WISCONSIN (MacIver Institute) -- It's not often in life that you get to look into the future -- but that is exactly the opportunity voters in Wisconsin have. We continue our reporting into the scandal-plagued company DHS selected to run the state's $1.4 billion at-home care program -- a company that is acquiescing to a massive unionization drive in New York State. If that state contract with private equity-backed PPL goes into effect, it would be the biggest win for unions in the post-Act 10 era. That story, plus Flock cameras keep coming down across the state, and Jill Underly’s State of Education speech again skipped reading and math.
Read on for this week's MacIver Monday newsletter.
Spotlight
New York’s Massive SEIU Home-Care Drive Is a Preview of Wisconsin’s PPL Future
MacIver Staff reports that 1199SEIU now has enough cards to force an election covering about 190,000 New York home-care workers on Public Partnerships LLC’s payroll—one of the largest union drives in the country this century. New York collapsed hundreds of contractors into one private fiscal agent. PPL signed a neutrality deal and handed over worker contacts. The union followed.
Wisconsin is on the same track. DHS picked PPL as the sole fiscal employer agent for IRIS, serving about 30,000 people in a program already climbing from $1.24 billion to an estimated $1.54 billion. Personal-care work is the most common job in the state. If those aides sit on PPL’s books instead of the state’s, Act 10 does not apply. A statewide SEIU unit becomes a recurring claim on Medicaid, paid by taxpayers. MacIver has already documented PPL’s payroll failures, Missouri’s quiet cancellation, and a federal lawsuit over New York’s “sham” bid process. DHS should not finalize this contract.
Deep Dive
Will the State Ban ALPRs? Flock Cancellations Grow
Michael Lucas writes that Flock flew under the radar in Wisconsin until the mistakes piled up: a Milwaukee driver boxed in at gunpoint over an outdated homicide flag, officers using the network to track exes, a Florida woman held in solitary after a false vehicle hit. At least 48 Wisconsin governments and departments have now canceled or covered the cameras—including Sheboygan, Stevens Point, Racine County, Winnebago County, and more.
Banning one vendor is not the same as ending warrantless plate surveillance. Lucas notes Rep. Nate Gustafson’s AB 883 would limit automatic plate readers to parking enforcement, enclosed private sites, and commercial weigh stations. Rep. Calvin Callahan has already called for a January hearing. The question for next session is whether Wisconsin will treat driving as probable cause to be tracked.
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Coming Soon
Tiffany: Wisconsin Utility Regulators Must Prioritize “Affordability and Reliability”
Benjamin Yount reports that Tom Tiffany would stock the Public Service Commission with members who answer two questions only—cost and reliability—after $2.2 billion in rate hikes under Gov. Evers. Wisconsin now has the highest energy prices in the Midwest.
You Should Know
BECI 765: Laws Governing Transmission Lines
Michael Lucas reports that Tom Tiffany and three legislators told a Wisconsin Dells crowd the proposed 190-mile, 765 kV BECI line is unnecessary and would force involuntary easements across hundreds—and possibly up to about 2,000—parcels, needing roughly 4,145 acres of right-of-way. A ROFR law would not spare landowners; it would only hand the project to the incumbent and raise costs. State law already says the PSC may approve a line of this size only if it delivers in-state reliability or service benefits and those benefits are reasonable relative to cost—a test MISO’s own monitor says the broader Tranche 2.1 portfolio fails.
Quick Click
Critics Slam State Superintendent For 2026 State of Education Speech
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly’s "State of Education" address skipped reading, writing, math, and NAEP scores. WILL’s Will Flanders noted spending is already above 2000 levels after inflation, with nearly $19,000 per student. Kids Win Wisconsin’s Brittany Kinser pointed to the Nation’s Report Card: only 31% of Wisconsin fourth graders read at or above proficient.
For Your Commute
MacIver's Michael Lucas recently joined the Vicki McKenna Show to talk about energy issues affecting Wisconsin. Give it a listen below.
Last Update: Sep 28, 2026 1:09 pm CDT
