Wisconsin Republicans withhold university pay raises in fight over school diversity funding

Source: Associated Press

Wisconsin Republicans withhold university pay raises in fight over school diversity funding

BY HARM VENHUIZEN
Updated 11:27 AM EDT, October 17, 2023

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — 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’s diversity, equity and inclusion spending.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who co-chairs the Legislature’s 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.

“We’re only doing half our job today,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard said. “We are denying pay increases to half of our state workforce because of one person’s resistance to inclusion on our campuses.”

While writing the budget in June, Republicans slashed UW’s funding by $32 million because they estimated that’s what the system’s 13 campuses put towards DEI efforts over two years. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers used his veto power to save 188 DEI positions at the university, but the funding cut remained.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/university-wisconsin-legislature-diversity-dei-pay-raises-ddee5255f27e54da9a36e2a76b0f5489