Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Don't Break My Heart Valentine
Don't Break My Heart Valentine
Don't Break My Heart Valentine
United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS) is a labor union democratically organized
to represent its members—faculty and academic staff at both the UW-Madison and UW-Extension.
UFAS is an independent affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, Local #223, AFL-CIO.
U
authority, implicating large-
FA S i s a p ro u d erode access to affordable faculty asking Scott Walker
scale increases to student
co-sponsor of public education. We need not to break our heart, i.e.,
tu i ti o n , a n d p e r s o n n e l
the “I [heart] to prevent budget cuts to not to cut funding for the
practices, potentially
UW / Governor Walker, the University, and Governor UW in his budget. Look
ending civil service and
Don’t Break My Heart” Walker’s budget proposal is for your card within this
collective bargaining rights
campaign, initiated by our the first step. newsletter and be sure to
f o r Un i ve r s i t y w o rk e r s
sister union, the Teaching Academic staff, faculty, sign and return it to UFAS
from classified staff to
Assistants Association a n d s tu d e n ts f ro m th e President Jim Molenda
faculty to academic staff
(TAA), AFT Local 3220. Un i v e r s i t y c o m m u n i t y (5024 WIMR 1111 Highland
to graduate student labor.
The new state are coming together on Ave) by Friday, February
Other concerns stand with
government is threatening Valentine’s Day to deliver 11. Then join us and other
the Chancellor’s proposal
massive budget cuts for our message of opposition signers to deliver the cards
to realize greater tuition
higher education. This will to higher education budget to his office on Monday,
revenue by compromising
cause tuition to skyrocket, cuts. UFAS is distributing February 14, at noon.
access of Wisconsin families
compromise the quality thousands of Valentines
to UW-Madison, which she
of the University, and cards to academic staff and
proposes to achieve by lifting
UFAS News / February 2011 / http://wi.aft.org/ufas/index.cfm
UFAS News / February 2011 / http://wi.aft.org/ufas/index.cfm
U
e m p l oy e e s, w e s a w a n Wisconsin’s public sector, would create interest in
nited Faculty and
inherent contradiction in the Wisconsin Employment unionization, UW Madison
Academic Staff
trying to absorb these folks Re l a t i o n s C o m m i s s i o n academic staff are still
(UFAS), American
into unions without a voting (WERC), has to determine not organizing yet. (In
Federation of Teachers (AFT)
process taking place. It’s who is eligible to vote contrast, academic staff
Local 223, has a long and
just plain wrong—people before a vote on union and faculty have already
consistent track record on the
should have a say about representation can take begun organizing at other
subject of unit clarification
whether or not they want place. The academic staff UW System campuses.)
of academic staff. Having
union representation—not who are truly misclassified UFAS thinks other unions
struggled many years to
simply be shoved into unions would be ruled ineligible to will eventually see the futility
win collective bargaining
against their will. In short, we vote by WERC and placed in of their chosen path and
rights for UW faculty and
believe in democracy. the appropriate bargaining will have to go to Plan B
academic staff together
2. We didn’t think unit unit. That is how the process when it comes to organizing
with AFT and allies in
clarification would work, and works under Wisconsin law, UW-Madison academic
organized labor, we believed
that it was likely to be seen but we believe that only a staff. Plan B is what UFAS
and fought for a second
by UW-Madison academic small group of academic has advocated all along—
campaign to win the hearts
staff as a hostile move aimed staff would be affected in this persuading a majority of
and minds of a majority of
more at collecting dues way. UW-Madison academic staff
faculty and academic staff.
money rather than providing Where are we now? So to form their own union
When proposals were made
effective representation by far we believe that UFAS’s because it is in their interest
to accrete large numbers
building a rank-and-file position has been proven to do so. That is how the
of UW-Madison academic
democratic union from the right. UW-Madison vast majority of American
staff to existing bargaining
bottom up. academic staff insist that unions have been organized
units represented by the
3. We argued that the they have rights to vote, in the first place. Why will
Wisconsin Professional
legal obstacles and resistance as we predicted, and large UW-Madison academic staff
Employees Council,
by UW System and the numbers of them have come to this conclusion?
Wisconsin State Employees
State would be enormous, been antagonized by the Because they, like others who
Union, and others, UFAS
resulting in litigation that massive unit clarification work for a living, need job
argued this was not the way
would be time consuming, approach that other unions rights, decent wages, benefits
to go and has maintained
costly and ultimately adopted. Costly litigation and working conditions.
this position. Here are the
insurmountable. Also, we that likely will take years to In today’s economy and
main reasons why:
argued that there is no resolve has already begun, political environment all
1. Having worked for
legal precedent to unionize and we believe that unions of these things are at risk
years to gain collective
thousands of academic staff seeking unit clarification and can only be protected
bargaining rights on the
in this way. are very likely to lose this through effective union
basis that faculty and
UFAS always understood effort. Meanwhile despite representation. We need to
academic staff have a right
that some unit clarification furloughs, wage freezes and unite to fight for our rights,
to vote whether they want
would take place because cuts, and possibly worse and the sooner we get on
to be represented by a union
the regulatory authority in coming down the road, with that effort the better.
for purposes of collective
UFAS Officers
Jim Molenda – President.......................................molendajim@gmail.com........................................ w: 608/265-5933
Chad Goldberg – Vice President...........................cgoldber@ssc.wisc.edu........................................... w: 608/262-2108
Michelle Bright – Treasurer...................................mbright@cows.org................................................. w: 608/890-2543
Alec Widerski – Secretary......................................alwiderski@admissions.wisc.edu........................... w: 608/262-1014
For additional information, please visit the UFAS website at http://wi.aft.org/ufas/
For additional information on higher education organizing, visit www.aftwhighered.org.
I
UW
Governor Walker,
donÕt break my
No Budget
Cuts for UW
Governor Walker, be my Valentine. DonÕt
break my heart by cutting funding for UW.
Love,
Name:
Hometown:
MIL WI
WAU
KEE • MADISON
UFAS News / February 2011 / http://wi.aft.org/ufas/index.cfm
United Faculty & Academic Staff, American Federation of Teachers Local 223
http://wi.aft.org/ufas/index.cfm
UNION YES!
Unions are about solidarity and collective action. One of the ways we act together is pooling our
resources. By pooling resources, we can accomplish more together than any one of us can on our own.
Effective immediately, I hereby request and authorize the University of Wisconsin to deduct from my salary each
month a sufficient amount to provide the monthly payment of my dues for UFAS, AFT Local 223.
¥ This is a continuous authorization from year to year applying to the then-current Local 223 dues.
¥ Dues will be deducted from each salary check issued by the University.
¥ This authorization will remain in effect as long as I am employed at the University unless terminated by me
upon written notice to: UW-Madison Payroll Office, 21 N. Park Street, Suite 5105, Madison, WI 53715.
¥ Termination of University employment will automatically terminate dues deduction.
¥ Dues are nine-tenths of one percent (0.9%) of annual gross salary.