John --

In case you missed it, Republicans are taking action to alleviate the Democrat-fueled workforce shortage that is hurting small businesses across the state.

According to Empower Wisconsin:

Pledging to remove government-created barriers that have worsened Wisconsin’s worker shortage crisis, Republican lawmakers on Tuesday rolled out a package of bills aimed at getting the unemployed back to work.

Dubbed the Stronger Workforce Initiative, the package would index unemployment benefits based on Wisconsin’s jobless rate, hold accountable unemployment recipients who refuse or fail to show up for job interviews, and tune up Gov. Tony Evers’ dysfunctional Department of Workforce Development that so miserably failed the unemployed during the pandemic.

At a Capitol press conference, the authors of the bills said the “help wanted’ signs throughout the Badger State are hard to miss. Wisconsin employers say finding and retaining workers has been their No. 1 challenge in a worker shortage crisis that has gripped the state and the nation.

State Senate President Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield) and Rep. Tyler August (R-Lake Geneva) in a joint press release said there’s an abundance of high-wage jobs and a large number of workers available. They say the Stronger Workforce Initiative will help remove government-created barrier between the two.”

“Republicans feel an obligation to deliver smarter government programs that provide a safety net to the truly needy but don’t compete with businesses needing to hire those who are able to work,” the lawmakers said. “It is clear that the opportunities for Wisconsin’s workforce have changed, and our government systems need to change along with them.”

While Wisconsin business owners have raised wages and improved benefits to attract more workers, “Help Wanted” signs are still widespread across the Badger State. Republicans’ new bills are designed to get government out of the way and return Wisconsin’s economy to normalcy.

Meanwhile, Democrats have threatened to worsen the labor shortage with authoritarian vaccine mandates and policies that keep workers at home. Thankfully, small business owners have real advocates in Republicans.

Read more from Empower Wisconsin here.

- Team WisGOP