommittee, WMC conducted a business survey with the intent of determining the viability of additional intermodal facilities in Wisconsin. The survey found southeastern Wisconsin showed the most promise for intermodal, however northeastern and southwestern Wisconsin also indicated viability. Being able to move a higher portion of these containers at Wisconsin-based facilities will lower the cost to do business

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Transportation Policy

in Wisconsin. The creation of these facilities would result in lower costs for shippers and an economic development opportunity for the state that does not pick winners and losers. Any business that could ship containerized freight would benefit, and in the process, these facilities could attract new businesses to communities where they are located.

In addition to the business value, there are ancillary benefits to intermodal. Intermodal reduces damage on Wisconsin roadways by shifting freight from trucks to rail, extending the lifespan on highway infrastructure, which cuts the cost of maintaining our roads.

Further, intermodal is more environmentally friendly than shipping by truck alone because locomotives emit less particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, a major greenhouse gas, than trucks.

Between reducing costs for shippers, the potential for economic development and ancillary benefits, investment in intermodal should be a no-brainer.

The development of additional intermodal facilities in Wisconsin is a great economic development opportunity that the business community and state and local governments should collaborate on together with the goal of opening up facilities throughout Wisconsin – increasing access to less expensive and more reliable shipping. n

environment

ENERGY

TRANSPORTATION human res ources

TAXES

CIVIL regulations JUSTICE education

WORKFORCE HEALTH

economic

CARE

POLICY DAY 2019 AUGUST 13

Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, Madison Register today for Policy Day 2019, the can’t-miss event of the summer when it comes to local, state and federal legislative updates. The program will feature a Congressional Delegation Panel, Wisconsin Legislative Leadership Panel, and Governor Tony Evers, along with breakout tracks on tax policy, human resources and energy. If you want the latest information on how potential policy changes will impact your business, plan to attend Policy Day 2019.

REGISTER TODAY!

REGISTRATION: $75/person ~or~ $600/table of 8 Visit www.wmc.org for program details and to register, or call 608.258.3400.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Brittany Rockwell at WMC, (608) 661-6917 or brockwell@wmc.org

PROGRAM SPONSORS

Wisconsin’s Decade-Long Population Shift

By David Egan-Robertson Demographer, UW-Madison Applied Population Laboratory

W

isconsin, like much of the United States, has seen substantial changes in its population growth over the past decade. After increasing by more than 400,000 people from 1987 to 1997 and 1997 to 2007, the state added only an estimated 143,000 residents from 2007 to 2017.

The Great Recession – the economic downturn from late 2007 to mid-2009 – along with changes in fertility and migration choices have produced a strikingly different demographic landscape than in earlier periods.

At its simplest, population change occurs through two “building blocks.” The first is natural increase: the difference between births and deaths. The second is net migration: the difference between people moving into an area and those moving out. These differences may not always be positive, which can lead to a decline in the overall population if one is more negative than the other, or both are negative. The sections that follow describe the patterns in these building blocks over the past decade.

Demographic Building Blocks: Births and Deaths Since the Great Recession, Wisconsin has experienced an ongoing demographic downturn: a fall in births. 2007 was the last “peak” year of births for the state in recent history (nearly 73,000).

In 2017, births fell below 65,000 – or 11 percent lower than 2007 – for the first time since 1973. Wisconsin is not alone in the “birth recession.” Nationally, births

32 Summer 2019

have also declined 11 percent. Among neighboring states, Michigan has experienced the same percentage decrease of 11 percent, Minnesota seven percent and Illinois 17 percent.

This decline in births is traceable not solely to economic considerations, but to broader social changes affecting fertility rates. In particular, the state’s teenage birth rate has fallen a remarkable 60 percent in the past decade, and the rate for women in their 20s has decreased by nearly 20 percent. In contrast, the birth rates for women in their 30s has risen 12 percent and that for women in their 40s has increased 22 percent (although the count of births for women in this latter group is still quite small, about 2.5 percent of the total).

Wisconsin’s lower rates for women in their teens and 20s, and higher rates in their 30s and 40s, mirror the overall U.S. experience since 2007.

The relative decrease in births has been greater for Wisconsin’s non-metropolitan counties than for metropolitan ones. From 2007 to 2017, births fell approximately 10.5 percent in metropolitan counties but nearly 12 percent in non-metropolitan counties.

Regarding deaths, the state’s mortality has been increasing, from 46,100 in 2007 to 52,700 in 2017, a rise of 14 percent. Again, Wisconsin’s pattern is not far from the national one: deaths increased 16 percent in the U.S. across the decade. While these gains may seem large, the state and national populations have been aging. A rate that

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Wisconsin Population

incorporates this aging—the age-adjusted mortality rate—remained steady in Wisconsin over the decade, although the comparable U.S. rate declined six percent.

On average, age-adjusted mortality rates are approximately five percent higher in Wisconsin’s non-metropolitan counties (74.5 per 10,000 residents in 2017) than in metropolitan areas (71.1 per 10,000).

The result of declining births and rising deaths is that Wisconsin’s natural increase has fallen sharply: from 26,600 in 2007 to 12,300 in 2017. This 54 percent drop is more pronounced than the national-level change (-45 percent).

Furthermore, 33 Wisconsin counties had more deaths than births—or natural decrease—in 2017, more than twice the number (15) in 2007. In fact, all of the state’s natural increase is now occurring in its metropolitan counties; non-metropolitan counties, in aggregate, are experiencing natural decrease.

In short, Wisconsin’s population growth is being tempered by this downward trend in natural increase. In 2007, the difference between births and deaths contributed approximately 0.5 percent to the state’s growth; in 2017, natural increase contributed only 0.2 percent.

Demographic Building Block #2: Migration An Applied Population Laboratory study found that the Great Recession “froze” many people in place for an

extended period beyond the economic downturn’s official end. Milwaukee County illustrates this phenomenon: As a long-time migration contributor to its surrounding suburban counties, the county grew early in the past 10-year period because out-movement dropped to a point that natural increase was greater than the migration loss.

In recent years, migration has returned to the long-term pattern of large, central cities in metropolitan areas losing migrants and suburbs gaining them. In addition, non-metropolitan counties, which had been experiencing net out-migration through 2016, have gained in-migrants over the past two years.

International migration is a small contributor to Wisconsin’s population growth. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the state gained an average of 8,000 international migrants annually over the past six years; in percentage terms, only about 0.14 percent of the state’s population per year. Nationally, by comparison, the international migration change averaged 0.30 percent of the U.S. population per year.

The recent improvement in migration may be the beginning of a new period of net gain. Wisconsin had strongly positive net migration in the 1990s (more than 227,000) and a solid increase in the 2000s (nearly 80,000). However, for the 2010s to date, net migration is slightly negative (estimated -12,000).

reaching 16 percent. Non-metropolitan counties have seen a loss of 7 percent while metropolitan ones have decreased only three percent.

Given this decade’s fall in the number of births, the decrease of preschoolers, ages 0-4, is more pronounced: 33 counties have experienced a decline of 10 percent or more, with the greatest loss being 23 percent.

Population Shift Among Age Groups

Age Distribution in Wisconsin

- 6%

There are 66,000 fewer Wisconsinites under age 18 than there were in 2007 In contrast, the Census Bureau estimates that Wisconsin’s 65-and-over population has increased more than 213,000 (+29 percent) since 2007, as the Baby Boom generation (born 19461964) ages beyond this threshold. All counties have experienced an increase in their older populations, ranging from eight percent to 43 percent since 2010.

Interestingly, growth of the 65-plus population has been greater in metropolitan

2010

Present 18-65 Under-18 65-and-over

counties (+25 percent) than non-metropolitan ones (+18 percent).

In sum, the proportions of the state’s population at its youngest and oldest have shifted across the past 10 years: the under-18 population has declined from 24 percent to 22 percent, while the 65-and-over population has increased from 13 percent to 16.5 percent. In non-metropolitan counties, more than one in five residents (20.4 percent) are now estimated to be 65 and older, while in metropolitan areas the percentage is 15 percent. n

Population Growth by Decade (Measured by 100,000)

Reshaping the Age Distribution of the State The cumulative effect of fewer births and flat migration this decade has reduced the number of young people in Wisconsin. Based on the Census Bureau’s estimates, there are 66,000 fewer Wisconsinites under age 18 than there were in 2007 (-6 percent). However, some counties are faring worse: since the 2010 Census, 12 have had a decline of 10 percent or greater in the number of children, with the largest loss

1987

1997

2007

2017

1

Metropolitan counties (26 in Wisconsin) have a population core of at least 50,000 residents in one or more central cities, and include nearby suburban counties as well. The other 46 counties in the state are non-metropolitan.

Wisconsin Population | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 33

W M C C E O E C O N O M I C S U RV E Y

CEOs Back Trump on Tariffs

P

resident Donald Trump’s tariffs are biting Wisconsin companies, but a majority of business leaders support them anyway, according to a semi-annual economic survey conducted by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) – the State Chamber of Commerce.

While 47 percent of the 204 survey respondents said the tariffs are having a negative effect on their business, 67 percent said they either “strongly” or “somewhat” support tariffs imposed on China. The reason is best summed up by this response from the open-ended section of the survey: “Our company is being hurt by the tariffs, but I feel the U.S. needs fair trade throughout the world.”

“Wisconsin business leaders demand fairness in our trade relations with other nations,” explained Kurt Bauer, WMC President/CEO. “The U.S. opens its markets to foreign companies with the expectation of reciprocal treatment, which doesn’t always occur, especially when it comes to China. The general sentiment expressed in this survey is that something drastic needs to be done to force a change.”

Bauer confessed to being somewhat surprised by the strong support for the tariffs, but noted business leaders clearly trust the president on economic issues. According to the survey, President Trump’s approval rating is 80 percent, unchanged from six months

34 Summer 2019

ago. The same percentage also say the U.S. is headed in the right direction.

Despite the negative impact of the tariffs, the survey shows general economic optimism, albeit a little less than six months ago. Fifty percent say they will add staff during the second half of 2019, down from 55 percent in December, and 77 percent rate the U.S. economy as either “strong” or “very strong,” down from 81 percent.

Labor availability and health care costs remain the business community’s biggest concerns, according to the survey. Eight-one percent said they are having trouble finding employees, up from 74 percent in December and 76 percent a year ago. And when asked “what is the one thing state government could do to help your business,” 33 percent answered “make healthcare more affordable,” followed by “reduce taxes” (21.5 percent) and “reduce/reform regulations” (19 percent).

Seventy-eight percent of business leaders rate the Wisconsin economy as either “strong” or “very strong,” unchanged from December. Fifty-eight percent say the Wisconsin economy will see “moderate growth” in the next six months, which is unchanged from December. However, 59 percent of respondents said Wisconsin was headed in the wrong direction. In December, 68 percent said the state was headed in the right direction. The sharp reversal in attitude may be a reaction to Gov. Tony

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | CEO Economic Survey

Evers’ proposed state budget released in February. In fact, 78 percent either strongly (55 percent) or somewhat (22.5 percent) disapproved of Gov. Evers. This survey is the first time business leaders have been asked to rate Evers’ performance as governor. n

Other findings: • Ninety percent said their business was profitable during the last six months and 93 percent predict that their business will be profitable during the next six months. Both numbers are up slightly from 88 percent and 92 percent, respectively.

• Sixty-seven percent of business leaders oppose providing illegal aliens with driving permits.

The question was included in the survey in response to a provision in Gov. Evers’ budget proposal.

Fifty-five percent also oppose Evers’ plan to expand Medicaid and 66.5 percent oppose Evers’ proposal to eliminate drug testing in order to receive food stamps or welfare benefits in Wisconsin.

• Given the ongoing concerns over labor availability, it is no surprise that 75 percent support continuing the state talent attraction campaign designed to lure Midwest millennials and veterans to Wisconsin.

W M C C E O E C O N O M I C S U RV E Y

Thinking about the U.S.-imposed and retaliatory tariffs, would you say they have had a positive or negative impact on your business?

Do you support or oppose the latest round of U.S.-imposed tariffs that increased from 10% to 25% on Chinese goods?

28%

21%

Oppose

Positive

27%

2%

Unsure

47%

Unsure

67%

Negative

Support

What is one thing the state government could do to help your business?

Do you approve or disapprove of the job Tony Evers is doing as Governor?

33% Make healthcare more affordable

$

78%

21.5% Reduce taxes

Disapprove

19% Reduce/reform regulations

8%

10%

Approve

Unsure

Winter 2018: Generally speaking, would you say that things here in Wisconsin are headed in the right or wrong direction?

Summer 2019: Generally speaking, would you say that things here in Wisconsin are headed in the right or wrong direction?

38%

68%

Right

Right

28%

Wrong

59%

Wrong

CEO Economic Survey | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 35

Join us in Milwaukee!

Save the Date

October 8, 2019 10:30 am – 1:30 pm State Fair Park, West Allis

36 Summer 2019

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Footer

It Worked Then – It’s Working Now

By Chandler Swansen WMC Issues Mobilization Council Director

E

arlier this year Gov. Tony Evers unveiled his biennial budget. The release was the first glimpse into the objectives of the newly elected governor and his team. He made good on his campaign promise to raise taxes on businesses and generally wrote his budget as a vehicle to undo many of the pro-growth reforms of the last eight years.

Given the current administration and the divided government, manufacturers and the business community in Wisconsin are now facing a real threat. Many of the items in Gov. Evers’ budget that would be the most harmful to businesses were not even reported by the mainstream media.

The overall lack of awareness of what he proposed in his budget underscores the importance of WMC’s advocacy, and our ability to educate lawmakers and the general public about the damage his budget could do to our business climate and economy as a whole.

It’s a capability that few business associations have and one that is vital to our mission of defending businesses against bad policy.

Since 2008, WMC Issues Mobilization Council (WMC IMC) – our issue advocacy fund – has spent over $40 million to educate the public about policies impacting jobs, the economy, regulations and taxes. We also run ads telling voters which politicians are pro-business and those who are not. Our award-winning issue advocacy is recognized as one of the best of any state chamber

of commerce in the nation. WMC IMC boasts over two decades of unrivaled success.

Over the years, we have had many significant achievements as a result of WMC IMC issue advocacy efforts. One example, with a historic outcome for Wisconsin’s business community, was WMC’s successful effort to enact Right to Work, which the legislature passed and former Gov. Scott Walker ultimately signed into law.

In 2018, WMC led a pro-business coalition that engaged in advocacy, media and grassroots efforts to kill the so-called “dark store” legislation, which would have raised business property taxes by allowing tax collectors to tax the value of non-real estate assets like leases and financing agreements. Perhaps most notably, we spent millions of dollars on issue advocacy to counter union misinformation regarding the positive benefits of Gov. Walker’s busi-

ness and economic reforms.

Having a strong issue advocacy vehicle is a top priority for WMC and our pro-business allies and is of heightened importance given the policy threats facing businesses from the Evers Administration. Without an effective method to educate lawmakers and the public, many of the damaging policies and proposed reforms in his budget would be much more likely to become law.

In a climate such as this, the next battle is never far away. Keeping the pro-business majorities in the Assembly and Senate during the duration of Gov. Evers’ tenure is a top priority for champions of business and economic freedom in the State of Wisconsin. To continue our efforts we need funding from businesses and people who value a strong sustainable workforce and an economic environment that promotes prosperity and opportunity for the hard-working men and women of our state.

Whether you are supporting WMC’s issue advocacy mission by contacting lawmakers on key policies impacting businesses, or contributing financially to our paid advocacy efforts, it is vitally important for business people to be engaged. n Please visit www.wmcimc.org or contact Chandler Swansen at 608-2583400 to learn more about what you can do to help us shape the debate in Madison.

Issue Advocacy | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 37

Americans Are Moving Less Than Ever

By Adam Jordahl WMC Associate Director of Government Relations

R

eaders of Wisconsin Business Voice are familiar with the workforce shortage facing Wisconsin.

Many employers are already having trouble filling their existing demand for labor, and the long-term picture is not a rosy one: the Wisconsin Department of Administration has projected that from 2010 to 2040, the state’s working-age population will experience net growth of just 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the overall state population will increase by 14 percent, with the elderly and very elderly populations more than doubling. So, while the working-age population in Wisconsin stagnates, the number of retirees will soar.

This will put significant pressure on our society by increasing the demand for many goods and services, both public and private, without a corresponding increase in workers equipped to supply those needs.

Of course, this is just a prediction, and it isn’t too late to change course.

Encouraging workers and their families to move to Wisconsin, both from other states and abroad, may be our best opportunity to address the workforce shortage. This won’t be easy: data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that mobility in the United States is at an alltime low. Only 1.5 percent of Americans moved to a different state last year, compared to three percent in 1985.

I’ve previously discussed some of the effects that state policy can have on interstate migration – for example, hightax states tend to have net out-migra-

38 Summer 2019

tion, while low-tax states tend to have net in-migration. However, research suggests that non-economic factors strongly influence the decision to move or stay, and many Americans would be willing to forgo a significant amount of income to remain where they are.

A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York points to the importance of social and psychological factors in moving decisions. The data came from the bank’s Survey of Consumer Expectations, a nationally representative, monthly panel of 1,300 respondents. Respondents classified themselves into one of three categories, originally proposed by economic theorist Richard Florida: • Mobile: People with the means and willingness to move • Rooted: People who have the means to move, but don’t want to • Stuck: People who lack the resources to relocate About half of the respondents identified as rooted, and they were more likely to be white, older, married, homeowners and rural. Meanwhile, 38 percent of respondents identified as mobile. Although more likely to live in cities, their average income and education were comparable to those identifying as rooted. About 15 percent of respondents identified as stuck; these people were more likely to live in cities and tended to report having less education and worse health. They had concerns about the costs of moving and the availability of opportunities

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Future Wisconsin Project

elsewhere.

The median respondent reported only a ten percent chance that they would move in the next two years, and nearly 25 percent of respondents said there was no chance they would move.

According to the study’s authors, “The average respondent has much stronger views about reasons not to move than about reasons to move.” The study found that “rooted” respondents had “strong preferences for family and local cultural norms” and that their attachment to their current home was much more important to their well-being than their job, income or housing costs.

Clearly, with more than half of Americans feeling either “rooted” or “stuck,” trying to peel off workers from other states will be difficult. Yet these findings also validate efforts such as the talent recruiting campaign run by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. The agency’s program targets three relatively “mobile” groups: transitioning veterans, graduates of Wisconsin colleges living in other states, and millennials in Chicago and other nearby cities.

Wisconsinites are known for having great pride in their state and communities, and once we convince people to try life here, there’s a good chance they will end up staying. We must continue to promote Wisconsin by advertising both the economic opportunities here and the intangible benefits of life in our beautiful and fun state. n

Town Hall Puts Focus on Rural Wisconsin E ighty-one percent of Wisconsin business leaders say in WMC’s most recent economic survey that they are having trouble finding workers and list labor availability as the top challenge facing their business (see page 34). And if you think it’s hard finding workers in urban areas, try doing so in rural Wisconsin.

That same economic survey shows that businesspeople believe the state economy is stable. But economic forces isn’t the only factor driving the historically low unemployment rate in Wisconsin. Demographics are arguably playing a bigger role and one that will impact life in rural areas. The bottom line is that birthrates in the U.S. are at a near historic low and it is stressing local economies and will through mid-century and beyond.

How to address this challenge was the topic of an invitation-only Future Wisconsin Project Town Hall held at WMC last month.

While some often compare the Badger State to Minnesota and Illinois, Wisconsin is actually quite different than

its neighbors to the west and south.

Both of those states have population concentrated in the Twin Cities and Chicagoland metro areas. Wisconsin has Milwaukee and Madison, but those metros are substantially smaller. For example, Milwaukee is the 39th largest metro in the U.S. Madison is 85th.

The reality is Wisconsinites are spread geographically throughout the state in small- and medium-sized towns, sometimes referred to as “micropolitans”. Further, 30 percent of Wisconsinites live in what is officially considered rural communities, and 97 percent of the land is considered rural.

That’s a problem because in much of the U.S., larger cities are growing population, while rural areas and micropolitians are losing population.

How can this be stopped and ultimately reversed? How do you convince young people to explore life in a smaller Midwestern communities?

One of the day’s presenters was Scott VanderSanden, president of AT&T Wisconsin. He discussed what his company is doing, in conjunction with other

telecoms, to bring high speed internet to underserved parts of the state. Lack of broadband is often listed as a barrier for population growth, as is declining access to medical care, banking services, groceries and, with the recent bankruptcy of Shopko, pharmacies.

Addressing all of them is important, but also difficult.

Some of the solutions discussed, beyond expanding broadband access, was expanding road access in “remote” corners of the state and continuing the state talent attraction campaign to showcase Wisconsin’s many quality of life attributes.

The next step in the process is for the Future Wisconsin Project, a program of WMC Foundation, to produce a white paper highlighting best practices for rural talent retention and attraction.

The topic will also be featured at the Future Wisconsin Summit to be held December 12 in Madison. n To find out more about the Future Wisconsin Project, visit futurewi.org.

Future Wisconsin Project | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 39

E X E C U T I V E P RO F I L E

Everything Comes Back to People

A

t Oshkosh Corporation, the team is laser focused on making a difference in the lives of others and powering global progress. Leading more than 15,000 team members in five continents, Wilson Jones, Oshkosh Corporation president and chief executive officer, is committed to developing a culture that puts people first and emphasizes that everybody matters.

“How we interact with people every day, regardless of title, is important.

Regardless of where you are in your leadership journey, you can always improve to make sure your people are cared for. This is so important because the way we run our company impacts the way that people go home each day and run their lives.”

A $7.7 billion Fortune 500 company, Oshkosh Corporation has a more than 100-year strong history of advancing industry with innovative products that

WHEN YOU’RE IN FOR SAVING ENERGY, WISCONSIN IS IN FOR BETTER PRODUCTIVITY. “Our production staff has really taken ownership of energy management.

They’ve seen the bottom-line impact and now compete with each other to be the most energy efficient while maintaining our high product quality standards.”

– Doug Bauer Plant Manager, Foremost Farms

40 Summer 2019

give people the courage and confidence to do things they didn’t think possible. The company’s people first culture is centered around engaging, developing and connecting team members and has earned the company ac-

colades as a Glassdoor “Best Place to Work,” one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, one of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” by FORTUNE and more.

Jones joined the Oshkosh Corporation family in 2005 and has led many areas of the company before moving to his current role in January 2016. Jones serves on the board of directors at Thor Industries and is also dedicated to serving the community. He is on the board at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and is active with many other non-profits.

When not working, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, cheering for the Green Bay Packers and enjoying the outdoors. n

Working with FOCUS ON ENERGY®, Foremost Farms’ Plover facility has enhanced its data management capabilities. Better data, along with training, flexibility and incentives, allows process operators and supervisors to optimize energy use in production. Foremost employee engagement has created an estimated annual savings of $100,000.

Get in on energy efficiency:

focusonenergy.com/business

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Executive Profile

®

WMC SEEN & HEARD

WMC’s officers with Gov. Tony Evers at the May Board of Directors meeting

WMC Executive Director of Membership and WMC Foundation

in Lake Geneva. From left to right: Chairman Jay Smith, Vice Chairman

Executive Director Wade Goodsell speaking at the 2019 WCCE

Steve Loehr, Gov. Evers, Treasurer Gina Peter and Secretary Barbara Nick.

Membership Symposium in Madison.

Jeff Kennedy, of John Deere Horicon Works; Rusty Schieber, of

Wisconsin Business World Director Michelle Grajkowski speaking

Brakebush Brothers, Inc.; and Scott VanderSanden, of AT&T Wisconsin

to students at the 2019 UW-Madison Business World summer camp

discussing the challenge facing rural Wisconsin at the 2019 Future

in June.

Wisconsin Project Townhall in June.

Wisconsin Business World students touring the manufacturing facility at KI in Green Bay during the St. Norbert College summer camp in June.

WMC President & CEO Kurt Bauer celebrating Georgia-Pacific’s 100th Anniversary in Green Bay with Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Laurie Radke and Georgia-Pacific CEO Christian Fischer.

WMC Seen & Heard | wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

Summer 2019 41

A Growing City on the Banks of the St. Croix River

By Mary Claire Olson Potter President, Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau

N

estled along the banks of the St. Croix River in western Wisconsin, the city of Hudson is a fast-growing community that embraces its historic roots while boasting new development across many business sectors. Considered part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, Hudson has seen dramatic population growth as residents have moved further into the suburbs and beyond, seeking affordable housing, decreased property taxes, excellent schools and a reasonable commute to the diverse employment opportunities available in a major metropolitan area.

Indeed, Hudson’s population spiked by almost 45 percent between 2000 and 2010, and today stands at almost 14,000. With that residential growth has come growth in business as well, with a desired blend of not only retail and fast food but manufacturing and health care organizations that pay livable wages and allow some fortunate residents to live where they work, avoiding the drive

CHAMBER FACT Hudson Originally known as Willow River, in 1852, A. D. Gray, the first mayor, petitioned to change the name of the city to Hudson, because many travelers had noticed the resemblance of the St. Croix River to New York’s Hudson River.

42 Summer 2019

into “the cities.”

The Hudson Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau has grown along with the business community, striving to represent all sectors and locations within the city. Hudson has distinct business districts, including the historic downtown area along the river, newer expansion “on the hill” along the I-94 corridor and now development reaching well beyond both sides of the freeway.

The Chamber has recruited a diverse board of directors to represent the varied interests of our members. Our mission is to provide value to and serve our members by promoting a strong local economy, advocating the interests of the business community while promoting the recreational and cultural opportunities in the Hudson area.

Our Board articulated four priority areas for 2019.

1. Membership • Develop a Membership Advisory Task Force to oversee membership recruitment, retention and review new program proposals.

• Develop a Communications Task Force to review all aspects of communication to ensure Chamber messages are being uniformly communicated.

• Increase membership value, based on member feedback, to determine Chamber programs and events.

• “Drive for 5” – increase membership base to 500 – provide a larger networking base for members.

wisconsinbusinessvoice.org | Chamber Voice

• Promote volunteerism to increase

participation of members on committees/task forces.

• Continue to represent member views on issues to all levels of government, as needed. One recent example is changes in parking for the downtown area.

2. Programs and Services • Provide networking opportunities for members to increase business contacts.

• Develop programs/events to meet Chamber financial objectives.

• Evaluate programs/events to ensure they are meeting member needs and financial goals.

3. Tourism • Develop Tourism Committee from representatives from the lodging and attraction facilities.

• Develop a Strategic Marketing Plan to promote the Hudson area.

• Conduct programs and events that increase the number of visitors to the Hudson area.

4. Workforce Development • Continue and expand the Manufacturers Roundtable to work on specific recruitment strategies.

Examples include “CEO in the Classroom,” “Hot Jobs, Cool Companies,” and “Manufacturers Day” scheduled for October 4, 2019.

• Explore hosting a Job Fair • Work with partners to address workforce housing and transportation needs. n

2019-20 EVENTS WMC EVENTS WMC Policy Day August 13, 2019 • Monona Terrace Convention Center, Madison Worker’s Compensation Law Symposium October 1, 2019 • Red Lion Hotel Paper Valley, Appleton Wisconsin Safety Council Safety Forum October 2, 2019 • Red Lion Hotel Paper Valley, Appleton Statesmanship Reception December 11, 2019 • The Madison Club, Madison Business Day in Madison Reception February 25, 2020 • The Madison Club, Madison Business Day in Madison February 26, 2020 • Monona Terrace Convention Center, Madison Wisconsin Safety Council Annual Conference April 19-22, 2020 • Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells

WMC FOUNDATION EVENTS Foundation Golf Outing July 31, 2019 • Trappers Turn, Wisconsin Dells State of Wisconsin Business and Industry Luncheon October 8, 2019 • State Fair Park, West Allis Future Wisconsin Summit December 12, 2019 • Monona Terrace Convention Center, Madison Business World 2020 Summer Programs Dates and locations coming soon!

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501 East Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703 | 608.258.3400 | www.wmc.org | son, WI 53703 | 608.258.3400 | www.wmc.org | WisconsinMC | WMC501 | @WisconsinMC

| wisconsinbusinessvoice.org

WisconsinMC |

Summer 2019 43

Life after business Learn key steps to help prepare for a transition

27 March 2019 Chief Investment Office GWM Investment Research

Uncommon success

As a business owner, you understand that planning is often key to your success. With all the time, love and attention you have devoted to your business, you don’t want to be left with any uncertainty when the time comes to sell.

Wealth strategy for entrepreneurs and business owners

If you’re moving closer to selling your business, you’re likely to face some challenges that can slow the process. Common hurdles include: – Uncertainty as to whether employees or family members are interested in running it – Investment planning to shift confidently away from living off the income from it – Lack of clarity regarding feasible exit strategies Transition planning is perhaps one of the most complex tasks a business owner will encounter. Our experienced financial professionals at The Burish Group are here to help you reach the first crucial step: starting the conversation.

To learn more, download the report from our website, ubs.com/team/burishgroup Andrew D. Burish, CIMA® Managing Director–Wealth Management – Named the #1 Wealth Advisor in Wisconsin* The Burish Group UBS Financial Services Inc. 8020 Excelsior Drive, Suite 400, Madison, WI 53717 608-831-4282 burishgroup@ubs.com – Over $4 billion in assets under management as of 1 April 2019 – Relationships with $1 million or more are well served by our capabilities ubs.com/team/burishgroup

*Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisors (2018, 2019)

Accolades are independently determined and awarded by their respective publications. Accolades can be based on a variety of criteria including assets under management, revenue, compliance record, length of service, client satisfaction, type of clientele and more. Neither UBS Financial Services Inc. nor its employees pay a fee in exchange for these ratings. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. For more information on accolades, please visit ubs.com/us/ endesignation-disclosures. As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, UBS Financial Services Inc. offers both investment advisory services and brokerage services. Investment advisory services and brokerage services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate arrangements. It is important that clients understand the ways in which we conduct business and that they carefully read the agreements and disclosures that we provide to them about the products or services we offer. For more information, visit our website at ubs.com/workingwithus. CIMA® is a registered certification mark of the Investments & Wealth Institute™ in the United States of America and worldwide. © UBS 2019. All rights reserved. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS AG. Member FINRA/SIPC. VIP_06252019-1 Exp.: 06/30/2020