A group of Wisconsin business leaders is calling on more employers to encourage voting and other forms of civic engagement.
The nonpartisan civic engagement group Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy advocated for Wisconsin businesses to allow voting during work hours, promote voter registration, and encourage voting.
Among the speakers at Friday’s roundtable discussion were Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee Elections Commissioner Claire Woodall, and Greg Marcus, CEO of The Marcus Corporation. Business leaders included. Tom Florsheim, Waco Group CEO. and Paul Miller, co-founder of Colectivo Coffee.
“We know how vitally important it is for people across the city to participate in the election process,” Johnson said at the event. “Everyone in this community should raise their voice to vote…None of this will work unless we have an active democracy.”
The main points of the event are:
Poll workers needed in Milwaukee elections
Woodall said poll workers are most needed in local elections, especially those working in the early afternoon.
She said Milwaukee elections require about 2,300 poll workers and the city is battling issues with workers not showing up for shifts.
“There are still a lot of people in life who are not feeling well from time to time,” Woodall said. “They wake up and decide not to come to work. So we’re left scrambling.”
Many in attendance said they encourage workers to become poll workers, and Udall said the city is open to polling workers at off-site locations, including businesses with groups of interested employees. He said there is a permanent position dedicated to training staff.
Among those encouraging those employees was Miller of Colectivo, which employs about 500 people in Wisconsin. Woodall noted that one of the company’s cafes has its entire staff working at polling places, and Miller is encouraging poll workers by paying them the difference between their salary and their regular daily wage. He said that
Mayor says fighting misinformation is key to public safety
David Irwin, president and CEO of food gift certificate company gThankYou, brought up the topic of distrust in elections during the event. He noted that the business community needs to fight misinformation to maintain confidence in elections.
Irwin said he usually supports “centre-right” politicians and thinks about some of the misinformation coming out of his own political community.
“In my view, many people who have been part of my political community over the past several decades have been on the wrong side in some ways, spreading disinformation and sowing unwarranted distrust in elections.” he stated. He said. “As business and other leaders, we need to fight misinformation and encourage everyone to seek the truth.”
The topic came up again during Irwin’s discussion with Johnson, when he asked the mayor for his thoughts on security before and after the election.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed the need for people to understand and trust that the electoral process is fair and secure.
“People need to understand and know that first,” he said. “We want people to participate in the election process.”
What local businesses are doing to encourage citizen participation
Nearly all business leaders highlighted the efforts they have made to increase voter engagement with their workforces.
Tom Florsheim of the Waco Group shoe company said his company is giving people paid time off to vote. Provides on-site voter registration. And he was given paid leave to work at a polling place.
People like Lori Richards, president and CEO of Mueller Communications, said her company provides 24 hours of paid time off for activities such as voting.
“We believe businesses are uniquely positioned to have a real impact on civic engagement in Milwaukee because of the large number of people we employ,” Florsheim said. said.
Marcus emphasized the need for more citizen participation, noting primaries that are decided by small groups of voters who may push candidates who do not represent larger local interests.
“Our system is not providing the results we want,” he said. “If we offered this as a company, our customers would scream.”
What more can businesses do in Milwaukee, WI?There’s a toolkit
Wisconsin Business Leaders For Democracy promoted a civic engagement toolkit designed by the group. The toolkit was incorporated by almost all participants at the roundtable event, and was positioned as a strong step forward for other companies looking to build on it.
Although the toolkit has not yet been updated for the upcoming November election, it provides a suggested timeline for how companies should share information about the election. For example, in the April election iteration, there were communication plans for his five weeks before the election, two weeks before, one week before, and the morning of the election. These plans centered around planning to vote early or on Election Day.
Additionally, the plan provided a link to information about administering the survey and an email template for the company’s human resources department to send to employees.
The toolkit can be downloaded from the group’s website, and Florsheim said it will be updated soon for the November election.
