In support of the right to peaceful protest

The Wisconsin University Union (WUU) stands in solidarity with the students, staff, and faculty currently under investigation by UW-Madison for their involvement in the encampment protests in Spring of 2024, many of whom are members of allied organizations UFAS and TAA. We believe that the right to free expression and peaceful protest is a fundamental aspect of our university community, and that right must be protected.

UW-Madison has a long and proud history of activism, with student-led movements playing a crucial role in advancing social justice and shaping public discourse. From the anti-war protests of the 1960s to the more recent movements for climate action and racial equity, our campus has been a beacon of free expression and a space to advance knowledge through essential, and often challenging, discourse. To pay lip service to this legacy while wielding policy as a restraint, particularly after the violence that involved law enforcement brought to Library Mall at the behest of UW-Madison leadership, is both hypocritical and antithetical to the ideals of our institution. The Administration of UW-Madison has discretion in how it handles these matters, and we call upon them to use this power wisely. We urge the administration to prioritize the protection of free expression and to support the rights of our community members to engage in peaceful protest without fear of retribution. Further, we urge UW-Madison administration to follow through on the terms of the agreements made with protest organizers in good faith. This is both a matter of upholding the principles of academic freedom and also a matter of honoring the legacy of activism that has defined our university for generations.

The Wisconsin University Union remains committed to defending the rights of all UW-Madison employees and students to peacefully express their views and advocate for causes they believe in. We stand in solidarity with those who are facing repercussions for their involvement in these protests and will continue to advocate for a campus environment where free expression is valued and protected.

Spring 2024 update

Promoting a Healthy Workplace Over the past year, WUU has continued to support the campus community in protecting itself against COVID and other infectious diseases, including through an effort to build Corsi-Rosenthal boxes (do-it-yourself air filtration using a box fan, high-quality furnace filters, and duct tape), as well as a lending library of inexpensive CO2 monitors.

Advocating for  Extension & Two-year Campuses We remain concerned about the future of the Division of Extension (where the number of faculty has been reduced from over 100 to under 50, through retirements and pressure to convert to academic staff positions), as well as of the two-year campuses in UW System. Five of the 13 two-year campuses have announced their closure since merging with four-year campuses in 2019. This has resulted in numerous faculty and staff layoffs, and there have been further layoffs and furloughs at other campuses.

Supporting Faculty & Staff We continue to look for ways to support campus workers and to promote academic freedom and equal access to education. In addition to supporting faculty and academic staff grievance processes, including  legal fees, we seek applications for the Beck-Elder Awards to support research and outreach projects, with a budget of up to $5000. See https://www.wuu.info/beck-elder-awards/.

Don’t Forget to Vote in the April 2 Election! In addition to the presidential primary and numerous local offices, there are two ballot measures to amend the Wisconsin Constitution. The League of Women Voters encourages voting NO on both ballot measures. See your ballot and find your polling place at https://myvote.wi.gov. If you have not already received (and returned!) an absentee ballot, consider voting at one of the in-person early voting sites.

Upcoming WUU Board Elections  We will be sending out a ballot soon for WUU board members. Please vote by May 1.

Member Meeting We are planning an online member meeting for the week of May 6, as well as an informal in-person gathering at the Memorial Union Terrace on Monday May 6, 5-6:30pm. We hope to see you at one or both!

Support for CUNA workers

Workers from CUNA Mutual in Madison (OPEIU Local 39) are preparing to go on strike tomorrow, May 19. In support of the workers, the WUU Executive Committee wrote the following letter to CEO Robert Trunzo and the CUNA Board of Directors, and will contribute $500 to the OPEIU Strike Fund.

Dear Robert Trunzo and the CUNA Mutual Group Board of Directors,

We write in support of OPEIU Local 39 and urge you to meet them at the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith. We are deeply troubled by the recent firing of Chief Steward Joe Evica and by CUNA Mutual Group/TruStage (CMFG)’s pattern of dismantling career-oriented, long term jobs for people in the Madison Community.

CMFG workers are not just fighting for a fair contract; they are fighting for good union jobs to remain in Wisconsin. Their struggle impacts all of us as workers and community members. Wages that keep up with inflation, quality and affordable healthcare for remote-out-of-state employees, a uniform pension plan, job security/protections, and pay equity reviews to ensure transparency are not luxuries. They are basic rights that all working people deserve. It is disappointing that CMFG would break the law and fire a good worker as retaliation for union activity rather than invest in Madison families.

Workers should not have to authorize an Unfair Labor Practices strike to be heard. You have a legal obligation to meet your employees at the bargaining table as equals. They have been patiently waiting for over 400 days. We urge you to settle a fair contract now.

Sincerely,
Wisconsin University Union Executive Committee

Paid family leave

WUU enthusiastically endorses the Paid Family Leave resolution that will be considered by the UW-Madison Faculty Senate on 6 March 2023 and by the Academic Staff Assembly on 13 March.

The resolution brings important attention to a June, 2022, report from an ad hoc Working Group on Family Leave for UW-Madison Employees. That report provides a detailed summary of the many gaps and inconsistencies in current policies at UW-Madison, the value and public support for paid family leave, for recruitment competitiveness and for equity in the workplace.

The report’s strong recommendations include: “Provide for all employees to receive at least six weeks of fully paid leave after a birth, adoption, or foster placement, separate from other paid leave benefits…[and establish] a timeline for phased increases over a period of two to three bienniums to a range of 8-12 weeks of fully paid leave.”

June 2022 report on Family Leave

An ad hoc Working Group on Family Leave for UW-Madison Employees completed an important report on family leave, with detailed research and recommendations. The report has not been widely distributed or publicized but deserves careful study.

The Family Leave Working Group was formed in December, 2016, by Provost Sarah Mangelsdorf, to make recommendations on family leave for university employees, following a separate effort arranged by the University Committee that focused on family leave for tenure-track faculty.

The report, completed in June, 2022, includes detailed research on the state of family leave at UW-Madison and peer institutions. All but one of our peer universities provides paid parental leave.

The report makes a number of important recommendations, including that UW-Madison provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid parental leave to all employees starting at the beginning of their appointment, and provide at least six weeks of fully paid leave after a birth, adoption, or foster placement, separate from other paid leave benefits (such as vacation and sick leave).

Beck-Elder Awards Call for Proposals

Support Types: research/outreach projects; assistance with member’s legal fees

Budget: up to $5000. Note that awards are made directly to individuals or organizations.

Process: submit a 1-2 page proposal as described in this pdf, followed by a short interview for the finalists (see attachment for details).

Timeline for assistance with member’s legal fees: ongoing

Timeline for research/outreach projects

  • Submission by: February 1, 2023
  • First round evaluation by: March 1
  • Presentations: Week of March 15
  • Final determination: March 31

Subsequent rounds of proposals will follow.

Funding Priorities (in no particular order of importance):

  • Support of shared governance at UW-Madison
  • Ensure equality under due process at UW-Madison
  • Promote labor and employment rights of faculty and staff at UW-Madison
  • Promote diversity, equity and inclusion in employment at the UW-Madison
  • Legal counsel for individuals or groups of individuals at UW-Madison

WUU is an independent association of faculty and academic staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We promote the values of our members in the activity and organization of this campus.  Our core values reflect a commitment to democracy – an order of free and equal persons who determine the conditions of their own association. WUU has a long history of supporting University faculty and staff members who find themselves in conflict with their employer.

CO2 monitor lending library

WUU is excited to contribute towards a lending library of carbon dioxide monitors to assess air quality on campus.

With the elimination of the campus mask mandate last March, there are important concerns about air quality and ventilation in classrooms and other spaces at UW-Madison. Air quality is an important factor in the spread of airborne diseases such as COVID-19. Campus administration has not been forthcoming about efforts to assess or improve air quality. The Facilities HVAC FAQ is particularly disappointing as it discourages any efforts to assess air quality, improve air ventilation, or filter air in university spaces.

A group of campus workers and community members has designed a low-cost CO2 monitor and are seeking to lend them out to the campus community, to assess air ventilation in classrooms and other campus spaces. They have 18 CO2 monitors available for use; WUU has contributed funds for 10 of them.

Hand-made CO2 monitor built with a $40 CO2 sensor, a $10 microcontroller, a $5 LCD display, and a 50 cent plastic box.

If you are interested in borrowing one of these monitors, submit a request via this form: bit.ly/uwco2meterlibrary.

COVID-19 Posters

WUU is proud to announce its new COVID-19 posters, which have begun being placed on bulletin boards around the UW-Madison campus.

Vintage-styled poster with earth surrounded by people holding hands with the text "Let's protect our community", "Get tested", "Use sick days", "Get boosted", "Mask up", and "Strong unions make strong communities" http://www.info

Designed by local artist Meghan Griffin, the posters are intended to encourage communal action to fight back against the pandemic and help protect the vulnerable members of our community: Mask up, get boosted, stay home when sick, and get tested.

Help spread the word by posting an image of our poster on social media:

wuu.madison@gmail.com