Wisconsin Legislature's finance committee OKs 2% raises for state workers

MADISON -- The Legislature's finance committee has approved provisions in Gov. Tony Evers' state budget that would give all state workers a 2% raise in each of the next two fiscal years.

The committee approved the plan 11-4 on Tuesday.

According to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, state employees' wages increased 6.1% from fiscal year 2010-11 to 2018-19. Inflation rose 16.4% over the same period. Non-retirement separations from state employment jumped from just over 6.1% in 2011-12 to nearly 10% in 2017-18.

The vote sets money aside for the raises in the budget. The Joint Committee on Employment Relations would have to authorize implementation.

The four Democrats on the committee voted against the provisions after Republicans reduced Evers' allocation for bringing some employees' salaries up to market levels by $8 million and eliminated his proposal to set the minimum starting wage for all non-University of Wisconsin executive branch employees to $15 an hour.