Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Threatens to Withhold Raises for UW-System Employees

Wednesday, September 20th, 2023 -- 11:01 AM

(By Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Public Radio) Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he will try to block pay raises for about 34,000 people who work for schools in the University of Wisconsin System unless campuses eliminate positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. 

According to Rich Kremer with Wisconsin Public Radio, in an interview with WisPolitics last week, Vos said, "I don't think that they (UW System) deserve to have any more resources until they accomplish the goal."

Earlier this year, Vos and Republican colleagues backed cutting $32 million from the UW System's budget and eliminating 188 staff positions that were related to DEI efforts for students and staff.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers spared the jobs with a line-item veto, but the $32 million cut remained in the budget he signed into law this summer. The funding is technically slated for workforce development initiatives at state campuses, but Vos has said it won't be released unless DEI is eliminated.

Vos said he won't support another nickel going to state universities unless that happens. "When I say a nickel, that's what I mean," Vos told WisPolitics. Republican and Democratic state lawmakers already approved funding for pay increases for the approximate 34,000 employees in the UW System, with those workers expecting to receive a 4 percent increases in fiscal year 2024 and a 2 percent pay increase in fiscal year 2025.

Before raises go into effect, the funding must be approved by the Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Employee Relations, of which Vos is a co-chair. All told, Vos is threatening to withhold $107.6 million in funding through 2025 for UW employee pay raises if campuses don't cut DEI positions.

His office did not respond to a request for comment for this story. In a statement sent to Wisconsin Public Radio, UW System President Jay Rothman says he remains hopeful UW employees around Wisconsin will receive pay raises "as funded by the legislature."

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