The Walker Agenda Still Isn't Working! Part CCXLVII

As Scott Walker is hinting at running for a third term, we get a reminder of just how good of a job he isn't doing:

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Inc. has informed state of Wisconsin officials that it is closing its Chase mortgage banking customer assistance operations at its downtown Milwaukee offices, resulting in the loss of 135 jobs.

The New York City-based bank said in a mass layoff notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that it informed employees Tuesday of its intent to exit the business at 111 E. Wisconsin Ave. The expected date of terminations is March 26 to comply with the state's 60-day notification requirement in mass layoff situations.

Chase said the employees are not represented by a union and that the job losses will be permanent. The Department of Workforce Development will work with the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board to provide rapid response services to the affected workers, which includes pre-layoff workshops on a variety of topics such as resume writing, interviewing and job search strategies.

The Walker Agenda Still Isn't Working! Part CCXLVI

Last week was one of the worst weeks in Wisconsin history for jobs.  Over a thousand layoffs were announced, putting the state at 10,000 layoffs this year alone and on a pace to double last years dismal numbers.

This week is proving to be no better already.  On Monday, another 277 layoffs were announced by Johnson Controls:

Johnson Controls Inc. will cut 277 more jobs from its Milwaukee-area operations.

The Glendale-based global, multi-industrial company is closing the Milwaukee Business Center at 5055 N. Lydell Ave. The layoffs will begin Jan. 26, 2016, and will continue through the end of June 2016.

Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) announced in September it would cut 2.5 percent, or about 3,000 workers, from its global workforce in an effort to save $250 million annually, as part of a comprehensive cost cutting program. At the time, the company confirmed that some of those job cuts would occur in the Milwaukee area.

The September announcement included jobs affected by plans to indefinitely suspend work at its Project Unity IT program at its office in West Allis. Company spokesman Fraser Engerman said at the time that most of the 197 West Allis workers will find other positions within the company.

The majority of the Lydell Avenue positions to be cut are in accounting and finance. The company had moved about 330 employees from downtown to the former industrial center known as the Lydell Corporate Center in 2010.

But don't worry, folks. Walker and the Republicans have their laser-like focus pinned squarely on legalizing corruption so that their ill gotten income can keep flowing freely.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXLV

Yes, yes, Scott Walker's tools are working!  In what should be the best time of the year for the construction business, the lack of money in Walker's failing economy has had the exact opposite effect:

The state lost 6,300 construction jobs between April and June, according to preliminary, seasonally adjusted estimates by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the state's Department of Workforce Development.

That's the largest two-month drop by number and percentage (5.67 percent) in the 25-plus years of state data in the Current Employment Statistics program, which samples a small percentage of employers monthly.

And with the Wage Theft Law and the repeal of Prevailing Wage law, things are only going to continue the downward spiral.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXLIV

On the day that Scott Walker told the country that they should elect him to be president because he was so successful as governor, 100 people in the La Crosse area are getting a first hand taste of Walker's success:

An architecture, engineering and construction firm in La Crosse told state officials Monday that it will shut its doors, eliminating 100 jobs.

The closing of TCI Architects / Engineers / Contractor Inc. will bring to an end a 38-year-old company that has done more than $400 million in government work and a large number of commercial projects in Wisconsin and beyond.

In its notice to the state, TCI said it has been unable to raise additional capital to finance its operations and provide reserves. The company cited "a changing market place."

The tools, they are working...

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXLIII

Even after five years of Scott Walker and his apologists telling us that his agenda is working and that Wisconsin is "Open For Business," it appears that reality hasn't gotten the memo:

Oilgear Corp. will sell its 200,000-square-foot Milwaukee factory and headquarters building and move to smaller space in the area, a company executive said Tuesday.

The move comes as Oilgear shuts down manufacturing at the plant at 2300 S. 51st St., eliminating 45 jobs. Oilgear notified government officials of the plant closing last week.

Catherine Cerny, human resources director for the company, said a prospective buyer for the complex has emerged. Oilgear expects to complete the sale this year, she said.

"We're negotiating right now and have already been approached by people who are interested in the property," Cerny said.

The firm will relocate the Milwaukee production to its plants in Traverse City, Mich., and Fremont, Neb. That will leave Oilgear with about 85 employees here. Remaining will be the corporate office personnel and engineering staff.

And you mjust know it's only going to get worse before it gets better.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXLII

Scott Walker is traveling the country, telling people that he should be president because his agenda was so successful in Wisconsin.

There are now 300 people in Ripon who could testify that it's still not working - and neither are they:

ConAgra Foods plans to close its west cookie plant in Ripon.

The move will put about 300 full-time employees out of work, according to the company. Workers were told Monday today and layoffs are expected to be finished by December. Employees have the option of applying for other open positions within ConAgra.

The plant in question is the company’s west plant, which makes soft baked and chocolate dipped cookies.

The employee union told FOX 11 the popular Rippin’ Good Cookie Outlet Store will also close.

I have repeatedly pointed out that as Walker takes money out of the economy and gives it to wealthy campaign donors, this causes a ripple effect in which people cut back on things, including cookies:

Through a statement, the company told FOX 11 it made the decision based on the need to operate its overall plant network as effectively and efficiently as possible. The statement went on to say declining demand and overall operating costs do not allow the company to meet the needs of the business and customers.

Ironically, Ripon is the birth place of the GOP. One could say that the chickens have come home to roost.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXLI

Remember when Scott Walker said that Wisconsin was "Open for Business?"  Remember when he said that attacking the unions would help create so many jobs?  Remember when Walker said that all the tax breaks to Big Businesses would help create jobs?

Yeah, well, neither do these 119 people:

McCain Foods USA Inc. will close its plant in Fort Atkinson, eliminating 119 jobs.

The job cuts are expected to begin June 26 and run through Dec. 18, the firm said in a notice to state officials Thursday. The company didn't say why it is shutting down the plant.

Most of the employees are represented by United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 1473. Neither a union representative nor a McCain representative were available for comment late Thursday afternoon.

Walker's agenda hasn't worked for four years and it will never work.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXIX

Even as Scott Walker gave his presidential campaign kick off State of the State speech, telling us how wonderful things are under his regime, the truth keeps coming out that his agenda is not working:

Great American Cookies left Wausau Center mall this weekend, with little word to anyone, even its employees.

"Everything was there Saturday, then Sunday it was gone," said Samantha Cox, manager at Wausau Center's Biggby Coffee, located near the cookie shop. She said people throughout the day Sunday came to ask her what happened, and she learned from employees that they didn't expect the closure.

The grate is pulled across the store front and all the signs have been removed.

The abrupt closure of Great American Cookies comes on the heels of an announcement late last week that Deb Shops will soon close its doors in Wausau, along with the rest of the retailer's roughly 287 stores.

Mall officials are investigating the departure of Great American Cookies.

"He (the owner) closed, but we're not sure — we're trying to get in touch with (the owner)," said Wausau Center General Manager Kirk Kamke about Great American Cookies.

This store closing goes along with the closing of three other stores in the mall - Deb Shops, JCPenney and The Tea Shop.

These stores are just the latest victims of Walker's economy, in which he has taken billions of dollars out of the economy and directly into the pockets of companies and CEOs who have contributed to his campaign.

And with RTW (Rob The Workers) legislation pending, it's only going to get worse as more money is siphoned out of our economy and people are able to afford even less.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXVIII

The "good news" following Scott Walker's reelection keeps coming in:

The Kmart store in Eau Claire will close to the public in early February, according to a corporate news release.

The store, located at 2424 E. Clairemont Ave., will remain open to customers until February. A liquidation sale begins Nov. 16.

The store closure is part of a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust the asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model, the news release states.

The store has 93 employees, most of which are part time. Associates that are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other area Sears or Kmart stores.

Again and again, we continue to see stores pulling out of Wisconsin because they are underproducing. And the reason they are underproducing is because the people simply don't have the money to spend on anything but the very basics, and all too often, the people don't even have enough money for just the basics.

This blame for this issue falls directly on Walker, who tanked the economy so that he could give our money to his wealthy campaign donors.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXVII

Scott Walker stagnated the state's economy to the point of anemia.  People that are lucky enough to still have jobs are finding their take home pay smaller.  The predictable result is that people spend less.  And when people spend less, the economy takes another spiral downwards.

And when the economy takes another downward spiral, the results are becoming all too familiar:

The JCPenney store at Regency Mall in Racine will close during the first quarter of 2015, a spokesman for the company said today.

“As we continue our turnaround, an important part of our work is identifying opportunities that enable JCPenney to maximize long-term growth and profitability. Doing so is essential to meeting our long-term goals for future company growth. While it’s never an easy decision to close stores, especially due to the impact on our valued associates and customers, we feel this is a necessary business decision,” said JCPenney spokesman Joey Thomas.

The company has no plans to close other stores in Wisconsin, Thomas said.

The JCPenney store closure is another major blow for Regency Mall, which lost its Sears store that closed in January.

In other words, people weren't spending enough for the story to remain viable and so they decided to cut their losses. This means more lost jobs and even less money in the economy.

I am truly at a loss to see how this is a good thing at all.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXVI

With Scott Walker winning reelection, we might as well get used to news like this, since it's going to just keep getting worse:

Ohio label maker Multi-Color Corp. has informed state of Wisconsin officials that it will permanently close its plant in Watertown on or around Jan. 2, resulting in the loss of 58 jobs.

The company said in a mass layoff notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that curtailment of operations will begin immediately, although some employees may have to stay after the planned closing date to assist in the transition. None of the employees are represented by a union.

Despite the inane rhetoric, something tells me that Wisconsin isn't going to be moving forward for a long, long time.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXV

With ten days to go to the election, we get this timely reminder of just how well Scott Walker's job plan is working out (emphasis mine):

CNH Industrial will indefinitely lay off about 150 workers at its local tractor plant on Dec. 1.

Jeff Vassh, president of United Auto Workers Local 180, confirmed the news Friday. He said the company informed workers about 10 days earlier at a regular quarterly meeting.

Vassh said CNH will shut down second-shift tractor assembly as of the layoff date and slow tractor production from 40 a day before the layoffs to 30.

There are currently about 850 production workers, all union employees, at the plant, which makes Case IH Magnum and New Holland 8000 series tractors, Vassh said.

“It’s all market-based,” he said — layoff decisions had nothing to do with the quality of the work or the product, Vassh added. The agricultural equipment industry as a whole is in a slump, also affecting CNH competitor John Deere & Co., for example.

Walker killed the market when he took $3 billion out of the economy and out of our pockets to give to his wealthy friends.

We really can't afford 4 more months of this much less four more years.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXIV

While Scott Walker and friends are jumping up and down, pointing at Mary Burke and screaming, "Plagiarism!", the state continues to hemorrhage jobs and a sickening rate:

About 60 percent of the workforce at Milwaukee's Shelter Mortgage Co. will be laid off in November, following the company's acquisition earlier this month, according to a letter filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Tuesday.

Shelter was a subsidiary of Brown Deer-based Guaranty Bank until January 2013, when Guaranty sold its Shelter Mortgage division to a Chicago private equity group in a move designed to free up capital. New Plymouth, Pa.-based national mortgage lender New Penn Financial LLC acquired Shelter for an undisclosed sum in early September.

Almost one month since Shelter's later acquisition, a letter Tuesday said 63 employees will lose their jobs over a 90-day period starting Nov. 30. Shelter employs about 100, a New Penn spokesman told the Milwaukee Business Journal earlier this month.

At this point, people are wishing Scott Walker stole someone else's job plan besides ALEC's, because it sure as hell isn't working.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXIII

While Scott Walker and his apologists are trying anything and everything to distract the voters, we can see that his agenda is still working with its usual effectiveness:

About 70 people will lose their jobs when Bayshore Town Center's Sears store closes in December, according to a notice from the state Tuesday.

The notice said about 67 employees will be laid off when the Sears store at 5900 N. Port Washington Road closes. A permanent shutdown is slated for Dec. 7, or close to that date, the letter said. A liquidation sale is already underway, according to a company spokesman.

The same spokesman previously told the Milwaukee Business Journal the Bayshore Sears store and its adjacent Sears Auto Center employ 86 in total.

Is it any wonder that Walker wants to talk about almost anything but his job record? The only thing he is less likely to discuss is Walkergate.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXII

Scott Walker is still trying to pull the wool over our eyes, claiming that he created all these jobs and that the state is "open for business."  Walker apologists (I'm looking at you Dave Blaska) try to support these lies with stories of jobs that might possibly may could be created some day...maybe.

Meanwhile, reality keeps rolling on, revealing Walker's failures, and it is getting uglier with each passing day:

Plymouth Tube Co. is shutting down and is expected to layoff 34 people at its mill in East Troy.

The company, which operates 10 manufacturing plants, makes precision steel tubing, steel and titanium shapes. According to a letter from Scott Morling, vice president of business development, the company decided to “discontinue its manufacturing process at that location.”

Six salaried positions and 28 union positions are expected to be eliminated beginning Oct. 13.

Walker's agenda hasn't worked, isn't working and will never work.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXI

Scott Walker has started a new tactic with his five thousandth commercial of the campaign, claiming that his agenda has been good for business and has created all sorts of jobs.

Except for when it has failed yet again:

Fine home decor store Cranston will close shop in late August or early September, bending to economic pressure after 10 years in business.

"After the crash, we did the best we could to hang in there," co-owner Mark Van Ess said.

No one should be surprised by this.

Due to the lower income and failing economy that Walker's agenda has created, people can't afford to have niceties like home decor that doesn't come from a thrift store or garage sale.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXX

As Wisconsinites were glued to their TVs and computer monitors, Scott Walker's agenda continued to have it's predictable and predicted results, with another 42 jobs lost:

Lorman Education Services, 2510 Alpine Road, is laying off 42 employees.

The move is “due to changing business circumstances,” according to filings with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

The permanent layoffs are expected to be completed on Oct. 6. Employees were notified Aug. 6.

If this is Wisconsin moving in the "right direction," I would rather be wrong and have jobs being created.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXIX

As I have repeatedly pointed out, when Scott Walker signed off on Act 10, he took billions of dollars out the state's economy either by slashing the take home pay of public sector workers if not causing them to be laid off.  This had a ripple effect on the private sector as the public sector workers were forced to cut back on their spending.

This ripple effect was seen in businesses cutting their workers' pay if not laying them off altogether.  Sometimes the businesses had to close, causing mass lay offs.  If the laid off workers were lucky enough to find a job, it was for much less money than they were making before.

Walker apologists would dismiss my arguments out of hand and blame the loss for other reasons if not deny it altogether.

Sadly, the proof is in the pudding, and what a sour pudding it is:

New federal data shows consumer spending in Wisconsin grew slower than the national average and slower than personal income from 2011 to 2012.

The U.S. Department of Commerce released its first state-by-state breakdown of consumer spending on Thursday. It shows a 3% increase in Wisconsin from 2011 to 2012. The biggest jump was in spending for motor vehicles and parts. That grew 6%.

Nationally, consumer spending grew an average of 4.1% from 2011 to 2012.

But income gains in Wisconsin have been slower as well. Nationally, personal income increased 4.2% from 2011 to 2012. In Wisconsin, it grew only 3.9%. Real personal income, which takes inflation into account, grew even slower.

Keep in mind that these pitiful numbers are from only Walker's first year in office. I have no doubts that the following years will show that these numbers have only gotten worse, meaning that people are making even less and subsequently spending even less.

No, Walker's agenda is most definitely not working.  He needs to be removed from office with all due haste and real change needs to happen before we can even hope that things get better.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXVIII

Scott Walker's agenda of taking money from the people and giving it to the 1% continues with its predictable lack of success:

A BMO Harris call center in Monona will close by Oct. 10, ending the jobs of 32 people, the Chicago bank has told the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

BMO Harris told employees in late February that it planned to combine call centers into two locations, in Brookfield and Buffalo Grove, Illinois, spokesman Jim Kappel said. He said nearly two-thirds of the workers at the office, 508 River Place, have found new jobs at BMO Harris or with other companies.

Kappel said the Monona office closing does not affect any bank branches and is not related to the layoff of 37 employees at the BMO Harris data center in Sun Prairie, a year and a half ago.

Do you think that this is why Walker is running so many attack ads on Mary Burke? He certainly can't run on his record.

The Tools Are Working In Waupaca

As the gentle reader is well aware, Scott Walker's agenda included more than trying to bust the unions and giving away taxpayer dollars to dark money special interests.   It also included destroying the public school system in order to pave the way for privatization of the education system.

It's not only Milwaukee Public Schools getting hit, but also the rural school systems like the one in Waupaca, as reported by Robert Cloud of the Waupaca County Post:

Estimates released this month by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction indicate state
aid to Waupaca schools may be cut by as much as $500,000 in 2014-15.

Not including this most recent cut, the Waupaca School District has seen its state aid decrease by a total of $3.4 million over the past five years, according to District Administrator Dave Poeschl.

Under state law, when a school district loses state aid, it can recoup that money by increasing property taxes.

“Over that same five-year period, we’ve only recouped $1.9 million through increased property taxes,” Poeschl said. “We’ve been fully aware of the effect that the decrease in state aids has on taxpayers. We’ve been doing the best we can to mitigate that effect.”

As a result of not raising property taxes to cover lost state aid, the Waupaca School District’s budget is about $2.7 million below the state-mandated revenue cap.

“We can’t continue to do that and at the same time provide the quality education our community is expecting,” Poeschl said.

The gentle reader should also note that even though it was Walker who cut the education budget by nearly a billion dollars, it is the local school board and administrators that have to try to make it work. Sadly, Walker has sabotaged the education system so much that they can't do that without making up Walker's shortfall by raising taxes, risking the ire of the voters.

In other words, they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Either way, Walker, if given the chance after November, and his fellow corporately-owned Teapublicans will sweep in, declare public schools are failures (even though he was the one that made sure they failed) and say the only way to save the schools are to privatize them.

That was Walker's modus operandi in Milwaukee County and it still is as governor.