Wisconsin Business Voice April 2016

Official magazine of Wisconsin’s Chamber

April 2016: Issue 18

Entrepreneurship Wisconsin is Full of Good Ideas Page 22-25

Inside: Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award Winners p. 4 Lt. Gov. Kleefisch on Talent Attraction p. 16 Right to Work One Year Later p. 34

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BUSINESS VOICE From the Editor As a membership organization and state chamber of commerce, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce works on behalf of companies across the state.

Our members employ more than 500,000 hardworking Wisconsinites and give millions of dollars back to their communities through philanthropy and volunteering activities.

We help educate lawmakers on issues that affect a business’ ability to operate free from over-regulation and we work hard to ensure elected officials understand the important role the business community plays in the economy of the Badger State.

We are the voice of Wisconsin’s business community and that voice gets louder as our membership grows. Throughout this edition of the magazine you will find testimonials from people and companies who believe in what WMC does. If you are not already a member, we hope you will read what these people have to say, find value in what we do and consider joining the organization.

WMC is positively pro-business. Together, we can make Wisconsin the most competitive state in the nation.

In this issue…

2

Wisconsin Needs an Image Makeover

4

Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award Winners

5

KURT R. BAUER, WMC

Judicial Philosophy Matters SCOTT MANLEY, WMC

6

The Numbers Speak for Themselves

8

Honoring the Strike Zone

JIM MORGAN, WMC FOUNDATION

RICK ESENBERG, WISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR LEGAL REFORM

Power Plan: Where Are We Now? 10 Clean LUCAS VEBBER, WMC on State Tax Reform 12 Progress JASON CULOTTA, WMC Responsibilities to Protect Temporary 14 Employer Workers

JANIE RITTER, WMC/WISCONSIN SAFETY COUNCIL

Wisconsin’s Talent Pipeline 16 Fabricating LT. GOVERNOR REBECCA KLEEFISCH Dangerous for Wisconsin Families 21 Kloppenburg JIM PUGH, WMC ISSUES MOBILIZATION COUNCIL, INC.

22-25 WISCONSIN IS FULL OF GREAT IDEAS (and has the entrepreneurs to prove it) Closing Argument 26 My JUSTICE REBECCA BRADLEY, WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT

World: Real World Experience, Life31 Business Changing Results

STEVE BENZSCHAWEL, WMC/WISCONSIN BUSINESS WORLD

Editor, Wisconsin Business Voice kpettersen@wmc.org

Needs both Tech Certificates and Four32 Wisconsin Year Degrees CATHY SANDEEN, UW COLLEGES & UW EXTENSION

to Work One Year Later 34 Right CHRIS READER, WMC 1000 for Wisconsin 40 Batting RICK SCHLESINGER, MILWAUKEE BREWERS BASEBALL CLUB

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. WMC's address is 501 E. Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 258-3400. This publication is proudly printed on paper made in Wisconsin.

Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President/CEO Katy Pettersen, Editor (kpettersen@wmc.org) Jane Sutter, Designer (jsutter@wmc.org)

Workforce Challenges 42 Wisconsin’s SEN. RINGHAND (D-EVANSVILLE) AND REP. PETRYK (R-ELEVA)

Corner: Tax on Sales by Non-Profit 44 Chamber Organizations

ANN SMITH, SUN PRAIRIE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Wisconsin Needs an Image Makeover Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President/CEO

P

erception is reality. In fact, perception is such a powerful sense that it can create reality.

Therein lies the problem and opportunity for Wisconsin.

Wisconsinites are known as “Cheeseheads.” There is a barn, silo and the phrase “America’s Dairyland” on our license plates.

We put a cow, corncob and a wheel of cheese on our state quarter. We also put on that quarter our state motto; forward. But is our agricultural-dominated state image moving us in that direction?

The question came to mind when a nationwide perception survey about Wisconsin showed that most people from around the U.S. believe our state has limited and low-paying job opportunities. Based on how we market ourselves, they also unsurprisingly think the jobs we do have largely revolve around agriculture.

On the bright side, Wisconsin received very high marks for quality of life, including access to outdoor recreation, public safety and affordability, which somewhat mitigates the lower pay perception.

The bottom line is that Wisconsin needs to craft an image that accurately reflects and promotes our high quality of life and economic diversity.

Changing people’s long-held and reinforced perceptions isn’t easy, but it is possible. In 2000, Marsha Lindsay of the awardwinning Madison advertising firm of Lindsay, Stone & Briggs, Inc. wrote a white paper called The Brand Called Wisconsin.

“Nations, states and regions all over the world are now effectively engaging in proactive brand marketing to win coveted high-tech jobs and the brain power and venture capital that fuel them,” Lindsay wrote in the paper’s executive summary. “Not only must Wisconsin catch up to this competition, but it must find a relevant differentiating niche or position in which it can lead.”

She cited the United Kingdom’s “Cool Britannia” (a takeoff of Rule Britannia) and the Pure Michigan campaigns as just two examples (you have to wonder what the Flint water crisis is doing to that latter brand).

In Wisconsin, we are clearly proud of our agricultural past, present and future and we should be. It is part of our culture and a major economic driver. Agriculture “Wisconsin needs also helps create a pastoral image of our state, to craft an image that which benefits another important economic driver, tourism. accurately reflects and

As if Lindsay had just read the recent WMC survey, she also wrote 16 years ago that “Wisconsin must lessen the impact of existing negative brand stereotypes as But Wisconsin has a far more diverse promotes our high quality well as preempt the competition from economy with good paying jobs available in positioning us to their advantage, which of life and economic many sectors. We also have beautiful, safe and puts us in an even more difficult position to diversity.” control our economic destiny.” strong communities with good schools and great sports, entertainment and recreation options.

Lindsey also warned a brand isn’t just a slogan. Still, I

Unfortunately, the word isn’t getting out and that is a problem for a state with a workforce shortage that is only projected to get worse unless we can attract talent from around the county and the rest of the world. (See p. 6)

can’t help but think a good place for Wisconsin to start is by updating our license plate design with a more contemporary tagline that highlights Wisconsin’s broader quality of life and economic opportunities.

The survey also revealed that many people from outside the state see Wisconsin as intolerant. That’s not good, period.

But it is particularly bad if you are trying to retain and recruit minorities and members of the large millennial generation who see themselves as very open-minded. Millennials also tend to prefer urban to rural settings and our agrarian image may give them pause.

As Lindsay’s 2000 white paper and the 2015 WMC perception survey shows, Wisconsin has had an image problem for a long time. Fixing it takes money, research and time. But first we need agreement that something needs to be done and a plan of action if we are going to retain and attract investment and talent in the future. BV

How big is Wisconsin’s perception problem? Well, the survey, which was commissioned by the WMC Foundation, showed the most important attributes in selecting a state to live in are job opportunity, crime/public safety and wage/salary expectations. Wisconsin doesn’t score well in two out of the three.

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I would also like to see Wisconsin adopt a far more distinctive state flag that doesn’t follow 29 other states by using a variation of their state coat of arms (In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association ranked Wisconsin’s flag 65th worst out of 72 U.S. and Canadian states, provinces and territories).

Follow Kurt on Twitter @Kurt_R_Bauer

________________________________________________

Jay Timmons, President and CEO of National Association of Manufacturers, was a guest speaker.

Governor Scott Walker addressed the sold-out crowd.

28th Annual Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award Winners Grand Award Winners SmallCategory Grand Award

Medium Category Grand Award

Large Category Grand Award

Mega Category Grand Award

Felss Rotaform LLC New Berlin

Teel Plastics, Inc. Baraboo

Alto-Shaam, Inc. Menomonee Falls

Generac Power Systems, Inc Waukesha

Special Awards for Company Culture

Amerequip Corporation Keil

Masters Gallery Foods, Inc. Plymouth

This award competition is sponsored by

www.wimoty.com

SUPREME COURT Scott Manley WMC Senior Vice President of Government Relations

Judicial Philosophy Matters

I

n Wisconsin, and throughout the U.S., liberal special interests are increasingly utilizing appellate courts to advance policy objectives they cannot achieve by working through the legislative process.

Republicans currently control 69 of 99 state legislative bodies, 31 of 50 governorships, and hold both houses of the U.S. Congress. As a result, labor unions, radical environmental groups and other leftwing organizations have hit major roadblocks in state and federal legislative chambers.

These groups have therefore turned to the courts as their last hope to impose a liberal agenda.

We’ve seen this strategy at work right here in Wisconsin. Leftof-center groups have attempted to invalidate numerous reforms, including Act 10, voter ID, regulatory reform and Right to Work.

The best antidote against these types of collateral legal attacks on our reform agenda is a Wisconsin Supreme Court that adheres to the rule of law and reflects a judicial philosophy consistent with the originalist theory of interpretation.

The late Justice Antonin Scalia saw the dangers of judicial activism perhaps better than anyone. He often criticized courts for taking on what he termed a “Mr. Fix-it Mentality” where justices incorrectly viewed their mission to “Make Everything Come Out Right” instead of interpreting the law. He scolded his fellow justices for their “interpretive jiggery-pokery” in the King v. Burwell Obamacare case, noting that context “is a tool for understanding the terms of the law, not an excuse for rewriting them.”

In that same case, he noted the U.S. Constitution “made Congress, not this Court, responsible for both making laws and mending them. This Court holds only the judicial power – the power to pronounce the law as Congress has enacted it… Our task is to apply the text, not to improve upon it.”

In his dissent in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Scalia warned the judiciary “saps the vitality of government by the people” and weakens the legislative branch when courts exceed their modest role of statutory interpretation.

Indeed, our democratic process and the Legislative Branch itself are trivialized when courts choose to defy the will of voters and overturn laws simply because a handful of judges happen to disagree with them.

Yet this is precisely what is at stake in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election on April 5.

On one end of the spectrum is Justice Rebecca Bradley, who has pledged to exercise judicial restraint and adhere to an originalist philosophy.

On the far opposite end is Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg who, in so many words, pledged to repeal Gov. Walker’s collective bargaining reforms from the bench when she ran unsuccessfully five years ago.

The differences between these two candidates couldn’t be starker.

Voters will have the power to elect a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice who will call legal “balls and strikes” and who views the judiciary as having a very limited role in reviewing and interpreting the law. Or, voters can choose a justice who will happily “change the rules of the game” by using the judiciary to twist and contort the law to conform to her own political views and agenda.

Even after his untimely death, Justice Scalia continues to remind us through his brilliant writings that the proper role of courts is not to remake laws or substitute the views of judges for those of lawmakers. He wrote in one of his last great dissents that “ours is a government of laws and not of men. That means we are governed by the terms of our laws, not by the un-enacted will of our lawmakers.”

Judicial philosophy matters. We have an opportunity on April 5 to ensure we are governed by laws, not the whim of judicial activism.

BV

Follow Scott on Twitter @ManleyWMC

Wisconsin Business Voice

5

DEMOGRAPHICS Jim Morgan WMC Foundation President

The Numbers Speak For Themselves S omeone who is born today will be 18 years old in 18 years.

Likewise, in 65 years, they will be 65 years old.

I will save you the trouble of overthinking this one; it is as simple as it looks!

The WMC Foundation has invited Demographer and Futurist Ken Gronbach to Wisconsin twice to speak at WMC-hosted events including The Future Wisconsin Economic Summit, Workforce Talent Conference and Business Day in Madison. Each program resulted in several requests for him to return and there have been multiple inquiries for recordings of his presentation. It is, quite simply, very good.

Gronbach is a numbers man. And he is continuously surprised by our lack of interest in counting people. Case in point:

In the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, companies selling products to American consumers were doing great. Motorcycles, blue jeans, shoes, automobiles, you name it. Then suddenly, the spigot shut off. The same marketing campaign was no longer creating the same level of sales. Routine orders were becoming non-existent.

Companies searched for an explanation of what caused this seismic shift. Blame was placed, jobs were lost and confusion reigned. We looked at everything… except at the number of people.

The Baby Boomer generation was, at the time, the largest in history – 78 million people born between 1945 and 1965.

They moved through their peak purchasing years during that timeframe. They were then followed by Generation X (196585) with 69 million people. Nine million purchasers began to disappear.

Simply put, counting people matters.

The good news is Generation Y (1985-2005) is bigger than the Boomers – 86 million. The bad news is, not in Wisconsin. Our fertility rate has been below 1.9 since 1975. Roughly speaking, we aren’t doing our part.

As a result, our age distribution going forward does not bode well for the workforce in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Population, 2010 Census and 2040 Projection, by Age Groups Age Group

Census 2010

Projected 2040 Number Change Percent Change

0-4

358,443

373,940

15,497

4.3%

5 - 17

981,049

1,007,370

26,321

2.7%

18 - 24

549,256

563,995

14,739

2.7%

25 - 44

1,447,360

1,493,595

46,235

3.2%

45 - 64

1,573,564

1,517,370

-56,194

-3.6%

65 - 84

658,809

1,251,765

592,956

90.0%

85 & over

118,505

283,600

165,095

139.3%

5,686,986

6,491,635

804,649

14.1%

TOTAL

Source: University of Wisconsin Applied Population Lab

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Between 2010 and 2040, 95 percent of the population growth in Wisconsin is in the over 65 category. The critical working age, 25-64, is actually DOWN 10,000 people. We have to attract talent to the Badger State.

Innovative ideas are finally being explored.

The University of Wisconsin System is looking at internships for all students. This would be an incredible commitment by both the UW System and the business community. Out-of-state students attending UW schools are retained in Wisconsin at a 15 percent rate, but those participating in an internship are retained at 65 percent. Many private colleges are on the same track.

We are implementing Academic and Career Plans for grades 6-12 to begin in 2017. Every student will have better knowledge of careers and the jobs available, especially in Wisconsin.

The articulation agreements between high schools and the Wisconsin Technical College System are growing every day. That direct connection between learning and earning is also keeping workers in Wisconsin.

We have finally begun to understand we have to sell Wisconsin.

Those of us who have spent a lifetime here know the incredible quality of life we experience. And many who have visited have had a taste of it. Now we have to tell our story.

As we move forward and attempt to attract talent to the state, a few questions to ponder: • How welcoming are we to minorities entering a state that is more than 80 percent Caucasian?

• How does the workplace look to women who now make up 60 percent of our colleges?

• What are we doing to attract Millennials? They want different things, both in and outside of the workplace. Are we on their radar?

• What is our national perception? What is our headline news? What is our state brand?

• How does each and every one of us talk about the Badger State? Do we complain about the weather, politics, economy and taxes? Or do we celebrate our natural resources, quality of life, educational opportunities and career options?

As we count the number of people, the clock is ticking for Wisconsin’s future. The numbers don’t lie, so we must take action… now! BV Follow Jim on Twitter @JimMorgan1960

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Thanks to these Foundation Sponsors for your support throughout 2016

Honoring the Strike Zone

By Rick Esenberg

I

often say races for the Wisconsin Supreme Court are as important as those for governor. For better or worse, the Court makes some extremely important decisions about our common life, occasionally overruling the democratic process.

Of course, this doesn’t mean judicial races are just about politics in the same way as elections for Governor or the legislature. It is important to recognize “conservative” and “liberal” does not mean quite the same thing for judges as it does for legislators. Judges are constrained by the law (where it is clear) and, depending upon the judge, by the methods lawyers use to read the law.

But neither is it fair to say judging is just about technical competence and a mechanical search for the law. Our Supreme Court generally takes only those cases where the law is unsettled and the outcome unclear. Like it or not, those cases will be decided differently depending on the philosophy of the judges who sit on them.

You

Judges who practice judicial restraint – call them conservatives if you wish – are more likely to regard statutory and constitutional text as authoritative and to engage the text, structure and history of the written law in a way that seeks to determine what it means rather than to dismiss it as “ambiguous” and proceed to resolve cases based on what a majority believes to be the “best” policy. They are more likely to believe the law should be read in accordance with its plain meaning. If that does not resolve the case, they attempt to ascertain what the law would have meant to those who adopted it. These methods, championed by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, are often referred to as “textualism” and “originalism.”

In judicial election, all candidates will claim to be little Scalias.

None will ever admit that he or she is an “activist” or even a “liberal.” Even where the labels fit, they don’t win elections.

Evaluating judicial candidates requires a careful examination of his or her record and legal philosophy. The effort is worthwhile. should

During his confirmation hearing, U.S. vote for the Court as if Following Gov. Walker’s historic reforms in 2011, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts opponents of the Walker administration poured famously told the Senate Judiciary your business depended substantial resources into the attempt by Madison Committee that lawyer JoAnne Kloppenburg to unseat incumbent on it. “[j]udges are like umpires. Umpires don't Justice David Prosser. The campaign was all about make the rules; they apply them…” He had a point, but as I stopping the Walker agenda. Prosser won by an eyelash. have written for Wisconsin Business Voice before, I prefer the story of three umpires (who I imagine seated at a bar) who said very This year, having been elected to the Court of Appeals in Madison, different things about how they call balls and strikes.

Kloppenburg is running again and, again, the appeal is expressly political. The problem with Justice Rebecca Bradley, we are told, is The first umpire claimed to call them as he sees them. The second that she is Gov. Walker’s appointee. said he calls them as they are. The third – who must have been a law professor – went one step further. “They are,” he said, “nothing until I call them.”

In attempting to understand judicial restraint, the first umpire has it right. Just as there are many pitches on which an umpire must make a judgment call, even judges practicing judicial restraint may differ on what the law means. But just as not all pitches can be either strikes or balls depending upon the whim of the umpire, the constitution and statutes cannot mean anything and ought not to be made to mean whatever we think is a good idea this morning.

A good judge, like a good umpire, needs to believe there is a strike zone and that it must be honored.

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If past is prologue, one vote on the Court can make all the difference on issues critical to the future of our state. I have said it before and I’ll say it again. You should vote for the Court as if your business depended on it. BV

Rick Esenberg is the founder and current President and General Counsel of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty

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Clean Power Plan Where Are We Now?

I

mmediately after the Clean Power Plan (CPP) was published last October, a majority of states, along with dozens of industry groups throughout the country, filed lawsuits to block it. Wisconsin has been a key player in this litigation with Attorney General Brad Schimel and his team at the Wisconsin Department of Justice helping lead the litigation.

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a rare nationwide stay blocking implementation of the CPP until those lawsuits are complete and Gov. Walker issued an executive order forbidding state agencies from working on CPP compliance until that stay is lifted.

With the potential for devastating economic impacts nationally, and especially here in Wisconsin, business owners are right to be concerned about the CPP. The rule requires states to dramatically reduce CO2 output from power plants. Here in Wisconsin we are facing a reduction of more than 40 percent. As those reductions are implemented, electricity rates will rise by an estimated 20 percent or more, inflicting serious harm to our state’s economy.

Making sense of what has happened in these lawsuits so far, and knowing what to look for over the next year, will help eliminate uncertainty as Wisconsin businesses prepare for the future.

What’s Happened So Far?

Immediately after the lawsuits were filed, the coalition opposing the CPP requested a stay of the rule while that litigation moved through the courts. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied that request in January, but granted an expedited litigation schedule with oral arguments to occur this coming June.

For more information on the Clean Power Plan and the devastating impacts it would have in Wisconsin, watch Episodes 21, 22 & 23 of WMC’s Two Minute Drill at www.wmc.org/2min

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The rejection of the stay request was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In February this year, in a tremendous win for CPP opponents, the Supreme Court granted a nationwide stay on implementation of

the CPP until the litigation made its way completely through the courts.

Following the Supreme Court’s stay, Gov. Walker issued executive order #186: prohibiting any state agency from working on a CPP compliance plan until the stay is lifted. This important action ensures our state will not needlessly expend resources or implement costly changes to our energy infrastructure before the CPP has had its full day in court.

What’s Coming Up Next?

The next step is oral arguments in June, followed by a ruling on the merits from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, likely this fall. After that, the losing party is likely to appeal to the Supreme Court. Assuming the Supreme Court takes such an appeal, a final decision would likely come late in 2017 or perhaps even not until 2018.

Outside of the courts, a lot can happen between now and the end of the legal action. This fall’s elections will be tremendously important in the fight against this costly regulation. A bipartisan majority in Congress already passed legislation intended to roll back the CPP, only to see that legislation vetoed by President Obama last December. Depending on the outcome of the elections this fall, it is possible such legislation could come back early next year. If a Republican wins the White House, there is also likely to be an administrative attempt to pull back the CPP altogether.

Conclusion

There has been a lot of legal back-and-forth over the past few months, and there will be a lot more over the next year. The good news is that thanks to the Supreme Court’s stay and Gov. Walker’s executive action, Wisconsin does not have to worry that state regulators will rush to implement these drastic and costly changes to our energy infrastructure. BV Follow Lucas on Twitter @VebberWMC

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TAXES Jason Culotta WMC Senior Director of Government Relations

Progress on State Tax Reform T he end of the 2015-16 legislative session brought some helpful tax reforms. Here is a quick review of those items and others that will be up for consideration next January.

Long discussed since their adoption by Gov. Doyle in 2009 were efforts to federalize the economic substance statute (adopted a year before the similar federal provision) and improve the onerous “production of documents” standard. Helpful changes to both were signed into law March 1 by Gov. Walker. The leadership of Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. John Macco (R-Ledgeview) was crucial in getting these reforms across the finish line.

By the time this column has gone to print, the state Senate should have concurred in several other tax-related initiatives that cleared the Assembly in February. One is invalidating the state sales tax on the amount of federal excise tax paid when purchasing new heavy trucks and truck trailers. Retroactively repealing this “tax on a tax” back to its September 2014 imposition date will provide relief for many businesses. Other legislation would allow local chambers of commerce to continue to promote tourism in their communities and boost the threshold under which most non-profits (like chambers) are exempt from sales tax. (read more on that in the Chamber Corner column on page 44) My previous column in Wisconsin Business Voice featured how Wisconsin can remove itself from the “Top Ten” list of highest taxed states. Here are a range of proposals the Legislature could consider in 2017 to ease tax compliance for the business community:

Federal Due Dates Alignment. Because of a federal change adopted last summer (P.L. 114-41), the due dates for Wisconsin partnership and C-corporation tax returns as well as corporate

estimated tax payments now differ from the federal ones.

Matching federal law would simplify reporting for businesses.

MTC Audits. Were it not for recent budget concerns, the Legislature would likely have approved the cessation of Wisconsin’s participation in the Multi-State Tax Commission (MTC) this year. Businesses are disappointed with MTC auditors who are often unfamiliar with our law and not as accurate as state auditors. The time is coming to end the state’s participation in this contingent fee audit arrangement, which sells taxpayer information gleaned from audits in one state to others.

NAICS Manufacturing Assessment. Wisconsin has long assessed manufacturing property but uses the old SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes, last revised in 1987, rather than the contemporary NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) which was most recently issued in 2012. Assessments utilizing the new code would be a welcome improvement upon the current practice.

Statistical Sampling. Similar to polling in election campaigns, statistical sampling is used to accurately conduct sales and use tax audits. While the state does some sampling, significant improvements should allow for smaller sample sizes and shorten audits without diminishing accuracy.

Unclaimed Property. Our unclaimed property law is in need of updating. Aside from confidentiality concerns and no current ability to appeal a determination, adopting a prohibition on third party audits of unclaimed property along with a uniform statute of limitations for the various classes of this property will provide greater fairness to taxpayers and simplify compliance.

Underpayment Interest Rate. Wisconsin currently features the greatest disparity in interest rates between the non-delinquent amount a taxpayer pays into the state (12 percent) and refunds paid out by the state (3 percent). Legislation to lower the “underpayment rate” by one-half point annually was introduced this session but did not advance. Reducing the 12 percent underpayment figure would allow for treating taxpayers fairly.

These changes would have modest fiscal impact yet their adoption would improve tax compliance and fairness for businesses. WMC will advocate for these and other similar reforms when the 2017 session commences. BV Follow Jason on Twitter @JGCulotta

Taxpayer Fairness Act signed into law as 2015 Act 218.

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Wisconsin Business Voice

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SAFETY EXCELLENCE Janie Ritter Director of Wisconsin Safety Council

Employer Responsibilities to Protect Temporary Workers W ho are temporary workers? They are perhaps the fastest growing sector in the American economy. Temporary workers are workers assigned to host employers, paid by a staffing firm, to perform work for a host employer on a temporary basis for one year or less. The use of temporary workers has been on the rise over the past four years – the American Staffing Association’s 2015 third quarter survey showed there were 3.32 million temporary workers in the U.S.

With the infusion of temporary workers into the workforce comes new issues employers need to plan for and manage. Too often in the news it’s reported a temporary worker has suffered a fatal injury during the first days on a job – in 2014, over 4,000 temp workers were killed on the job.

Employers play a significant role in the well-being of the temporary workers they hire. Temporary workers are entitled to the same protections under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) as all other covered workers. There is a distinction between the terms “temporary employees” and “independent contractors”: temporary employees are individuals a host employer receives from a staffing firm, while independent contractors are found mostly in the construction industry who are hired to perform their specialized set of skills. Independent contractors are hired to perform without explicit orders from the employer on how to carry out the task.

Under the “Temporary Worker Initiative” launched in 2013, OSHA seeks to bring attention to the issue of safety for temporary workers and change how worker safety is handled by both host employers and staffing firms. The initiative directs its field

personnel to place an increased focus on temporary worker safety during their compliance inspections.

Injury data specific to temporary workers is not available because host employers are required to record injuries of temporary workers on their organization’s OSHA 300 log, but are not required to identify whether the injured worker is temporary or permanent.

As an employer, implementing rules and regulations will ensure your temporary workers are provided a safe working environment.

Here are a few things employers need to know: • The host employer, staffing agency and employee must be held accountable for safe working practices and environment.

• The key is communication between the agency and host employer to ensure the necessary protections are provided.

• Employers must assign occupational safety and health responsibilities and define the scope of work in the contract.

• Staffing agencies must take responsibility to review the progress and condition of their employees and environment periodically.

• Host employers must treat temporary workers like any other workers in terms of training and safety and health protections and must provide training in the language their temporary workers understand. A few areas to focus on include:

 Supply required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)  Train and fully discuss work duties  Provide compliance and risk safety training  Arrange training on recognizing safety hazards

• If any changes occur in the temporary employee’s work environment, the staffing agency should be notified.

“My employees’ safety is a top concern for me.

The trainings offered through WMC’s Wisconsin Safety Council arms our people with the valuable safety information they can share with the rest of our team.”

Todd Teske, Chairman, President and CEO Briggs & Stratton Corporation

Not a member? Join today. www.wmc.org/membership

14

• Always treat any report of unsafe acts or conditions, no matter the source, with due diligence.

• If a loss does occur, all responsible parties should be required to complete a separate incident investigation and there should be a discussion on implementation of controls to stop this incident from happening again.

There should be a clear understanding of each party’s role in protecting temporary employees. OSHA recommends the temporary staffing agency and the host employer detail their respective responsibilities for compliance with applicable OSHA standards in their contract. Including such terms in a contract will ensure each party complies with all relevant regulatory requirements, thereby avoiding confusion regarding the employer's obligations. BV

Follow WSC on Twitter @WISafetyCouncil

Annual Safety & Health Conference and Expo May 16-18, 2016 • Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells Seminars

Keynote Speakers

Networking

Tuesday

New Safety Products Professional Development Courses Track for Young Safety Professionals

Ross Bernstein The Champion's Code

Wednesday Steve Benzschawel Generational Differences at Work

Building Relationships through Life Lessons of Integrity and Accountability from the Sports World to the Business World

Helping Everyone Work Safely Across the Generations

Visit www.wisafetycouncil.org for more information and to register.

Chapter of The Wisconsin Safety Council, a division of WMC, is Wisconsin's leading provider of safety training and programming. WSC offers training throughout the year at locations across the state.

2016 Wisconsin Safety Council Safety Training www.wisafetycouncil.org

MILWAUKEE AREA SAFETY TRAINING

April 18-21

Job Safety Analysis ( JSA)

OSHA Construction Breakfast “Preplanning for Job Safety”

Confined Space, Train-theTrainer (AM) Lockout/Tagout, Train-theTrainer (PM)

Instructor Development Course (IDC): First Aid/CPE/AED

Safety Management Techniques (SMT)

Coaching the Emergency Vehicle Operator (CEVO): Ambulance and Fire

RCRA Compliance for Hazardous Waste Generators Overview (AM) DOT Hazmat Transportation Refresher (PM)

June 16

August 30

Creating a World Class Safety Culture

October 19

Coaching the Lift Truck Operator, Train-the-Trainer

December 5-8

OSHA 30-Hour Voluntary Compliance for General Industry

MADISON AREA SAFETY TRAINING April 5

Safety Metrics – Stop Focusing on Failure & Celebrate Success (AM) Focus on Competency (PM)

April 11

Safety Inspections

Safety Training Methods (STM)

May 3

September 12

August 1-3

September 26-29

August 9

October 4

August 15-18

Principles of Occupational Safety & Health (POSH)

August 22-25

OSHA 30-Hour Voluntary Compliance for General Industry

September 7

Ergonomics: Managing for Results

October 10

Conducting Effective Safety Training

October 18

Coaching the Lift Truck Operator, Train-the-Trainer

November 7

Supervisor Development: Safety & Health Fundamentals

December 12

Effective Team Safety

WISCONSIN DELLS AREA SAFETY TRAINING

FOX VALLEY/GREEN BAY AREA SAFETY TRAINING

74th Annual Safety & Health Conference/Expo

Incident Investigation: A Root Cause Analysis

May 16-18 May 16

• Coaching the Lift Truck Operator, Train-the-Trainer • Effective Team Safety • Incident Investigation: Root Cause Analysis • Electrical Safety Compliance-NFPA 70E • Process Safety Management (PSM) • Confined Space Entry Training for Entrants/Attendants/Supervisors • Values-Based Safety Process • Energizing Your Ergonomics Training • Workplace Violence Prevention Programs • Leadership through Learning • Respiratory Protection 101

May 16-17

• OSHA 10-Hour Voluntary Compliance Course for General Industry

September 20 September 21

Safety Metrics – Stop Focusing on Failure & Celebrate Success (AM) Focus on Competency (PM)

September 29

Effective Team Safety

October 11

Safety Inspections

November 2-3

OSHA 10-Hour Voluntary Compliance for General Industry

WAUSAU AREA SAFETY TRAINING August 10

Coaching the Lift Truck Operator, Train-the-Trainer

Fabricating Wisconsin’s Talent Pipeline

By Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch

A

s I travel Wisconsin, I hear one concern from employers more than any other: “I need more qualified people to join my workforce.” We talk constantly about the “skills gap” between current workers and current jobs – we’re investing in technical colleges and making 4-year college more affordable to fill that gap today. But the state’s long-term solution is a robust talent pipeline that stretches from K-12 all the way through graduate school.

That’s why we’ve funded Academic and Career Planning for our schools to expose kids as young as sixth grade to the careers that actually exist in Wisconsin and the education paths that lead to them, and why we funded a fabrication laboratory grant program for K-12 schools.

But many of your business peers aren’t waiting for us in government to develop the youngest folks in our state’s talent pipeline. They’ve already begun doing it themselves, often bypassing us to go directly to our K-12 schools to win over future workers while they’re still kids.

Three Lakes and Florence both have fab labs to MIT standards, permitting students from small towns in northern Wisconsin to collaborate on projects with peers across the globe using 3-D printers and hands-on machines. These projects were funded in part by generous donations from local companies like Lakes Precision, Pride Sports and BOSS Snowplow. These businesses aren’t simply investing because they’re nice corporate citizens. For that, they can buy jerseys for the little league. They are looking to train future workers. After all, these fab labs prompt students to think like the engineers and machinists these companies hire.

Bay Link Manufacturing at Green Bay’s West High School is supported by the local technical college and makes products for

Heavy Metal Bus Tour to Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin Rapids

local companies like Lindquist Machine Corp. Bay Link is unique because beyond teaching manufacturing skills, it trains students in accounting, production planning, shipping and marketing, giving STEM and non-STEM students a real-world career experience.

Briggs & Stratton has developed unique access to the young science and technology talent at Milwaukee Lutheran High School through a work program hatched just this year. STEM students use their after-school jobs at Briggs to build their skills and resumes.

Those committing to work at Briggs will see the company help pay for their college degrees.

Gateway’s SC Johnson iMET Center

At Domtar Paper and Tweet Garot Mechanical, they throw open their doors and roll out the red carpet for high school kids exploring local employers on the Heavy Metal Bus Tours sponsored by the Heart of Wisconsin Chamber.

Young people come away with an accurate read on what manufacturing jobs really look like and employers get an early jump on recruiting young talent.

Ariens has made Brillion High School the envy of the K-12 world, investing heavily in machines on which students train, preparing to launch into careers at the famous snowblower maker. Mercury Marine took a different turn, literally creating its own charter school for grades 3-5. Their STEM Academy in Fond du Lac is reaching students very young with the ideas and information that will make them great employees at the company someday.

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Small businesses are making an impact when they reach into K-12 education, too. The iLead Academy in Mauston, another charter school, has a direct line to the local entrepreneurs and inventors club. When a student decides to do an

individual experiment on smelting, for example, an email goes out to the club, a local expert is identified and an expert mentor is linked to the student to help with the project.

Not every partnership between schools and employers requires more space or equipment, either.

Plymouth High School worked with local companies to develop a soft skills rubric that grades students on the qualities many employers seek like collaboration, respect and work habits. The students are told up-front about these expectations and receive quarterly soft skills grades along with their academic scores.

Moreover, local employers from Sargento Cheese to the community Piggly Wiggly ask students for their soft skill evaluations when hiring for summer or part-time Stoughton High School fab lab help.

All of this is to say that creating our long-term talent pipeline requires the active engagement of government, educators and employers, and some of the most innovative examples of workforce development come from companies simply taking matters directly to the schools. After all, though the state can fund certain major initiatives like academic and career plans, we can’t develop the

innovative models that will create the future of education – that has to happen locally, one school at a time, until we can take the best and scale them statewide. So call your superintendent or even run for the school board. There’s no reason why your local school can’t be the next statewide model for excellence... or the source of your next hire. BV

Bay Link Manufacturing at Green Bay West High School

Wisconsin Business Voice

17

Wisconsin’s Biotech Innovation Industry Collaboration Key to Growth

By Charles S. Sara

F

or those paying close attention to Wisconsin’s – and the Midwest’s – biotech industry, the forecast is “continued growth.”

With its explosive growth in university research and technology transfer to business development, Wisconsin is a microcosm of what is going on nationally. In fact, Wisconsin’s biotech industry grew three percent per year during the Great Recession when other businesses were facing economic challenges.

Wisconsin is recognized as a hub of scientific development and it boasts multiple Nobel Prizes for biotech discoveries that improve the human condition and create global impact.

Described as “Biotech’s Third Coast,” Wisconsin is home to more than 1,600 biotech companies employing 36,000 people with economic output of $27 million in 2013. Dane, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brown and Eau Claire counties are Wisconsin’s major hubs of bioscience activity.

Industry Collaboration is Key

While it may seem like the sole province of scientists wearing goggles and lab coats, the biotech industry, like any other industry, requires a vibrant infrastructure – business developers, investors, scientists, research institutions, lawyers, policy makers and skilled workers – to bring biotech innovation to market.

Fostering collaboration among these partners is key to the biotech’s industry’s growth, concludes BioForward’s 2015 Wisconsin’s Bioscience Economic Development Report. Yet, the complex intersection of business, science and the law can quickly become a barrier for business leaders, investors and others trying to navigate opportunities in the evolving biotech industry.

The area of patent law is rapidly changing, for example, and it means constantly monitoring cases, rules and regulations. My job as a patent lawyer – to vet the innovation to determine whether it’s patentable – is just one piece of this collaborative process. If we don’t adequately describe the innovation and its novel features in the patent application, it’s not going to withstand a critical review by a Patent Office examiner.

Where to Start?

A basic understanding of this industry opens the door to greater collaboration and opportunity. Look no further than the rich learning and networking resources in our backyards – the Wisconsin Technology Council, BioForward, BioNetWork Power Hour and State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE®. BV Charles S. Sara is a patent attorney with DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., Madison, focusing on the biotechnology, agriculture and medical industries.

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For Wisconsin Exporters, Turkey Can Serve as Gateway to Surrounding Regions A lthough not yet among Wisconsin’s top export markets, Turkey merits consideration as companies develop their export strategies. The country has evolved from a developing country to one of the world’s newly industrialized economies. After adopting reforms in response to a severe financial crisis in 2001, Turkey experienced strong economic growth averaging more than six percent annually through 2008. The global recession caused GDP to contract, but Turkey's well-regulated financial markets and banking system helped the country weather the global financial crisis and GDP rebounded strongly to around nine percent growth in 2010 and 2011. Solid domestic demand has helped the Turkish economy to grow beyond predictions for 2015.

Turkey's largely free-market economy is increasingly driven by its industry and service sectors although its traditional agriculture sector still accounts for about 25 percent of employment. An aggressive privatization program has reduced state involvement in basic industry, banking, transport and communication, and an emerging cadre of middle-class entrepreneurs is adding dynamism to the economy and expanding production beyond the traditional textiles and clothing sectors. As the economy develops further, plentiful opportunities exist for suppliers of industrial machinery. In addition, demand is strong for medical equipment and devices as the health care system expands. Tourism is another strong and growing sector, creating demand for restaurant and hospitality equipment as well as construction equipment and supplies.

With a population of nearly 80 million, Turkey constitutes a sizable export market in itself, but many U.S. companies have also begun using it as a regional hub for business in Central Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Since labor costs are lower in Turkey than in most parts of the European Union, the country

attracts production facilities serving European markets; in addition, many existing factories are looking to buy new equipment as they modernize and upgrade.

Despite security issues that exist due to internal conflict within Turkey and its proximity to Syria, Wisconsin companies should not discount Turkey as a promising export market. BV For more information on exporting to Turkey or other parts of the world, visit the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s website InWisconsin.com/exporting

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES IN TURKEY 2015 Top2015 Export TopCategories Export Categories to Turkey to Turkey

Medical &Medical Scientific & Scientific Instruments Instruments – 40% – 40% IndustrialIndustrial MachineryMachinery – 32% – 32% Plastics –Plastics 5% – 5% ElectricalElectrical MachineryMachinery – 5% – 5% Paper – 5% Paper – 5% All OthersAll – 13% Others – 13%

Population: 79.4 million 2014 WI Exports: $88.5 million (14x greater than WI) Area: 783,562 sq km (5x greater than WI) GDP: $798 billion (3x greater than WI)

WI Export Rank: 32 2014 WI Imports: $50.6 million

2015 Top2015 Import TopCategories Import Categories from Turkey from Turkey

Bed Linens, Bed Blankets Linens, & Blankets Curtains&–Curtains 49% – 49% IndustrialIndustrial MachineryMachinery – 10% – 10% ManmadeManmade Filaments/Yarns – 6% Filaments/Yarns – 6% Plastic Products 4% Plastic –Products – 4% Medical &Medical Scientific Instruments – 3% & Scientific Instruments – 3% Glass – 3% Glass – 3% Vehicles &Vehicles Parts – & 3%Parts – 3% All OthersAll – 22% Others – 22%

Key Industries: Cultivation of hazelnuts, fruit, tobacco, cotton; production of consumer electronics and home appliances; textiles; motor vehicles; ship building; transportation and logistics; tourism; finance

To learn more about growing your business in Turkey, visit InWisconsin.com/Exporting or call 855-INWIBIZ (toll free).

Wisconsin Business Voice

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Cultivating the Next Generation of Manufacturing Professionals

By Kelly Rudy

I

t’s no secret the manufacturing industry is in the midst of a serious employment dilemma. With the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation nearly upon us, leaders in manufacturing are looking to the next generation of highly skilled workers – only to find there is very little interest in the industry.

Students’ negative beliefs are reinforced by their parents who frequently argue that manufacturing jobs will go overseas, by their schools who teach them that attending a university will lead them towards better job and by the industry’s absence which was once prevalent in every high school in the country.

It is feared that as many as two-million manufacturing job positions will go unfilled because potential workers lack the right technology, computer and technical skills these jobs require.

Machinists today must be a hybrid of both traditional machine operator AND computer programmer.

The solution is to engage millennials. The manufacturing industry needs leaders that are willing to invest in and actively engage the next generation so they start seeing the manufacturing industry as an attractive and viable career path.

This outlines the vital importance of leadership and the crucial role manufacturing industry leaders must adopt in order to stem the coming tide.

Today’s manufacturing leadership must evolve in order to engage the new workforce, where both a revitalization and revision of old engagement methods synthesizes with a modern technology-based approach to achieve success.

“WMC affords Greenheck Fan the opportunity to invest and take part in activities that support Wisconsin businesses and bring awareness to the issues and legislation that may impede our growth and expansion. Through our support of and participation in WMC’s various events and endeavors, we have been able to build and foster key relationships with fellow business professionals throughout the state.

There is no better opportunity when it comes to interacting with those involved in bettering our state’s business climate.”

Jim McIntyre, President & CEO Greenheck Fan Corporation

Engagement

Manufacturing leadership must implement a multifaceted approach to engage today’s youthful workforce. The first step lies with the individual – company leaders need training and education. Ongoing professional development is a crucial part of many industries, especially those in leadership positions. Good leaders are not born; they are made.

Professional development not only strengthens skill sets and leadership techniques, but offers strategies and education on the current industry environment, while simultaneously giving leaders a peer platform to collaborate and collectively develop solutions to help curb this dilemma.

Getting involved with both government and educational administrations to begin reinstating apprenticeships and schoolto-work programs will greatly influence youth engagement. One of the biggest contributors to low interest in manufacturing is the lack of correct information about the industry.

Engaging youth on their own terms is just as important. Using technology to interact with them on the various devices and social platforms to which they are constantly connected offers unprecedented exposure, awareness and levels of interaction that were never available in the past.

The millennial generation is simply not aware of many of the positive facts regarding manufacturing. Yet one of this generation’s defining traits is the ideology that their work must be meaningful and have a positive impact on the world.

Students desire jobs that use the latest technologies, build amazing products that matter, provide upward mobility in their career paths and offer competitive starting wages that grow across their career span. And they really don’t want to start their young professional lives with massive student debt. Most students have no idea the manufacturing industry meets all of these criteria.

The Next Chapter in Manufacturing

As an industry leader, creating youth awareness on the local, statewide and national levels must become a primary objective.

Corporate leaders are charged with spearheading campaigns that will overcome these challenges.

By taking part in their own professional development, leaders will gain the information and awareness necessary to start solving these problems. This will allow leadership to influence the current state of things – collaborating, devising solutions and focusing on getting the correct information to the young workforce will create a revived interest in manufacturing careers. BV Kelly Rudy is president of The Paranet Group

Not a member? Join today. www.wmc.org/membership

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SUPREME COURT Jim Pugh Vice President/Treasurer, WMC Issues Mobilization Council, Inc.

Kloppenburg Dangerous for Wisconsin Families

“I never said I was tough on crime…being tough on crime was not my message.” - JoAnne Kloppenburg, Marquette Law School Supreme Court Candidate Forum, March 22, 2011

F

ive years later, MadisonAppeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg has proved herself prophetic.

She definitely isn’t tough on crime.

In 2011, Kloppenburg uttered her famous quote about not being tough on crime at a Marquette Law School candidate forum. She was in a hotly contested race against Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser in the midst of the statewide brouhaha over Gov. Walker’s public employee union reform.

Ultimately, Prosser defeated Kloppenburg for the Supreme Court and she has since gone on to win a seat on Wisconsin Appeals Court in the Madison area. She interned for former Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.

Kloppenburg spent more than 20 years as a lawyer working for the Wisconsin Department of Justice where she made a career out of litigating against businesses and farmers on environmental matters. She once successfully asked a judge to throw a farmer in jail at Christmas time over a land use issue and she sued a famous restaurant owner for repairing his pier on a Waukesha area lake.

Wisconsin businesses should be gravely concerned about Kloppenburg receiving a 10-year term on the high court in part because she could form an activist majority in the future with former Chief Justice Abrahamson, whom she has cited as her judicial role model. While on the Court of Appeals, Kloppenburg has ruled in favor of plaintiffs on medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. While in the Department of Justice, her case load almost exclusively included representing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources against businesses. She has been rejected by Republican and Democrat governors for several appointments to the appeals court, President Obama did not appoint her to the federal bench when she applied in 2009, and she was rejected in her application to serve as the city attorney in Madison in 2004.

During the 2011 election, Kloppenburg received the outside support of nearly $1.9 million in spending by the Greater Wisconsin Committee, a political group with deep ties to unions

and other liberal interest groups. Since being elected to the Wisconsin Appeals court in 2012, Kloppenburg has confirmed she is not tough on crime.

Let’s take a look at Kloppenburg’s rulings on the appeals court.

Unsafe Streets. Kloppenburg ruled in favor of a methadone patient and long-time drug abuser who ran over an elderly woman while driving under the influence of the synthetic heroin. The driver told the police he had taken the methadone 20 minutes before he killed the woman. Kloppenburg ruled that the methadone evidence should be excluded.

Unsafe Homes. Kloppenburg ordered a new trial for a man who showed pornography to and molested his adopted daughter. The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Kloppenburg’s ruling and upheld the conviction of the sex offender.

Unsafe Schools. Kloppenburg sided with a male teacher who was fired for using a school district computer to view pornography and then sharing it with female employees. The school district was forced to rehire the teacher.

Unsafe for Children. Kloppenburg sided with a sex offender who claimed he didn’t understand that having sex with a girl under 16 was a crime and that his guilty plea should be withdrawn and a new trial ordered.

Unsafe Neighborhoods. Kloppenburg ruled in favor of a heroin dealer and against police who found him a high-drug trafficking area. The dealer had heroin packets falling out of his pockets when confronted by police but Kloppenburg ruled the evidence had to be suppressed.

Siding with Prisoners. Kloppenburg reinstated a lawsuit filed by a first degree murderer against his parole agent for denying him parole. The frivolous lawsuit was part of nearly 100 appeals since his 1984 conviction.

Clearly, being tough on crime is not Kloppenburg’s forte.

Kloppenburg is a Madison native who would attempt to impose her views onto the law. She studied under former Chief Justice Abrahamson who led the liberal Court in overturning caps on punitive damages, medical malpractice caps and imposed a “guilty until proven innocent” standard for manufacturers.

She never said she was tough on crime. Why? Because she’s not. BV Wisconsin Business Voice

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ENTREPRE

ENEURSHIP Wisconsin Is Full of Great Ideas (and has the entrepreneurs to prove it)

By Mark Crawford

E

ntrepreneurship is on the rise in Wisconsin. After emerging from the Great Recession, Wisconsin’s entrepreneur and venture communities continue to grow at a steady pace and hold their own against their Midwest neighbors.

For Paul Jones, counsel to Michael Best and Friedrich LLP’s Business Practice Group in Madison, Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial climate is reminiscent of North Carolina and Research Triangle Park in the mid1990s. “We are just getting to the inflection point of the growth curve,” says Jones. “We are comparable today to places like Columbus, Ohio and Memphis, Tennessee. We are shooting for Austin, Texas status over the next decade. Historically, Wisconsin has received about half of one percent of national venture funding. We need to get to 2.5 percent or so to have a vibrant, self-sustaining, high-impact, startup-driven innovation sector.”

According to the Kauffman Foundation's annual Index on StartUp Activity released in June 2015, Wisconsin dropped from 45th place to dead last among all 50 states.

Many business leaders felt this did not accurately reflect Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial climate. “I’d want to know more about how those metrics were defined and measured,” says Joe Scanlin, co-founder and CEO of Scanalytics. “We would be remiss if we ignored what Wisconsin has built in an arguably short period of time for supporting and encouraging startup growth. With programs like gener8tor, a startup accelerator in

Madison, and support from growing funds like CSA Partners, LLC, there are a lot of resources to boost activity.”

Other indices show Wisconsin ranks higher when certain types of startups are considered – for example, tech startups. Also, some It is much cheaper to start and parts of the state clearly produce more operate a startup in Wisconsin young companies than others. In Madison, compared to big-city hubs like for example, “every time I look around San Francisco or Boston. there seem to be more companies getting their first couple million dollars to turn their ideas into reality,” says Wes Schroll, founder of Fetch Rewards. “Once companies get to that stage, the probability is much higher they will find a way to succeed.”

Wisconsin is also trending upward for venture capital and angel capital.

Although its data compilation is incomplete, the Wisconsin Technology Council expects 2015 totals to be comparable to 2014, which scored 113 angel and venture deals totaling $300 million in funding “I think our greatest weakness is that people don’t seem to appreciate how well certain regions in the state are really doing,” comments John Eckhardt, a UW professor of management and human resources and co-founder of gener8tor.

“We tend to report state-level statistics for assessing performance, when regional numbers are probably more appropriate. High-growth entrepreneurship really tends to be clustered in smaller regions.”

Wisconsin Business Voice

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Top Startup Sectors

Life sciences, biotechnology, medical devices, health information, clean tech and digital technology are drawing the most venture capital (VC) interest in Wisconsin. In terms of number of viable deals, the hottest sectors are in IT – software, e-commerce, gaming, mobile and web applications.

“There has been a big jump in software-based businesses over the past five years,” states Aaron Hagar, vice president of the division of entrepreneurship and innovation for Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). “Software touches almost everything we do and we’re seeing business-to-business solutions working in a number of different industries.”

IT is sizzling for several reasons. It is much cheaper to start and operate a startup in Wisconsin compared to big-city hubs like San Francisco or Boston. IT deals in Wisconsin typically require less capital and less time to get to a plausible exit. The state’s IT talent is also recognized as some of the best in the country.

“Given the paucity of larger venture firms in Wisconsin, it is much harder to win funding for deals that are going to need tens of millions of dollars to get home,” says Jones. “However, this process is starting to change as some out-of-state players – for example, Drive Capital – are taking a harder look at deals ‘between the coasts.’”

Joe Kirgues, co-founder of gener8tor, agrees.

“In digital technology, we've seen a tremendous amount of new investment from regional and national venture funds,” states Kirgues. For example, EatStreet recently raised a $15 million Series B with participation from funds located in Illinois and California.

Not only is the dollar amount impressive, but getting “West Coast money is a great example of a Wisconsin company being able to attract ‘real’ money to help it grow and succeed,” adds Schroll. Other VC successes include Propeller Health (national venture funds) and Ionic (Minnesota and Illinois).

Wisconsin Advantages

Wisconsin has a close, supportive community for both entrepreneurs and venture capital firms. This network helps entrepreneurs find resources and avoid mistakes. “People are generally willing to be constructive and helpful, even if they aren’t going to invest or otherwise get involved with the project,” says Hagar. For VCs, the entrepreneurial community tends to share its pipelines and invites multiple groups into good rounds. This is in part to minimize risk, but local VCs also understand that additional partners bring other resources and connections that will help the company grow faster. “Maybe it’s just the whole ‘Midwest Nice’ approach, but the 24

community aspect was certainly attractive when I was deciding whether to start Fetch Rewards here or on the East Coast,” says Schroll.

Scanlin indicates many Midwest entrepreneurs have that “roll up your sleeves and figure it out" mentality, which is particularly useful if funding shortages arise. Another Wisconsin attribute is the strong technology base/workforce, anchored by highly skilled UW graduates who can build almost any type of product.

Although Wisconsin has a lower overall startup rate compared to other states, it does have a relatively high survival rate. Its entrepreneurs are accustomed to working hard and finding ways to raise money for their companies. “They understand business, pay attention to cash flow and look for support from an increasingly strong infrastructure for early stage companies,” says Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

Start-up Capital

Thomas Shannon is president and CEO of BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation, which helps promising startups secure early stage funding. Shannon is impressed by the abundance of smart and enthusiastic entrepreneurs in the state. “The metrics seem to support that Wisconsin has all the raw ingredients it needs for success – there is just not enough start-up capital,” he says.

In most cases, the first few rounds of a company's financing are secured through Wisconsin’s angel networks and funds. Some of the most active angel networks in the U.S. – Wisconsin Investment Partners and Golden Angels – are located in Wisconsin. The state’s investor tax credits also stimulate investment activity.

One of the most significant changes in the national investment landscape over the past five years is the advent of business accelerators.

Business accelerators have fundamentally changed seed-stage financing of startup companies. “In particular, accelerators have been a major force in standardizing deal terms and catalyzing a national financing market for early stage companies,” says Eckhardt.

The next stage of growth financing is often provided by Wisconsin's early stage venture funds, such as CSA Partners or 4490 Ventures.

Wisconsin's most active venture financing partners are found in Illinois and Minnesota. “While some regional or even national VCs show up in these early rounds, their interest typically lies in the growth rounds following a Wisconsin fund,” says Kirgues.

WEDC supports the funding of early-stage, high-tech companies through its Qualified New Business Venture Program (QNBV).

Since it was established in 2005, QNBV companies have raised about $321 million in investments that qualified for over $80 million

in tax credits. In 2014, QNBV companies generated more than $128 million in total investment.

Other government initiatives include the Badger Fund of Funds, a joint state-private partnership designed to help new companies.

Senator Alberta Darling and Representative Adam Neylon have proposed an industry-cluster legislative package (AB757 and AB758) that promotes R&D public-private partnerships. “I continue to hear that Wisconsin trails other states in the amount of institutional investment and that this investment could be more regionally diverse,” says Neylon. “The Seeds for Growth Bill [AB486] addresses both these issues by providing more tax credits for investing in Wisconsin startups.”

Moving Forward

Wisconsin VCs are looking for traction in the marketplace, great management teams and other support to reduce operational risk.

Wisconsin startups are showing up more on the radar of big East and West Coast VC firms. “Things have been so hot recently on the coasts that VC firms are looking to find the diamond in the rough in places like the Midwest,” says Schroll.

This is a good start for Wisconsin, but big VCs want to see blockbuster deals that bring returns of 10 or 20 times on their investments. Impressive exits by some of the companies who have taken the majority of their money from the Midwest would bring more VC attention. “This would show that Wisconsin can produce companies that are not 10-year investments, but instead are fast-

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growing enterprises that can be cultivated on the East and West Coasts,” Schroll added.

Another way to attract VC is playing by its rules.

“Wisconsin, as a minor player in the VC game at this stage, needs to keep up with what’s going on nationally and try to get into that game in a serious way, before we strike out on our own path with our own rules,” cautions Jones. “People in the major venture centers tend to view us skeptically. To be crude, they think we are hicks. Fair or not, we have to deal with that and the best way is to learn the rules of the road, why they are what they are, and to stick to them as much as possible.”

Venture capital is a long-term industry whose investments often take years to show progress. The emergence of new funds, such as 4490 Ventures and CSA Partners, are hopefully setting the stage for robust venture capital growth in Wisconsin over the next three to five years.

“We have a wealth of talented people in this state, working extraordinarily hard to bring new ideas to market,” says Hagar.

“While we may not see the highest dollar amounts invested, companies tend to make good use of the funding they attract. Our business success rate is also quite high, showing that Wisconsin entrepreneurs are successful in finding the resources and customers they need to stay in business.”BV Crawford is a Madison-based freelance writer.

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Wisconsin Business Voice

25

My Closing Argument

Why I Should Continue Serving on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court

By Justice Rebecca Bradley

A

fter practicing law in the private sector for over 16 years, I answered a call to public service as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge in Children’s Court, where I dedicated myself to strengthening families, protecting children in need, keeping the community safe and treating everyone in court with dignity and respect. I then served as a Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge, reviewing decisions made at the trial court level and writing opinions in all areas of the law. I am honored to bring nearly 20 years of experience in the legal and judicial professions to our State’s highest court. I am the first Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice in state history to bring judicial experience on both the trial court and intermediate appellate court benches.

school teacher. My family’s experiences gave me a unique appreciation for the challenges faced by families all over our great state.

My positive campaign focuses on my experience, service to the people of Wisconsin and my judicial philosophy: Serving the people of Wisconsin as a member of the judiciary has justices should interpret been the most rewarding experience of my professional life, and the law, not invent it.

I am grateful to those who expressed confidence in me with their The people of Wisconsin support and votes. I humbly ask are best served by the voters of Wisconsin to “The people of Wisconsin justices who retain me as their Wisconsin their are best served by justices who understand Supreme Court Justice. duty to state what I became a judge because I understand their duty to state the law is, not what they prefer it to be. care deeply about Wisconsin

what the law is, not what they

and its communities. I was prefer it to be.” born and raised in the city of Milwaukee and have lived in Wisconsin my entire life. After my dad lost his job in the 1980s recession, my family struggled like many Wisconsin families. But I was blessed with parents who instilled in their children a strong work ethic, the importance of education and the value of family.

My sisters are stay-at-home mothers. My brother is a public high

Justices should defer to democratic processes that result in the creation of laws by legislatures and not attempt to impose their policy preferences in decisions. It is essential to our system of justice to have independent justices who will apply the law impartially, free of political agendas. America was founded on the principle that Constitutional laws enacted by the people’s representatives in the legislative branch of government should be upheld by the judicial branch, not second-guessed.

Laws are appropriately subject to judicial review, not a judicial veto.

The judiciary should defer to legislative policy choices, not impose their own. Justices should apply the law as it is written, guided by principles such as judicial restraint and respect for the separation of powers among the three branches of government.

I also contribute positively toward the collegiality of the Supreme Court. Throughout my professional career, I have always been able to get along well with my colleagues. I bring an excellent judicial temperament and positive personal demeanor to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Justice Rebecca Bradley addressed the WMC Board of Directors in Madison.

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When I proudly took the Oath of Office, I swore to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin. I understand my duty to apply the law as it is written and not as I may wish it to be. I have faithfully exercised this duty in hundreds of cases as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and as a Justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. It is my honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Wisconsin. BV

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MADE IN WISCONSIN‌ Amerequip Corporation 1015 Calumet Ave. Kiel, WI 53042 (920) 894-2000 www.amerequip.com 260 Wisconsin Employees Established 1920

Amerequip, a manufacturer of custom equipment for the lawn, landscape, agricultural and construction markets, has made significant investments since 2011. These investments have broadened their product line with a focus on custom solutions for clients, thus leading to several patents for new equipment. Amerequip has invested in additional assembly capacity, a new training center, and is currently in the planning process for further expansion in 2016. Today, the firm’s products are produced in four Wisconsin locations by 260 team members and are sold worldwide.

Masters Gallery Foods, Inc. In a world where technology often overshadows people, Masters Gallery Foods, Inc. has skillfully combined the best of both worlds. The family-owned company has created a culture that values relationships, collaboration and commitment to excellence at every level within the organization, a family that is 530+ employees strong and growing. Marketing over 500-million pounds of top quality cheese every year, their state-of-the-art production facility cuts and wraps natural cheese products for distribution throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, China, Mexico and more.

328 County Hwy PP Plymouth, WI 53073 (920) 893-8431 www.mastersgalleryfoods.com 535 Wisconsin Employees Established 1974

Felss Rotaform LLC Felss Rotaform LLC specializes in rotary swaging and axial forming, integrated with secondary operations and robotics to produce high quality automotive parts.

With only one other company in the country with rotary swaging machines, Felss relies on creative approaches and their knowledge from within to be a leader in their unique processes. Felss custom machines are integrated with high tech automation, inspection and handling by skilled technicians to produce automotive products shipped not only within the United States but to China, Brazil and Mexico.

5160 S. Emmer Dr. New Berlin, WI 53151 (262) 821-6293 www.felss.com 51 Wisconsin Employees Established 1999

… featuring Teel Plastics, Inc.

s r e n n i W d r

Awa

Teel Plastics, Inc., named one of twenty five World Class Processors of 2015 by Plastics Technology, has specialized in custom extruded plastic tubing and profiles for over six decades.

Their reputation of exceptional custom plastic products is due to their highly skilled employees and unique extrusion manufacturing techniques. Teel Plastics serves very diverse markets, ranging from high-end medical products such as IV tubing, catheter components and medical packing products, to the automotive, window, computer and water filtration industries.

Responsiveness, product development and their approach to work with customers in the design and development phase allows Teel Plastics to be esteemed in the plastic extrusion industry.

1060 Teel Ct. Baraboo, WI 53913 (608) 355-3080 www.teel.com 250 Wisconsin Employees Established 1951

Alto-Shaam, Inc. W164N9221 Water St. Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 (262) 251-3800 www.alto-shaam.com 433 Employees 391 Wisconsin Employees Established 1955

Since its inception, developing innovative solutions in food preparation has been Alto-Shaam’s core strength. They partner with their customers to innovate and develop new products that will provide high-quality food while reducing energy, food shrinkage and labor costs.

Today, Alto-Shaam’s products include cook and hold ovens, food warmers, steam and convection combination ovens, buffet servers, high-speed ovens and more. Their products are used in commercial kitchens in restaurants, hotels, schools, business commissaries, casinos, banquet facilities and cruise ships around the world.

Generac Power Systems, Inc. Generac has been a leading designer and manufacturer of a wide range of generators and other engine powered products since 1959. Generac’s products are available through a broad network of independent dealers, retailers, wholesalers and equipment rental companies.

They are committed to developing a long-term vision that promotes environmentally responsible products, processes and partnerships, offering product options that allow their customers to shrink their ecological footprint when backup energy use is required.

S45 W29290 Hwy 59 Waukesha, WI 53189 (262) 544-4811 www.generac.com 3,600 Employees 2,600 Wisconsin Employees Established 1959

The first annual Wisconsin Job Honor Awards were presented February 23 at WMC’s Talent Conference in Madison. The awards highlight the success of non-traditional employees and the employers who hire people facing life challenges.

This year’s winners were…

Step Industries

STEP Industries, who has served more than 10,000 men and women in the past 30 years, provides hope and job opportunities without judgment for individuals in recovery for issues with drug and alcohol.

Mitchell Matthiesen Even though he is blind and autistic, Olsen’s Piggly Wiggly in Green Bay looked past Mitchell Matthiesen’s disabilities to see his strengths, capabilities and the good work he is able to do for their store.

Jason Wright

More than two years after being hired at Ariens Corporation, Production Trainer Jason Wright credits the Brillion-based manufacturer for saving his life by giving him a chance after a rough start to life and despite having spent time in jail.

Ultratec

Ultratec, a manufacturer of hearing-impaired phones, embraces disabled employees and their unique skillsets to better their organization and the individuals they employ.

Winners of the first annual Wisconsin Job Honor awards, Michelle Devine Giese of STEP Industries, Mitchell Matthiesen, Jason Wright and LiliAnne Carey of Ultratec.

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BUSINESS & EDUCATION Steve Benzschawel Director of Wisconsin Business World®

Business World

Real World Experience, Life-Changing Results!

S

ince 1982, Wisconsin Business World has been a summer tradition for high school students who want to learn about business and experience life on a college campus. Through hands-on projects and competitions, students are put in the driver’s seat to manage a company and make many of the same decisions faced by real-life business executives.

We prepare students to be career-ready through hands-on experience, taught by business professionals who have seen firsthand what skills the younger generation needs to become ready for the workplace.

Anyone who has witnessed the closing ceremonies at Business World can attest to the enthusiasm and energy that fills the room on the final day of camp. Students who only days earlier were a nervous, scared and withdrawn group, have come out of their shells to make new friends, prepare for life after high school and set goals for their future.

If you think back to when you were in high school, you might remember how it can be a scary and confusing time trying to decide what path your life will take after high school. Many of our students have indicated their time at Business World helped clarify and focus their post-high school goals. Much of that clarity and focus can be attributed to the role our college staff plays at camp.

College staff help keep students safe at camp, but their influence extends far beyond nightly dorm room checks. Since college staffers are only a few years removed from being in high school themselves, they are in a great position to help high school campers with questions about college classes, majors and internships.

Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow

I recently asked our college staff for reflections on their Business World experience. Melissa Pearce attended BW when she was a

student at Southwestern High School in Hazel Green and is now continuing her education at UW-Whitewater. Melissa attended the program twice in high school and was upset when her time as a student at BW was over, until she learned about being part of BW college staff: “After my second year was over I was a little sad I wasn’t going to be able to go back to Business World. That is when I learned I could come back as college staff. Business World had given me so much and I have received so many opportunities from my experiences there that I wanted to give that same thing to the younger generation. Honestly, this is a program that has made me the person I am today. It helped me decide my career plans, where to apply for college, and improved my network and connections with people.”

Ryan Malliet attended Business World as a student at New London High School and now studies business at UW-Madison.

Ryan had this to share:

“Business World has meant a great deal to me. As a camper I learned a great deal about business activities and got to apply them in a fun and engaging way. Becoming part of the BW college staff has allowed me to stay involved and give back to a program that means a lot to me. I love being a role model and resource for high school kids as they prepare for college and want to learn more about business. BW is absolutely the highlight to my summer and I look forward to going back each year. ”

Don’t Miss Out on BW 2016!

Don’t let the high school kids in your life miss out on Business World this summer! There are sessions in June and July so pick the week that works best for you and sign them up to join in on the fun. BV Follow Steve on Twitter @wibusinessworld

Support the next generation of business leaders!

June 19–22, St. Norbert College, De Pere • July 10–13, Edgewood College, Madison

Visit www.wibusinessworld.org to learn more.

Wisconsin Business Voice

31

Wisconsin Needs Both Tech Certificates and Four-Year Degrees

By Cathy Sandeen

G

ood Jobs are Back: College Graduates are First in Line, a recent report by the Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce, should give us food for thought here in Wisconsin.

“Good jobs” are defined as those that pay more than $53,000 (26 percent above the median), most of which are full-time and include health insurance and employer-sponsored retirement plans.

According to the report, good job opportunities have been growing.

Management, health care, science, technology, engineering and mathematics-intensive positions all are on the rise. Middle-wage and lower-wage jobs are recovering more slowly than the good jobs.

College graduates with four-year degrees have been overwhelmingly hired into good jobs.

We see a welcome shift toward “good jobs” here in Wisconsin, too.

Even in the manufacturing sector, where we might assume less demand for employees with bachelor’s degrees, the workforce is shifting toward a higher level of education as manufacturers shift to greater automation, lean processes and quality improvement efforts.

Another recent study, this one by Jonathan Rothwell of the Brookings Institution, found “the average bachelor’s degree holder contributes $278,000 more to local economies than the average high school graduate through direct spending over the course of his or her lifetime; an associate degree holder contributes $81,000 more than a high school graduate.” In terms of consumer spending alone, more educated citizens make greater contributions to the economy.

Higher education is an investment with broad benefits.

Wisconsin’s outstanding technical college system builds a careerready workforce prepared for many essential jobs. We hear our need for welders stressed time and again.

But we need both. We need multiple pathways to certificates, credentials and four-year degrees to fuel our economy.

The University of Wisconsin Colleges are Wisconsin’s best-kept secret and are one our state’s best assets. Our 13 campuses and UW Colleges Online provide an accessible way for students to complete the first two years of a bachelor’s degree close to home in an environment focused on their academic success.

Bruce Albrecht, vice president for global innovation and technology at ITW Welding companies – which includes Appleton-based Miller Electric Manufacturing – is among the Wisconsin business leaders looking to UW Colleges as a partner in workforce development. “Miller Electric develops innovative welding solutions for the metal working industry and places a high value on UW Colleges engineering programs,” he says. “We help employees continue their education in engineering at UW Colleges and UW Platteville, and take interns from the campuses. We consider them a great local investment.”

With average tuition and fees of $5,100 per year, the UW Colleges also are the state’s most affordable higher education option. Students can transfer smoothly to one of the UW fouryear campuses or can complete a bachelor’s degree at many UW Colleges campuses through a collaborative degree program or our Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science degree program.

Similar opportunities are available to students who have earned an associate degree or have completed courses elsewhere, including at a technical college. They, too, can complete a bachelor’s degree on a UW Colleges campus with flexible classroom-based and online programs that fit their busy lives.

“We are a home-grown Wisconsin family business with an old and rich tradition of working with our noses to the grind stone. We work hard to ensure future prosperity, happiness and freedom for ourselves and our families. We know how to manufacture and conduct business, but we are not experts in the political dealings that come out of Madison and do not strive to be.

Our business relies on WMC to communicate and advise us on where the limits of government power are being transgressed and how the government is making it harder for us to do our jobs. In turn, we can make informed business decisions and to encourage the company’s team members to educate themselves regarding these issues and take a stand.

WMC has an old and rich tradition of working hard to add value to our membership, and more importantly, to our great state.”

J.R. Menard, Executive Vice President & Treasurer Menard, Inc Not a member? Join today. www.wmc.org/membership

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The UW Flexible Option offers another pathway for individuals to resume their education and complete a bachelor’s degree. Students in this innovative program use skills and knowledge they already have to work through a series of assessments rather than attending individual classes.

Some 800,000 Wisconsinites with some college but no bachelor’s degree can benefit from UW Colleges and UW Flexible Option programs. We offer pathways to good jobs for people at any point in their lives and careers.

Recent reports give us reason for optimism, signaling that good jobs and fulfilling careers await today’s students.

They also provide a wake up call, underscoring the need to upgrade the post-secondary attainment level in our state and recognize the essential and affordable asset we have in the UW Colleges and UW Flexible Option. BV Cathy Sandeen is Chancellor of UW Colleges and UW-Extension

Business Day in Madison

Gov. Walker discussed what the state of Wisconsin is doing to enhance and better the business community and close the ever-looming talent gap.

The upcoming elections and candidate overview were covered by Fox News contributor Stephen Hayes.

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At this year’s Business Day in Madison, attendees got an in-depth look at Wisconsin’s demographics from demographer Ken Gronbach and heard an overview of the state of the economy moving into 2016 elections.

Larry Kudlow of CNBC’s The Kudlow Report addressed the importance of allowing businesses to succeed without regulating and taxing them.

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson addressed our daunting projected deficit of $103 trillion and discussed the way to get better jobs and better opportunities is to work together towards a shared goal.

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RIGHT TO WORK Chris Reader WMC Director of Health & Human Resources Policy

Right to Work One Year Later A

pproximately one year ago Wisconsin became the 25th Right to Work state. Gov. Walker signed the law, 2015 Act 1, on March 9, 2015, in the face of sky-is-falling rhetoric from labor unions and the left. Gov. Walker and legislative Republicans passed Act 1, despite the claims made against Right to Work, because the facts tell another story, one with a promise of job growth and freedom for workers.

That story of freedom starts with a clear understanding of what exactly Right to Work is and what it isn’t. It’s actually a simple law which says workers cannot be forced to join and pay dues to a labor union. If a worker believes a labor union at their worksite is doing a good job bargaining for their interests, they can decide to join the union. If they believe the opposite, the worker can vote with his or her money and not join and pay dues to the union. At its heart, Right to Work is an ideal that runs deep in American history – not being forced to join a group if you don’t want. It's about freedom in the workplace.

Right to Work is not, despite the union talking points last year, an attack on workers or on labor unions. The experience in Wisconsin over the last year and in other states over the last decades has proven that to be a false talking point. One year later, none of the dire predictions have come true. Private sector labor unions continue to exist and, working with employers, continue to be an integral partner to provide worker training and other services. In fact, one prominent opponent to Right to Work, the road building labor union, has since completed a multi-million dollar expansion of a training facility in central Wisconsin. That’s not something the union would do if it believed the rhetoric during the Right to Work debate.

Companies still sit down with unions and negotiate collective bargaining agreements and workers are still able to strike – just ask Kohler Company. The difference perhaps is now labor unions have to be more attentive to what the workforce wants. In other words, they have to provide a service to their customers.

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During the debate on Right to Work, a few companies with a unionized workforce took the anti-Right to Work debate to even higher heights, threatening to leave Wisconsin if we became the 25th Right to Work state. It appears, one year later, these threats were just as empty as the general talking points from the unions, as none of the prominent companies have actually moved their headquarters or ceased operations in Wisconsin.

There have been some sobering statistics for unions in Wisconsin lately with Wisconsin’s overall union membership dropping from approximately 14 percent of the workforce in 2010 to 8 percent in 2016. But that drop is not due to Right to Work. It is driven largely by massive public sector union membership declines since Act 10 was signed five years ago.

Since Wisconsin’s Right to Work law was signed, one more state, West Virginia, has become Right to Work, while no states have repealed their Right to Work status.

Looking forward, Right to Work promises to be a key policy helping bring economic growth to the Badger State. As part of the majority of states that are Right to Work, Wisconsin is now able to compete for expansions and new facilities, and the jobs that come along with those new opportunities. If history is a guide, Right to Work states will continue to outperform forced-unionization states in job growth and worker migration. With the new opportunities for growth, Wisconsin should be on the positive side of that ledger going forward. Interestingly, despite their opposition to right-towork, private sector labor unions will likely see their membership numbers increase as more union jobs come to Wisconsin in part because of our Right to Work status. BV Follow Chris on Twitter @ReaderWMC

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Recruiting New College Graduates What are Wisconsin Students Looking for?

W

isconsin employers face difficult challenges when hiring college graduates. Compared to neighboring states, Wisconsin’s population has fewer college graduates: 25.7 percent of our state population has a four-year degree, versus Illinois’ 30.6 percent and Minnesota’s 31.5 percent. The lower access to college graduates means employers must be particularly attuned to what graduates are seeking, so they can attract candidates from our smaller pool. Making the challenge even harder, we continually lose some college-educated talent to other states, the so-called “brain drain.” Regardless how much Wisconsin actually experiences brain drain, keeping native talent should be a priority.

How can Wisconsin employers improve their ability to recruit college graduates? One strategy is to gain more knowledge about the needs and desires of new graduates and understand how new college graduates navigate the job search process. To help employers who wish to pursue this strategy, a team of UW business professors assessed these employment issues among college students who are close to graduating.

Survey data was collected from 883 business students across ten 4-year UW campuses (all campuses except Madison, Milwaukee and Whitewater). Surveyed students are pursuing majors in Accounting, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Human Resources, Information Systems, Insurance, Management, Marketing, Operations/Supply-Chain and Sales. Almost 84 percent will graduate by spring 2017. Roughly 37 percent are firstgeneration college students. A little more than half are male and approximately 87 percent are Caucasian (6.3 percent Asian/PacificIslander and 2.6 percent Hispanic/Latino). Roughly 25 percent of surveyed students will graduate without any debt, and another 60 percent will graduate with less than $40,000 in debt.

Main Survey Findings

Many students start their job search six months before graduating or earlier (73.8 percent). Thus, employers should connect with students during students’ second-to-last semester where possible.

Table 1 summarizes key factors that drive student interest in choosing whether to apply to a company.

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Personal experiences are most dominant in motivating students to apply to companies. For example, internships are the most powerful way to attract new graduates to full time positions, and making connections through alumni, friends and relatives already employed by a firm are also effective in attracting students. Career fairs are valuable. The authors of this paper have seen employers supplement attendance at career fairs by connecting with professors and staff to be involved in the classroom and other campus activities.

In terms of factors that drive student preferences toward certain positions, responses showed the most important factor overall is work-life balance. Health and retirement benefits, job security, company reputation and colleague relationships also rank higher than pay in importance. In addition, 57 percent of respondents want to work for only one company during the first five years out of college, suggesting a majority of graduates are willing to commit strongly to companies that meet their needs.

How important are factors below when considering a job?

(Note: means are based on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high). The ‘Top Box’ column reports the percent of students rating items as ‘5’.)

Top Box % I worked there (e.g., as an intern) and had a good experience

90.7%

Someone there met me and I feel some connection

76.0%

A friend or relative suggests I consider them

72.7%

A professor or staff member suggests I consider them

63.4%

They participate in a class and make a positive impression

57.2%

An alum from my college works there and suggests I consider them

54.9%

They attend a campus Career Fair

45.6%

They post a position online with my university Career Services office

41.7%

They text/email me encouraging me to apply

43.3%

They post a position online to Monster, CareerBuilder or similar

23.1%

Table 1: Factors that motivate students to apply to certain companies (Scale of 1 to 5)

How important are factors below when considering a job?

(Note: means are based on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high). The ‘Top Box’ column reports the percent of students rating items as ‘5’.)

Top Box % Position gives me good work-life balance

72.3%

Position has good health and retirement benefits

67.7%

Position has high ‘job security’

67.0%

Company has great reputation; I would be proud to tell people I work there

66.8%

I would have good relationships with colleagues

66.2%

Position is “daytime”; I would be off evenings/weekends

64.5%

Company’s culture fits my personality

64.6%

Company values employee contributions

64.8%

Company tends to promote from within and offer transfer opportunities

62.9%

I would respect and feel good working with my direct manager

63.6%

Company has a good training program

60.4%

Company has strong/clear career path

60.3%

Company has good long-term strategic vision

58.6%

Position has high pay

52.7%

Company offers good support for continuing education/development

51.8%

Position would let me make a clear impact

52.1%

Job has flexible work arrangements

52.5%

Position involves international assignments

25.6%

Company has a lot of younger employees

17.5%

Table 2: Factors driving job and company preference (Scale of 1 to 5)

What environments attract students? Generally, students prefer offices with a corporate or large-company feel and family-owned companies. Small companies are also attractive to many students. A smaller portion of students reported specific interest for working in manufacturing environments.

What are students looking for in a manager? Almost 62 percent of students prefer a manager who gives them some autonomy. Other highly desirable traits include offering challenges or expecting high levels of performance (over 65 percent), having previously worked in the same role (81.8 percent), and connecting them to more senior people in the company (87.7 percent). A high percentage of students (62.2 percent) prefer a manager that “treats me more like family than like an employee.”

What locations attract students? A majority of students prefer to stay “close to home,” but 48.1 percent are willing to relocate anywhere in Wisconsin, indicating students recognize the reality that relocation may be required. 41.8 percent of students would enjoy working in a major city, and 23.6 percent would enjoy working in a ‘rural or out of the way’ location.

Hours. With respect to the amount of time students expect to work per week, 31.3 percent expect to take a “40 hours/week” job, 54.6 percent expect to work between 40-50 hours/week, and 12.2 percent expect to work more than 50 hours/week. So while students seek work-life-balance, they are not ‘work avoiders’.

Compensation. Most students (72 percent) indicated $40,000/year is a compensation level that would attract them to consider a job, while 46.1 percent would consider $38,000. Offering compensation below $30,000 could be risky, as less than 5 percent of respondents will consider a job at that salary; however, $34,000 is enough to attract 27.6 percent of students. Over half expect to earn between $40,000 and $50,000 their first year, while only 14.3 percent expect more than $50,000.

Promotion. With respect to promotion, students are eager; 11.7 percent expect to be promoted during their first year, and 60.1 percent expect to be promoted during their second year.

Recommendations

How can employers leverage these findings to more effectively recruit recent college graduates? Below are some possibilities:

Offer internships. Internships are the best way to connect with students. Internships are a good way for companies to screen potential talent and students who have positive internship experiences are likely to want to stay with their company after graduating.

Make personal connections. Today’s students use a lot of technology. Indeed, the authors of this study periodically hear comments about students being ‘tech savvy’. However, in our assessment, students are less tech-savvy and more text-savvy. Our survey data certainly indicates personal connections still trump virtual interfacing.

Seek long-term relationships. Contrasting concerns about jobhopping-millennials, over half of our respondents reported wanting to work for only one company during their first five years out of college. Analyses from the Council of Economic Advisors and IBM reinforce these findings, showing that early in their careers, Millennials are less likely to change jobs than GenXers were and tend to leave for the same reasons GenXers and Baby Boomers did. Mentorship by direct supervisors and clear career paths seem to be attractive programs for students who largely seek companies where they can commit long term. Similarly, health and retirement benefits, low employee turnover and company reputation should be highlighted in the recruitment process.

Be flexible. Our findings indicate most new Wisconsin graduates have realistic expectations for a professional work schedule and level of time commitment; however, findings are also consistent with general views that Millennials value work life balance. We suggest opportunities for social interaction and after-hours activities be considered and highlighted when recruiting students. BV This paper was authored by: Bryan Lilly, UW Oshkosh (contact author – please address questions to lilly@uwosh.edu); Gwen Achenreiner, UW La Crosse; Ethan Christensen, UW Superior; Bob Erffmeyer, UW Eau Claire; Mark Fenton, UW Stout; Les Hollingsworth, UW Platteville; Mary Jae Kleckner, UW Stevens Point; Peter Knight, UW Parkside; Jim Loebl, UW Green Bay; Darryl Miller, UW River Falls; Sam Ranganathan, UW Green Bay

Wisconsin Business Voice

37

WMC at Home and on the Road

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WMC hosts a bi-monthly roundtable with economists and leaders of Wisconsin’s business sector.

Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) met with WMC’s policy team at WMC’s headquarters. He is pictured here (center) with WMC’s Lucas Vebber, Scott Manley, Chris Reader and Jason Culotta.

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The WMC Foundation Focus on Manufacturing breakfast hosted more than 200 business leaders at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons was the keynote. Panelists, pictured here, included Jan Allman, President, CEO and General Manager of Marinette Marine Corporation; Brad Crews, Chief Operating Officer NAFTA & President, Agricultural Equipment Products Segment for CNH Industrial America LLC; and Irwin Shur, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Snap-on Incorporated, Kenosha. The panel was moderated by WMC Foundation president Jim Morgan.

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Gov. Walker signed 2015 Act 180 into law. WMC’s director of health and human resources policy Chris Reader, right of Gov. Walker, was integral in the passage of the bill.

WMC welcomed six new board members at its January meeting. Pictured here (L-R) are 1) Nate Cunniff, Senior Vice President – Business Banking at BMO Harris Bank, Brookfield; 2) Rick Parks, President/CEO at Society Insurance, Fond du Lac; 3) Robert Moses, President/CEO of Prairie du Chien Area Chamber of Commerce, Prairie du Chien; 4) Allen Leverett, CEO of WEC Energy Group, Milwaukee; 5) John Dykema, President/Owner, Campbell Wrapper Corporation, Circle Packaging Machinery, Inc., DePere and 6) Steven Booth, President/CEO of Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc., Milwaukee.

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U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) spoke at WMC’s Business Day in Madison. He is seen here with WMC board member Steve Loehr, Vice President of Kwik Trip, Inc.

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Business Optimism Eroding over Weak National, Global Economy W MC’s most recent economic survey reveals finding qualified workers and rising health care costs remain top concerns for the Badger State’s CEOs. In January 2015, Wisconsin business leaders were the most optimistic about the economy they had been since the end of the Great Recession. One year later, that optimism has given way to concerns about the weak national and global economy. CEOs also continue to worry about the availability of qualified workers and the rise of health care and regulatory costs.

The survey of 304 top private sector business executives, conducted in December and January, shows 52 percent believe Wisconsin’s economy will experience moderate growth in the next six months, down from 67.7 percent in June 2015 and 81 percent in last January. Thirty-nine percent say the U.S. economy will see moderate growth, down from 53 percent six months ago and 74 percent a year ago.

A majority 62 percent of survey respondents rate the Wisconsin economy as “moderate,” 21 percent say it is “strong,” and just 1.6 percent say it is “very strong.” Eleven percent rated the Wisconsin economy as “weak” or “very weak.” The U.S. economy received lower ratings with 37 percent calling it “weak” or “very weak.”

Forty-eight percent rated the U.S. economy as “moderate” and just 9.8 percent said it was “strong.” No one rated it “very strong.”

Seventy-six percent of executives believe the U.S. is headed in the “wrong direction,” while 79 percent say Wisconsin is headed in the “right direction.”

The pessimistic mood about the economy may slow hiring during the next six months. Forty-three percent of respondents said they plan to add staff during that period, down from 53 percent in June and 58 percent a year ago.

Despite that, business leaders report finding qualified workers remains a challenge. Sixty-eight percent said they are having trouble hiring employees; down slightly from 70 percent in June, but still up from 64 percent a year ago.

“Growing employer uncertainty could rival the lack of qualified applicants as an obstacle to job growth,” said Kurt R. Bauer, WMC president/CEO. “A year ago, it looked like Wisconsin and the nation had turned the corner economically. But it looks like that progress has been halted.” Bauer blamed factors beyond Wisconsin’s control for the slowdown, including a weak global economy, a strong U.S. dollar, which especially harms exporters, and federal policies that have steadily increased costs for U.S. businesses, like health care.

To Bauer’s point, when asked in the survey to identify the “top business concern facing your company,” labor availability was number one (26 percent), followed by excessive regulation (15.7 percent) and health care costs (15 percent).

Concerns expressed in the multiple choice portion of the survey were reinforced in the open-ended section. When asked “what do you believe is holding back the economy and job growth,” one respondent said “too many entitlement programs, too much regulation, out of control health care costs and reporting burden on employees.” Another said “We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world.”

If there is a bright spot in the survey, it’s that 82 percent of respondents report being profitable during the previous six months and 85.5 percent predict they will make a profit during the next six months. BV

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Batting 1000 for Wisconsin

By Rick Schlesinger

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he Milwaukee Brewers are proud to be part of what makes every summer in Wisconsin beautiful and a great entertainment option for those traveling from near and far. With support coming from all over the region, more than 2.5 million fans have attended Brewers games every season since 2007, an accomplishment achieved by just seven other teams in baseball.

More than 45 percent of our fans coming to Miller Park travel from outside the five county Milwaukee metro area, a testament to the passion Wisconsinites have for the game of baseball. We are proud to rank among Major League Baseball’s attendance leaders, and we know we have to work hard and be responsive to our fans to be worthy of their incredible support.

Success is easy to imagine, but much more difficult to achieve.

Baseball is a simple game at heart but complex to those who aspire to play at the highest level, and our corporate philosophy is much the same. This philosophy revolves around the four brand promises Mark Attanasio made to the fans on the day he became the Brewers owner. The promises are simple and straightforward; they serve as a guide to our long-term planning and execution, but those who work here know we need to execute these four promises with precision and creativity to earn a high grade from our fans and stakeholders.

The next promise is to deliver the best fan experience possible.

The heart of the fan experience is the game, but there is much that we can do around the game to ensure our fans are entertained at the highest levels. Recent surveys in publications such as The Sporting News and ESPN.com rated Miller Park “Major League Baseball’s Best Ballpark” and we strive to maintain that ranking. We look to

improve the experience every year with new projects, promotions and initiatives and take fan feedback very seriously. Changing The first promise to the fans is to field a perennially competitive tastes and preferences serve as a valuable guide in determining our team. The past year brought significant change to the Milwaukee plans for each season and we only understand these shifts through Brewers with a new Field Manager, Craig Counsell, and frequent surveys of our customers. From a new General Manager, David Stearns, working the creation of ballpark destinations like with ownership to create a process that will yield Brewers Community Foundation, The Selig Experience, the most creative the charitable arm of the Brewers, long-term success. That plan revolves around All-Fan Giveaways, new all-inclusive acquiring, developing and retaining young raised over $5 million in 2015, entertainment venues and the latest in talent to complement veteran talent already retail items and concessions, we look to and over the past six years has present on the Major League roster. It’s a ensure the Miller Park fan experience is provided over 1,100 grants totaling plan for sustainability, one that will lead to the dynamic and best-in-class. nearly $13.7 million to nonprofit opportunity to field a perennially competitive The third vow is to remain active in our organizations across Wisconsin. team. The 2016 season will continue showcasing local community. As an organization, we young talent within the organization, as nearly half believe our activities off the field are as important of the Club’s roster changed through various moves over as what happens between the lines.

We are extraordinarily grateful the last year. The improvement is already drawing attention as the for our fans’ support and aim to demonstrate our gratitude through Brewers Minor League organization is widely regarded as one of outreach activities around the five counties.

Brewers Community the most improved in all of baseball.

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Foundation (BCF), the charitable arm of the Brewers, raised over $5 million in 2015, and over the past six years has provided over 1,100 grants totaling nearly $13.7 million to nonprofit organizations across Wisconsin. In demonstration of our promise, all uniformed Brewers players, their families and the Club’s front office staff voluntarily made contributions through time and financial resources to Brewers Community Foundation in 2015 and regularly participated in BCF outreach events.

Finally, we promise to be an organization where people want to work and where employees thrive. We strive to be among the best places to work in Milwaukee and in all of baseball, and pride ourselves on our low turnover rate in our business operations. By focusing on best practices and supporting employee growth through training and career development opportunities, we ensure a strong corporate culture that emphasizes both personal and Club-wide success. We are also deeply committed to diversity and to being a workplace reflective of our community. Our respectful and fun work environment encourages creativity and the free exchange of ideas, which translates into success on and off the field.

We recognize that our goals are not easily achieved, but our path to success begins with our commitment to the values and promises we have made to the fans and stakeholders. Respect is not just given; it is earned, and we work every day to be worthy of the extraordinary support our fans have consistently shown us over the years. Our

commitment to fielding a perennially competitive team, delivering an incredible fan experience, remaining active in the community and being a great place to work for baseball talent and business executives alike shapes our decision making and helps us maintain the high standard our fans have come to expect from us. This is a philosophy we live and breathe, and while it may seem complex, at its core it is about our resolve to be the best we can be for our fans.

BV Rick Schlesinger is the Chief Operating Officer of Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club

Wisconsin’s Workf

By Sen. Janis Ringhand (D – Evansville)

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s a member of the Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment I am keenly aware that employers are facing a shortage of workers in some occupations. According to Department of Workforce Development projections, which account for new and replacement positions across all industries and occupations, 46,000 positions will remain open due to an aging workforce through 2022. Faced with demographic projections suggesting the future workforce may not be sufficient to support growing industries, it is imperative we develop a plan to address our state’s present and future workforce needs.

Professor Morris Davis of the University of Wisconsin Business School concluded that between 2008 and 2012 Wisconsin lost an average of 14,000 college graduates per year. We must stem this export of talent. In order to do this we will need to develop innovative strategies that keep and attract skilled workers. Additionally we need to capitalize in areas where Wisconsin businesses lead the way such as medical software development, stem cell research and cutting edge manufacturing.

State programs such as Fast Forward work with employers to identify labor shortages and implement training programs to meet the demand. The Fast Forward program has three components: 1. Grants to support projects that bring together school districts, technical colleges and businesses to provide high school pupils with industry-recognized certifications in high-demand fields.

2. Grants to enhance employment opportunities by providing employer-driven training for persons with disabilities.

3. Grants for the Wisconsin Technical College System to reduce waiting lists for enrollment in programs and courses in high-demand fields.

Fast Forward also utilizes a Labor Market Information System, which tracks job vacancies, links the unemployed to vacancies and provides information on job openings to key individuals such as guidance counselors.

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Most people, especially young adults, do not follow labor markets and are unaware of the skills and training employers are seeking. Thus, some schools are proactively reaching out to children and offering them an education in high-demand careers. I have the honor of representing a majority of the city of Beloit. The Beloit School District has aggressively sought to provide options for children interested in pursuing technical careers. They created the REACH Advanced Career Education program. The program gives students a chance to explore career options through work-based learning and youth apprenticeship experiences. The program is based on career clusters and identifies pathways from high school to technical colleges, universities, apprenticeship programs and the workplace. The program allows students to see the relationship between what they learn in school and how it can lead to a career.

To prepare workers for the workforce we have to invest additional resources in all levels of our educational system.

Public schools are struggling and most do not have a comprehensive training program in place like Beloit. Our technical colleges still have waitlists for high-demand programs. Investing in our public schools, technical colleges and universities is one component of the Senate Democrats’ Badger Blueprint – an agenda Senate Democrats are putting forward that includes a wide range of new ideas and proven solutions to create economic opportunities and help move Wisconsin forward.

Our labor imbalance is an area Democrats and Republicans should be able to solve together. I look forward to working with a wide range of professionals to ensure the government is doing its part to help provide employees with the education and training Wisconsin businesses need to succeed in the competitive world market. BV Senator Janis Ringhand represents Wisconsin’s 15th Senate District

force Challenges

By Rep. Warren Petryk (R – Eleva)

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s Chair of the Assembly Committee on Workforce Development and member of the Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment, I have the unique privilege of hearing from employers, entrepreneurs and investors from across our state regarding their most critical concern – the challenge of finding the necessary skilled workers they need to run successful businesses. In Wisconsin, our challenge is the demographic reality of our aging and retiring workforce along with a flat to declining number of young people entering the workforce in skilled trades.

That being said, I remain optimistic we are accomplishing objectives to assist in rising to this challenge. Wisconsin must have a creative, multi-faceted approach to address the complex issue of the workforce shortage. A solution which will allow us to nurture and train the highly-skilled, highly-competent, highly-trained workers today that will be necessary for the jobs of tomorrow. We must position ourselves as flexible and nimble to remain globally competitive and be proactive to attract and retain workers in these fields.

Wisconsin must provide a collaborative and inspiring environment for positive action including encouraging young people to become passionate about careers in the trades. We are focusing on developing a talent pipeline with engaged partners in the private-sector who are collaborating with our local high schools and technical colleges. Developing our workforce so employers can be as competitive as possible begins at the ground level – our K-12 schools and technical colleges. Schools must emphasize academic and career planning, dual enrollment programs, career academics, sharing best practices and integrated learning.

Our state leaders and schools must learn to connect students to the world of work at earlier ages through job fairs and apprenticeship programs. By encouraging participation in

technical education courses in our high schools, we will provide these future members of the workforce with the hands-on experience that encourages them to seek jobs in these fields after graduation. That is why I co-authored Assembly Bill 748, with Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R – River Falls), which would provide matching state grant dollars to schools to buy technical education equipment that is up-todate with today’s advanced technologies.

Remaining competitive in the emerging global economy will remain challenging. But private industry partners are taking actions which complement initiatives Wisconsin Legislators have undertaken to create a better business climate these past five years. The Legislature has cut unnecessary regulation that stifles innovation and investment; held the line on property, income and sales taxes; simplified the state’s tax code; reduced bonding; promoted small business growth; increased funding for the state’s successful Fast Forward program; created more engineering programs at universities; froze tuition for four years; and expanded workforce training, apprenticeship grants and career and technical education grants to K-12 schools by over $26 million, to name a few initiatives.

Even with all the positive steps the Legislature has taken to improve our state’s workforce and connect employers with skilled employees, there is always more to be done.

My continued focus will be on educating our future workforce as well as providing necessary additional training for those currently in the workforce or looking for gainful employment. I will continue my work to increase technical education opportunities in our high schools with the goal of encouraging our young men and women to seek jobs in our skilled trades. This is the future of our state and a vital part of how we can remain competitive in our increasingly technologically advanced world. BV Representative Warren Petryk represents Wisconsin’s 93rd Assembly District

Wisconsin Business Voice

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CHAMBER CORNER

Tax on Sales by Non-Profit Organizations

By Ann Smith

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ssembly Bill 553 addresses an outdated occasional sales statute that affects Chambers of Commerce, churches, charitable organizations, booster clubs and other non-profits. Most nonprofits rely on fundraising events, promotions, silent auctions etc. to support their organization financially as well as enable them to make donations to their local community and support the population they serve.

The current sales limits are set quite low by today’s standards.

Non-profits are required to remit sales tax on taxable sales over $25,000 or sales on more than 20 days per year. Non-profits are also required to remit sales tax on sales of tickets to events with entertainment when over $500 is paid to all entertainers of an event. If a non-profit – of any size – relies on more than 50 percent of their overall operating budget on fundraising, the organization can easily go above these requirements and thus have the burden of constantly watching ‘every nickel and dime’ raised. Likewise, the $500 limit of securing any type of entertainment for an event is unrealistic in today’s market.

Non-profit organizations contribute to a community by providing a service or program that no other entity may be fulfilling.

These events benefit our community in so many ways. We work with our local businesses and local governments to enhance our communities – businesses can receive recognition with their logo on a fundraiser t-shirt or momento; local governments partner with us by creating a safe environment for an event or providing

CHAMBER FUN FACT Ripon

Birthplace of the Republican Party A decision made by a small group of Ripon citizens in a Little White Schoolhouse in 1853 changed the course of our nation’s history. Acting on their convictions and having the courage to stand firm to their beliefs, these men and women of Ripon voted to form and become members of a new political party that would be called “Republican.” The term Republican was significant; it indicated what they wished to symbolize – “Res publica,” the common good, equality. The birth of the Republican Party allowed this group of individuals to organize and fight against the spread of slavery.

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Ann Smith (right) testified the Senate Committee hearing on tax law with Jason Culotta, WMC’s director of tax and transportation policy.

facilities for events and fundraising activities. Local events bring people to communities who may spend money in that community at restaurants, hotels and retail stores. Whether a little league tournament, fun-run or a concert in the park, the event requires staff and volunteer resources to execute a successful event or program. Those resources aren’t free of charge.

WMC has taken the lead in supporting the passage of Assembly Bill 553 which will change the current occasional sales statute as follows: 1) Increase the taxable dollar threshold for non-profit organizations from $25,000 to $50,000 2) Increase the days of sale threshold for non-profit organizations from 20 days to 75 days and, 3) Increase the $500 entertainment limit to $10,000 Thanks to WMC and the Legislators who support this bill and recognize the importance of it for our non-profits and the benefits to our communities. BV Ann Smith is the Executive Director for the Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce

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