Call it "Arne Duncan Unplugged," an unscripted Monday afternoon exchange at QuEST between the U.S. education secretary and AFT members on the issues that matter most to education's frontline. The July 13 session began with a drum roll: AFT members' handwritten questions for the education secretary were collected in advance and placed inside an onstage sweepstakes drum. After a few turns, AFT president Randi Weingarten reached in and selected a handful at random, and Duncan took the stage to provide some answers.

Highlights from the recently concluded 2009 AFT QuEST conference in Washington, D.C., included AFT president Randi Weingarten's keynote address, a town hall meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, a panel on community schools and remarks from U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. Daily updates from the conference, as well as video highlights, can be found on the AFT's QuEST 2009 Web site.

An analysis of the most recent 10 years of national data presents a troubling picture of disinvestment in the higher education teaching profession-notably, a reduction in the proportion of full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty, and an increased reliance on employing "contingent" faculty and instructors such as part-time faculty, full-time nontenure track faculty and graduate employees.

During the two-week period between March 23rd and April 3rd, faculty and academic staff members of TAUWP testified at each of the seven public hearings convened by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee.  As an illustration of the TAUWP's statewide breadth, Union members consistently made the point that the time has (finally) arrived for the University's core workforce to have the same basic workplace rights (to bargain collectively) as all other types of workers in Wisconsin's public and private sectors.

For weeks leading into the 2008 elections, TAUWP members from across the state focused efforts on supporting the re-election of TAUWP member and State Rep. Kim Hixson, from the Whitewater area.  In November, Hixson won re-election.  In December, Hixson was appointed Chair of the State Assembly's Colleges and Universities Committee -- the position previously held by State Rep. Steve Nass and former State Rep. Rob Kreibich, each of whom used their standing as Chair to block important reforms to the University system, including collective bargaining rights.  TAUWP officers and members look forward to collaborating more closely with Representative Hixson in 2009 and beyond.

TAUWP Vice President Nancy Turner has chaired a statewide committee of academic staff and faculty members to focus on solutions to the University's "low road" employment practices.  In particular, TAUWP's Committee regarding Non-Tenure-Track Faculty has successfully focused attention on the need for immediate and concrete reforms.  In this essay, Turner applies the Union's position to a debate that System Administration is initiating about "the graying faculty."

As the elections on November 4th continue to get closer, TAUWP members across the state have been increasingly participating in concerted activity as part of the AFL-CIO.  In fact, In fact, as illustrated in the photo (left) of TAUWP members joining a late-August "Labor Walk" in Whitewater, the faculty and academic staff members of TAUWP have been going off campus, knocking on doors, and talking with people about the important choices that voters will face on November 4th.  For more information, check out the scoop.

Who do you think can best represent the interests of the University's faculty and academic staff?  Do you think that academic staff and faculty might be the people who are most capable of such a task?  Well, in recent correspondence with UW System Administration, TAUWP has learned that the University apparently thinks that faculty and academic staff are not the best people to represent themselves.  Click here to see the recent back-and-forth and make plans to join the next TAUWP meeting to participate in the Union's future plans for action.

Contrary to administrative arguments that "there is not enough money" to fund proper raises for faculty and academic staff, the experiences of those professional state employees who bargain collectively demonstrate the power that is available through collective bargaining.  To read more about these facts as well as TAUWP's actions to win positive change, click here to read June's TAUWP e-news.

Despite approving raises last year for the 2008-09 academic year, the State Legislature took action on May 27th to unilaterally cut and delay those increases for faculty and academic staff.  The sole voice of protest to the cuts were led by members and officers of TAUWP and emphasized that the Legislature can take such regressive action precisely because faculty and academic staff are presently denied the right to bargain collectively (since collective bargaining requires that changes to wages are negotiated rather than unilaterally imposed).  Click here for the full scoop -- along with other news, including the Union's participation in the UW-Madison Chancellor search!

Starting in mid-March, the newest edition of TAUWP News was sent to all academic staff and faculty employed by UW campuses outside of Madison.  The issue reviews our progress for collective bargaining rights; our request for an accounting of how the Administration is spending a $10 million “star fund”; and how the Union functions as a "mutual aid" society to advocate due process and fairness on campus.  If you think such actions are important and good, then take a step in support of our profession to join TAUWP today.

Building on progress that the Union has created in recent weeks, months, and years, the Wisconsin State Senate voted on February 19th to extend collective bargaining rights to the University of Wisconsin System's core workforce (of faculty and academic staff).  With bipartisan support, the Senate action offers the State Assembly an opportunity to similarly modify state law to allow academic staff and faculty the same right-to-vote for (or against) collective bargaining that is held by attorneys, accountants, physicians, and dentists employed by the State.  You can join these efforts (if you haven't already done so) by completing the online membership application to join TAUWP today -- to stand alongside fellow faculty and academic staff on your campus, and across the UW System.

On January 9th, the State Senate Agriculture and Higher Education Committee voted to adopt Senate Bill (SB) 353, which would allow faculty and academic staff the right to petition for open, democratic votes for (or against) collective bargaining. Those voting in favor of SB 353 were State Senators Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma), Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse), Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Pt.), and Jeff Plale (D-S. Milwaukee). The lone negative vote was cast by Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls). In a press release issued by the Higher Education Council of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Senator Kapanke emphasized that the right-to-vote is “neither a Democratic issue nor a Republican issue; rather, it is a simple matter of fairness."

Faculty and academic staff members of TAUWP from eight (8) campuses joined with each other to testify in support of collective bargaining rights when the State Senate Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education convened at UW-Eau Claire on December 17th.  The Committee, chaired by State Senator Kathleen Vinehout (pictured here), is considering Senate Bill 353, which would extend collective bargaining rights to academic staff and faculty employed across the UW System.

At a committee meeting of the Board of Regents on November 16th, university administrators advanced a plan to cut sick leave benefits (as they presently exist) despite the fact that most faculty senates oppose such action.  As an independent voice of faculty and academic staff, TAUWP President Mark Evenson is cited by The Capital Times (on November 17th) as noting (1) that the administration's plans would result in fewer classes being taught and (2) that this is another illustration of administrators not "sharing" campus governance.  Faculty and academic staff interested in "shared governance" that is binding are encouraged to join TAUWP today (if you've not yet done so) by completing the online form below (located to the right of the "Union YES!" image).

Governor Jim Doyle (pictured here alongside TAUWP Statewide President Mark Evenson outside a recent Board of Regents meeting) took action in his Budget Proposal for the 2007-09 biennium to allow UW faculty and academic staff the basic right to decide in favor or against collective bargaining.  More recently on June 26th, the State Senate affirmed their support for the right to vote.  In the coming weeks and months, TAUWP/AFT members will be working to advance these actions into law.  As of October 8th, several thousand faculty and academic staff have joined together in a petition campaign for bargaining rights; and, we have gained important support from editorial boards around the state, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Capital Times.

Building on successful participation in recent years, academic staff and faculty members of TAUWP collaborated to lead two panels at this summer's Academic Staff Leadership Conference, including one that focused on the need for "growth" plans to be "smart" lest they simply be plans for work overloads, speed-up, and other negative outcomes.  Academic staff representatives of TAUWP communicated the need for collective bargaining rights as an important "tool" that's presently missing when academic staff and faculty seek to improve campus workplaces.

Reviewing the Union's support for collective bargaining rights for UW faculty and academic staff while also describing the AFL-CIO's commitment to needed healthcare reforms, Wisconsin AFL-CIO President David Newby (pictured here, second from right) keynoted TAUWP's annual Delegate Assembly on April 27th in Madison.  During the Assembly's business session on April 28th, TAUWP delegates considered and approved policy decisions for the Union.  Among those topics gaining TAUWP attention were (1) the University's increasing reliance on non-tenure-track faculty, (2) the results of our recently-completed online survey, and (3) our campaign for collective bargaining rights.

In daily newspapers in Milwaukee, Madison, Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Oshkosh, TAUWP President Mark Evenson recently contributed a column that addresses the myths and misperceptions that many hold about the sick-leave benefit that is earned by state employees (e.g., faculty and academic staff).  The full-text of President Evenson's article can be found online at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's website.

Testifying before the Board of Regents' Business, Finance, and Audit Committee on November 9th in Madison, TAUWP President Mark Evenson and Past President Gloria Toivola challenged materials prepared by UW System Administration regarding compensation and advocated collective bargaining rights for UW faculty and academic staff as a long-term solution. Click on this article's headline for a full-text edition of Past President Toivola's testimony.

Commenting on recent news headlines regarding the University of Wisconsin (UW) System, TAUWP President Mark Evenson was a guest of Wisconsin Public Radio's Joy Cardin show on Tuesday October 17th at 8 am with State Senator Carol Roessler (R-Oshkosh). Evenson and Roessler discussed a number of the headline-stories regarding the UW System that have aired in recent weeks. Those subjects, which TAUWP members and officers have impacted on campuses across the System, include a recently-released audit of sick leave reporting and proposed discipline and dismissal rules for UW faculty and academic staff.

At each campus across the UW System over the next two weeks, officers and members of TAUWP/AFT will be welcoming new faculty and academic staff during campus orientations. With the aid of a new brochure that details TAUWP victories scored in recent years, new academic staff and faculty are urged to join TAUWP to build more strength into the future. Anyone (new or returning) with interest in working together to improve life on campus should contact a TAUWP Chapter Officer or Staff Representative Kevin Kniffin (800-362-7390 x223).

TAUWP members and officers joined academic staff from across the UW System on Thursday (July 13) and Friday (July 14) at UW-Eau Claire for the annual "Academic Staff Leadership Conference." TAUWP members led several panels; in addition, TAUWP officers distributed materials to advertise TAUWP's independent and effective advocacy for academic staff across the UW System. To learn more about TAUWP's contributions to this year's Conference, please call TAUWP President Mark Evenson c/o 608-574-4802 (cellphone).

During the past four years, the average growth across ranks for UW faculty at comprehensive campuses (UW-Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Parkside, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Stout, Superior and Whitewater) has increased 1.6 percent while the national comparable increase has been 5.9 percent and the national inflation rate has been 11.0 percent. These faculty salary statistics are based upon newly-released data collected by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.  The inflation rates are drawn from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.