Greater Wisconsin Committee: Radio, telephone campaign

Greater Wisconsin Committee: Radio, telephone campaign

A campaign to raise the state's minimum wage, using radio commercials and telephone calls in key areas of the state, was launched this week by the Greater Wisconsin Committee, an issue advocacy group.

The commercials and calls urge citizens to contact their State Senators and ask them "to do what's fair and raise the mimimum wage."

The idea of "a fair day's wages for a fair day's work is a basic American principle," the commercials say. "But fairness has gone out the window in the legislature."

During the seven years the minimum wage has been frozen at $5.15 an hour, legislators have gotten seven raises, the ads say. Legislators get a tax-free $88 a day expense allowance every day they are in Madison, while a minimum wage worker earns $41.20 before taxes for an 8-hour day.

"State Senate Republicans are acting against the public interest and against the wishes of their own constituents," Greater Wisconsin Executive Director Michelle McGrorty said. "Statewide polls show strong support for the raise among Republicans, and Republican-leaning groups like Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce also support it."

"There is no logical explanation for every Republican in the State Senate voting against this raise," McGrorty said. "It is beginning to look like plain meanness. This is an issue that should not even require a grassroots lobbying campaign, but it clearly does, so we have decided to take the lead."

The commercials began running on Monday on stations in Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Eau Claire.

Greater Wisconsin also is phoning citizens and asking them to call their State Senators to urge them to vote for the raise.

The Greater Wisconsin Committee does not appear to have their own website, but if you want to know a little more about them, click here and scroll down a little.