Wisconsin Republicans withhold university pay raises in fight over school diversity funding
MADISON, Wis. (AP) 鈥� Leaders of the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature withheld pay raises for Universities of Wisconsin employees while approving raises for other state workers on Tuesday in an ongoing fight over the school system鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion spending.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who co-chairs the Legislature鈥檚 employment relations committee, has promised to block pay raises for UW employees until the school system cuts its so-called DEI spending by $32 million.
鈥淲e鈥檙e only doing half our job today,鈥� Democratic Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard said. 鈥淲e are denying pay increases to half of our state workforce because of one person鈥檚 resistance to inclusion on our campuses.鈥�
Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said not voting to approve the UW pay increases was 鈥渁s dumb as it comes.鈥�
鈥淭hese people deserve raises,鈥� Evers told reporters after the vote. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been passed by the Legislature and to have it be hijacked at the last minute by one person, that鈥檚 wrong too.鈥�
The committee could vote later to approve the UW pay raises, but a meeting has not been scheduled to do that.
While writing the budget in June, Republicans slashed UW鈥檚 funding by $32 million because they estimated that鈥檚 what the system鈥檚 13 campuses put towards DEI efforts over two years. Evers used his veto power to save 188 DEI positions at the university, but the funding cut remained.
The budget passed by the Legislature and signed by Evers also included pay raises for state employees of 4% this year and 2% next year. The employee relations committee, made up of legislative leaders and controlled 6-2 by Republicans, approved those raises on Tuesday for state workers other than the university system鈥檚 roughly 36,000 full-time employees.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman called the committee鈥檚 decision not to vote on UW pay raises 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� and said the move hurts tens of thousands of faculty and staff families.
鈥淲e are beyond disappointed,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is unfair and not right to leave families of those faculties and staff behind.鈥�
Vos said Tuesday he was open to approving pay raises for UW employees if the school system gave up the power to create its own jobs, including DEI roles. He said he was planning to meet with UW officials later Tuesday to continue negotiations.
鈥淭here is one agency in state government that is allowed to create positions outside of the legislative process,鈥� Vos said, referring to UW. 鈥淲hen I talk to people, they do not want some kind of ideological agenda.鈥�
Rothman declined to discuss the status of negotiations with lawmakers.
Committee member Sen. Howard Marklein, a Republican, broke away from Vos鈥� position. In a statement after the vote, Marklein said he was 鈥渧ery disappointed鈥� the UW pay increases weren鈥檛 scheduled for a vote.
鈥淭he local employees on our campuses should not be penalized for policy decisions made by leaders of the university system,鈥� he said.
The fight in Wisconsin reflects a broader cultural battle playing out across the nation over college diversity initiatives. Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis in Florida and Greg Abbott in Texas both signed laws this year banning the use of diversity, equity and inclusion measures in student admissions and staff employment decisions at colleges and universities. Similar bills were proposed in about a dozen Republican-led states.
Associated Press writers Todd Richmond and Scott Bauer contributed to this report.
Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.