Exploring the labor union developed to protect workers in Milwaukee`s Deer District

Before the Deer District was even constructed, there was a lot of talk about what it would mean for Milwaukee. Developers claimed the new space would bring more money and life to the downtown neighborhood, and above all else, it would lead to jobs. But the kinds of jobs that come with a new entertainment district are often low-income, low-stability, and high-stress — the kinds of jobs Laura Dresser would consider “bad.”

Dresser is the associate director of the High Road Strategy Center, a think-tank that in-part looks at employment conditions in Wisconsin. But in the case of the Deer District, developers created a community benefits agreement ensuring certain rights for its future employees. That led to the creation of MASH — the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization, a labor union that represents these workers. A recent report from High Road Strategy Center details the benefits this union and agreement it has brought to its workers....