fox6now.com · Jason Calvi · September 7, 2026
Wisconsin governor race: Candidates spar on Act 10, wages | FOX6 Milwaukee
# Wisconsin governor race: Candidates spar on Act 10, wages
By Jason Calvi
FOX6 News Milwaukee
Published September 7, 2026 7:12 PM CDT
Published September 7, 2026 7:12 PM CDT
Tom Tiffany (R) and David Crowley (D)
#### The Brief
- - Gubernatorial candidates campaigned at Wisconsin Labor Day festivals. - The holiday marks the last sprint to Election Day, now less than two months away. - FOX6 questioned candidates Tom Tiffany and David Crowley on jobs, ACT 10 and the minimum wage.
MILWAUKEE - Labor Day kicks off the final sprint to Election Day, and the candidates for Wisconsin governor are out trying to win your vote.
This holiday is a chance for candidates to see large crowds at the last festivals of the summer. It’s a time when undecided voters start tuning into the race, as summer vacation is over, school returns to session and the campaign ads increase.
On this holiday, Democratic candidate David Crowley marched in Milwaukee's LaborFest parade, and Republican Tom Tiffany visited the St. Martin’s Day Fair in Franklin. The stakes could not be higher, with both candidates offering competing visions for the state, including on labor.
## Candidates spar on Act 10
What they're saying:
On this Labor Day holiday, FOX6 asked both candidates about ACT 10, which placed restrictions on governmental worker unions, like teacher unions. It said they could negotiate raises only up to the level of inflation, with an exemption for police and fire unions. It also required government workers to pay more for pensions and healthcare.
#### Wisconsin governor's race: Act 10 debate
On this Labor Day - candidates for Wisconsin governor fight for your vote. Labor Day kicks off the final sprint to election day. FOX6 asked both candidates about work and pay, labor, and Act 10.
Democrats continue to fight this law, saying it hurts union workers, while Republicans say it is saving taxpayers billions a year and warn of what would happen if it goes away.
"It’s going to raise property taxes by $2 billion a year in Wisconsin. It’s going to blow a hole in school district budgets as well as local town and county budgets, also," Tiffany said of scrapping ACT 10. "I hope that doesn’t happen. It was put in place years ago, and it saved property taxpayers billions of dollars over the last 15 years here in Wisconsin."
"Well, it just doesn’t go away," Crowley said when asked if the law would be eliminated if he was governor. "We have to make sure we take back the state senate, and take back the assembly, as well, to make sure you have a legislature to actually make it happen. In the end, this administration is about making sure that workers have a seat at the table, which is a stark contrast to our opponent, Congressman Tom Tiffany."
## Candidates spar on minimum wage
What they're saying:
On this Labor Day holiday, FOX6 asked both candidates about work and pay. Wisconsin's minimum wage is currently $7.25. Crowley calls for raising it immediately to $15 an hour – and then $20 an hour by 2030.
#### Wisconsin governor's race: Minimum wage debate
One of the debates that the candidates for Wisconsin governor will be addressing this fall is the state's minimum wage. FOX6's Jason Calvi touched base with Democrat David Crowley and Republican Tom Tiffany on Labor Day.
"I think all of us would agree that $7.25 an hour is much lower than the minimum that you need to survive in this state, so we do need to increase the minimum wage in this state," Crowley said. "Increasing it to $20 an hour will give people the ability to afford the things that matter to them and their families, but you’re not going to get that with Congressman Tom Tiffany."
"I think a much better way is to do it through growth. So, he’s [Crowley’s] talking about taking it up as much as $20 an hour. Why set that as a ceiling? I want people to make more than $20 an hour. There’s very few people who are paid the minimum wage anymore: $7.25 an hour," Tiffany said. "We should bring in good, high-paying jobs in Wisconsin and you do that by reducing regulations and also making sure that you reduce taxes in Wisconsin, so people have more money in their pockets."
## The stakes are high
Big picture view:
Wisconsin will decide between these competing visions for Wisconsin, not just on labor, but on so much more.
"What are the things that state government touches people about? It touches them with state parks, it touches them with taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, it touches them with land use, job creation, regulation of licensing, it touches them about abortion. So, all the kind of issues that are on people's minds, wherever they are in their life," said UW-Milwaukee Professor Emeritus Mordecai Lee.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from David Crowley and Tom Tiffany.