The Trump administration has extended its loyalty oath “compact” to all universities, with a deadline of Oct 20 for administrators to respond.
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Category Archives: Actions & Statements
Letter to Mnookin and Rothman on Campus Free Speech
The Executive Committee of WUU, together with the boards of the UW-Madison chapter of the AAUP, UFAS, and TAA, have written the following letter to UW-Madison Chancellor Mnookin and UW System President Rothman. (See google doc and pdf.)
As you know, free speech and academic freedom on college campuses across the nation are under assault by the federal government in ways reminiscent of the McCarthyist “red scare” of the 1950s. The Trump Administration has ordered campuses to cease using or teaching censored words and phrases they dislike, rescinded research contracts solely based on banned keywords, and threatened accreditation and federal funding for institutions that fail to comply with this campaign of government censorship.
But in recent weeks, the actions of the federal government have entered an alarming and dangerous new phase. Faculty at Texas A&M and Texas State University have been fired for teaching banned course content and comments made at a conference. Negotiations with Ivy League institutions have included demands for governmental intrusion into admissions, hiring, and curricular decisions. A student was arrested and expelled for voicing opinions about Charlie Kirk, which comes after the detainment of several students for protesting and writing op-eds against the war in Gaza. UC Berkeley provided a list of 160 faculty, staff, and student names to the government for purported yet unproven “antisemitic” statements or behavior.
Worse, the rhetoric surrounding campus speech and faculty themselves is becoming more aggressive, with prominent government officials falsely charging that faculty are all “radical Leftists” and indoctrinating youth in violent left-wing ideology. Some prominent voices have explicitly blamed faculty and higher education for the assassination of Charlie Kirk. As a result, many of your students, faculty, staff, and leadership are scared not only for their physical safety but that of their families on and off campus.
We, as experts in our fields, must have freedom from government interference to teach our courses, conduct our research, and engage in discussions with students without fear of censorship and intimidation. Not being able to teach or discuss certain facts or ideas that contradict some ideological positions is not the way to prepare Wisconsin’s future workforce, citizenry, and leaders for the uncertain times that lie ahead. We urge you to take the following actions:
1. Issue a public statement that you will protect the 1st amendment rights and academic freedom of faculty, staff, students, and administrators at UW–Madison and other UW campuses that abide by existing policies governing free speech and academic freedom on campus.
2. Confirm that if names or information are sought from UW–Madison or other UW campuses from the federal government regarding “antisemitism” or ideas disliked by the current administration, the Faculty Senate, Academic Staff Assemblies, and other shared governance bodies at each campus will be immediately consulted. The university must exhaust all legal remedies to protect targeted members of our community.
3. Publicly state that you will not treat published course descriptions as legally binding documents, as course syllabi often depart from these descriptions for various reasons as a matter of necessity. This practice was recently used in Texas as grounds for faculty dismissals with no due process or recognition of this fact regarding the relationship between course descriptions, syllabi, and actual classroom instruction.
4. Immediately launch a public education campaign on the nature and importance of free speech and academic freedom in higher education, including how current governmental censorship inhibits scientific inquiry, student learning, and the “sifting and winnowing” for the truth. It is time to advance a counter-narrative that denounces the current wave of censorship while asserting that free and open inquiry is critical to our charge to educate the citizens and workers of the future. The new report On Title VI, Discrimination, and Academic Freedom from Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure at AAUP provides an excellent source for this work.
The campus community needs leadership to stand firm for our principles as a public university by defending our rights and work as scholars, educators, and independent thinkers. Anticipatory obedience does not work, and complying with this government’s outrageous anti-free speech demands would violate the core principles of the University of Wisconsin. We are in a fight for our very survival to ensure that the universities of the great state of Wisconsin can continue to thrive as research and teaching institutions dedicated to advancing the economy, knowledge, and well-being of the state and nation. Please do not sacrifice the substance to preserve the shadow.
Signed,
Executive Committee, UW-Madison chapter of the American Association of University Professors
Executive Committee, Wisconsin University Union
Steering Committee, United Faculty & Academic Staff (American Federation of Teachers Local 223)
Executive Board, Teaching Assistants’ Association (American Federation of Teachers Local 3220)
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.
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.”
AAUP Statement on UW System President Search
UFAS Covid Demands
United Faculty and Staff (UFAS) calls on the University of Wisconsin–Madison and UW System to:
1) Require all students, faculty, and staff who will be on campus to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
2) Continue to require masking and social distancing.
3) Continue to require frequent testing among unvaccinated staff, students, and faculty and implement randomized testing among all staff, students, and faculty, regardless of vaccination status.
4) Utilize best practices for improved ventilation.
5) Institute a more flexible policy on remote or hybrid teaching modalities for all faculty, instructional academic staff, and graduate instructors.
6) Increase investments in UW–Madison’s mental healthcare resources to address the mental health challenges accompanying a year and a half of death, illness, and disruption.
7) Allow for broad flexibility in remote work arrangements for all campus workers.
Anatole Beck: Meritorious Service
The Beck-Elder Award was created in recognition of meritorious service to the Wisconsin University Union by Anatole Beck and Joe Elder to further shared governance, academic freedom, and to protect employee rights. To honor Professor Beck, WUU has written a piece about his extraordinary life and service to the UW-Madison.
Beck-Elder Awards
Wisconsin University Union Executive Committee is launching a new initiative, the Beck-Elder Awards, to provide funding in support of governance and a democratic workplace on campus. The full announcement with details on how to apply is viewable as a GoogleDoc here. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, with initial evaluation typically within a month.
Join WUU
Friends and colleagues,
After some quiet time, the Wisconsin University Union is stepping up because so many University employees are facing serious challenges with their jobs.
We’re asking you to join, in anticipation of new elections to be held
in October. Annual dues are only $10. You can send a check or pay
through PayPal. Please join by October 15.
WUU works to give faculty and staff an effective voice in the governance of the institution. WUU helps employees navigate processes for grievances and appeals, and assists with outside legal help when appropriate. If you know UW faculty or staff who need such assistance, please contact us.
In solidarity,
Joe Salmons and Lydia Zepeda
WUU President and Treasurer