Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) is an association of manufacturers, service businesses and chambers of commerce located in Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

. WMC was formed from what was the Wisconsin State Chamber of Commerce, the Wisconsin Manufacturers Association and the Wisconsin Council of Safety in 1975. WMC engages in earned media

Earned media

Earned media refers to favorable publicity gained through promotional efforts other than advertising, as opposed to paid media, which refers to publicity gained through advertising...

, advocacy

Advocacy

Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...

 and business development

Business development

A subset of the field of commerce, business development comprises a number of techniques and responsibilities which aim at:1. Researching new types of business/products/services with an emphasis on identifying gaps in the mitigation of needs of potential clients .2. Attracting new customers3...

. WMC came under fire in 1996 for an issue ad aimed at Democrats in the state. Initially, the ad was forced off the air but WMC sued to have the ad reinstated, citing free speech rights. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel referred to WMC as "the state's most influential business lobbying

Lobbying

Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...

 group."

History and Composition

The Wisconsin Manufacturers Association, which merged with two other Wisconsin business organizations in 1975 to form Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, was founded in 1911. Paul Hassett was the first president of the newly formed organization, which had approximately 2,500 charter members. Since its inception, WMC has lobbied for the passage of business-friendly legislation in the Wisconsin Legislature. As of 2008, WMC claims over 4,000 charter members among the business community in Wisconsin. It publishes two annual directories: one of state manufacturers and the other a directory of service companies. It also claims to represent 500 000 employees.

1996 Election

During the 1996 election, WMC sponsored a series of 'issue ads' against state democrats. The Wisconsin State Election Board blocked the ads, arguing that WMC violated state and federal election laws by running an election ad as group whose donor base was not divulged to the FEC

Federal Election Commission

The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...

 and state election boards. WMC sued, citing free speech concerns. After two appellate court rulings against WMC, the State Supreme Court

Wisconsin Supreme Court

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...

 ruled narrowly in WMC's favor. State political leaders cited this supreme court case when preparing legislation in later years.

2008 Election

WMC spent more than 1.2 million dollars in support of Michael Gableman

Michael Gableman

Michael J. Gableman is a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. His term began on August 1, 2008 and ends on July 31, 2018.- Biography :Justice Gableman was born in West Allis and raised in Waukesha County. He is a graduate of New Berlin West High School and Ripon College , where he earned a...

's campaign for State Supreme Court Justice

State supreme court

In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....

, successfully ousting sitting Justice Louis Butler. Justice Louis Butler subsequently asserted that three cases in particular caused WMC to target him. One favored the families of three men killed when a giant crane collapsed during construction of Miller Park; another struck down the cap on medical malpractice

Medical malpractice

Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...

 damages for pain and suffering, and the third expanded the liability of paint manufacturers in cases of lead poisoning

Lead poisoning

Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...

. This spending and subsequent advertisement were criticized by members of the Madison press, the state bar

Bar association

A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...

 and the Brennan Center, a non-partisan policy center at New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

.

Activities and membership

WMC does not disclose their issue advocacy donors list to the public. WMC lobbies on behalf of its members "whenever the state legislature is in session" According to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, WMC was responsible for 1.1 million dollars in lobbying efforts during the 2007-2009 session of the state legislature. WMC also publishes ratings of Wisconsin legislators on a scale of 0 to 100. In 1989, WMC helped block passage of Wisconsin's family leave

Parental leave

Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...

 act on behalf of their members. In August 2008 the outgoing Chancellor of UW-Madison John Wiley has described the WMC as being “hijacked by highly partisan ideologically driven staff” and stating “WMC routinely opposes most measures favored by labor unions, and most measures aimed at improving the lot of entry-level and low-income workers who are essential to our economy. But this opposition is not a business or an economic position; it is a political position based on an era and an economy that no longer exist.”

Beyond lobbying efforts, WMC commissions annual surveys of business owners, directories and information, and—through their non-profit Wisconsin Council of Safety--workplace safety compliance information. WMC works with the state Department of Workforce Development to secure federal grants

Employment and Training Administration

The mission of the Employment and Training Administration , as part of the U.S. Department of Labor, is to contribute to the more efficient and effective functioning of the U.S. labor market by providing high quality job training, employment, labor market information, and income maintenance...

to train workers in Wisconsin.

External links

• WMC Information at wmcwatch.org
• Home Page at wmc.org