Rep. Derrick Van Orden Has Consistently Sold Out Workers, Labor Leaders Say
EAU CLAIRE, WI—Today, leaders from Western Wisconsin’s labor movement came together with the BlueGreen Alliance for a virtual press conference to highlight the impacts of Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s (R-WI) performance in Congress on Wisconsin.
During the press conference, the BlueGreen Alliance unveiled new research that found that because of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—which Van Orden proudly voted for—manufacturing, energy, and industrial sites across Wisconsin are facing a more difficult economic landscape. This is because that bill made changes to existing clean energy and manufacturing tax incentives—which developers were planning on—making them harder to receive. Specifically, the research found that sites representing $5.07 billion in capital investment are impacted by the changes to the tax incentives. These new tax credit restrictions could impact nearly 14,000 jobs across the state.
“This is coming at a time when energy demand is at an all-time high, driving up energy bills. Van Orden’s vote made it harder to get the lowest cost, fastest forms of energy on the grid, meaning relief from ever-increasing energy bills is going to be harder and harder to achieve,” said BlueGreen Alliance Senior Wisconsin Policy Manager Carly Ebben Eaton. “It all boils down to this: Rep. Derrick Van Orden has betrayed the Wisconsinites he was elected to represent. He’s made it clear he doesn’t work for the hardworking people of the 3rd district; he’s happily sold them out at every turn.”
“Costs across the economy are skyrocketing, workplace protections are moving in reverse, and the projects that would have powered Western Wisconsin and created jobs for our union tradespeople are under threat,” said Matt Ganhs, President of Western Wisconsin Building Trades Council and President of Operative Plasterers’ & Cement Masons’ International Association Local 599. “We wanted Derrick Van Orden to stand up and fight for hardworking people. Instead, he gave massive tax breaks to the rich, while leaving working families with the bill.”
“While Rep. Van Orden will bend over backwards to curry favor with Donald Trump and his billionaire friends, he has shown nothing but disdain for the working people of Western Wisconsin,” said William Garcia, member of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) at Western Technical College. “He voted to give billionaires massive tax breaks while Wisconsinites struggle to make ends meet. If there’s a chance for Derrick Van Orden to stand up for workers, you can always depend on him to leave them in the dust instead.”