On December 11, 2025, Bryan Steil, the House member for Wisconsin's 1st District, voted against the House bill to restore bargaining rights to roughly 1 million federal employees; the bill passed over his vote but has not become law, so the 2025 executive order that stripped those rights remains largely in force. In June 2026 he voted against the Faster Labor Contracts Act, which would speed up first contracts for newly unionized workers.
Earlier in his House career, Steil voted against the 2019 Raise the Wage Act, which would have lifted the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour in steps, and against the PRO Act in 2020 and 2021. Wisconsin's own minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour, unchanged since July 2009.
Bryan Steil's Votes on Union Rights, First Contracts and the Minimum Wage
- Steil Voted Against Restoring Union Rights for About 1 Million Federal Workers in December 2025. On December 10, 2025, Bryan Steil voted against the discharge motion that forced a House vote on the Protect America's Workforce Act, and on December 11 he voted against the rule for the bill and then voted no on the bill itself, which passed 231 to 195. It would overturn the executive order that "strips collective bargaining rights for roughly 1 million federal employees." The bill has not become law, and the order stays largely in force after a federal appeals court "vacated a preliminary injunction that had been blocking the president's Executive Order 14,251." Under it, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced in August 2025 "the termination of collective bargaining agreements for most VA bargaining-unit employees"; a court has since ordered the VA to reinstate its labor contract with the American Federation of Government Employees while the case continues. In an August 2026 Gallup poll, 71% of Americans approved of labor unions.
- Steil Voted Against Faster First Contracts for Newly Unionized Workers in June 2026. On June 9, 2026, Steil voted against the discharge motion and the rule that brought the Faster Labor Contracts Act to the floor, and then voted no on the bill, which passed the House 230 to 193. The bill would require bargaining to begin soon after workers win a union election and "allow federal mediators to get involved if a deal is not reached within 90 days," followed by binding arbitration. The bill has not become law. Newly organized unions take "an average of 465 days" to reach a first contract, WUNC reported from Bloomberg Law data, more than a year in which workers who voted to unionize work without one.
- Steil Voted Against Raising the Federal Minimum Wage in 2019; Wisconsin's Is Still $7.25. On July 18, 2019, Steil voted no on H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act, which passed the House 231 to 199. It would have raised the federal minimum wage in yearly steps to "$15.00 an hour, beginning 6 years after such effective date," and then indexed it to wages. The bill did not become law, and Wisconsin's minimum wage for adults is still $7.25 an hour, a rate in effect since July 24, 2009, according to the state's Department of Workforce Development.
- Steil Voted Twice Against the PRO Act, Which Would Have Made Employers Pay More for Firing Workers Who Organize. On February 6, 2020, Steil voted no on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which passed the House 224 to 194, and on March 9, 2021 he voted no again when it passed 225 to 206. The 2021 bill provided that when an employer illegally fires a worker, "the Board shall award the employee back pay without any reduction," plus front pay and damages. Neither version became law, so a worker fired for organizing can still see back pay reduced by "interim earnings," the wages the worker found elsewhere.
What Bryan Steil's Wage and Union Votes Mean for Wisconsin Workers
- Wisconsin's lowest-paid workers have gone 17 years without a minimum wage increase. Wisconsin's adult minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since July 24, 2009, and the tipped minimum is $2.33, the state's Department of Workforce Development lists; Wisconsin has not raised it on its own, so the federal minimum Steil voted against raising sets the pay floor for the state's lowest-paid workers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bryan Steil on Labor and wages
What is Bryan Steil's record on labor and wages under Trump?
Bryan Steil voted in December 2025 against restoring union rights for roughly 1 million federal workers and in June 2026 against the Faster Labor Contracts Act; both bills passed the House over his votes and have not become law. Earlier he voted against raising the federal minimum wage to $15 and twice against the PRO Act, while Wisconsin's minimum wage has stayed at $7.25 since 2009.
Has Bryan Steil voted to raise the minimum wage?
No. Bryan Steil voted against the Raise the Wage Act on July 18, 2019, a bill that would have raised the federal minimum in steps to $15.00 an hour over six years. It passed the House over his no vote but did not become law, and Wisconsin workers' minimum is still $7.25.
Does Bryan Steil support union rights for federal workers?
Bryan Steil voted against the discharge motion, the rule and the Protect America's Workforce Act itself in December 2025, the bill to undo the 2025 executive order on federal workers' unions. "Six unions representing roughly 800,000 federal civilian employees" had sued over the order, and an appeals court let it take effect.
Last updated: 2026-10-26