Between the colorful rallies and counter-rallies, and legislators fleeing their own states, the debate over the right of public employees to unionize has captured national attention in the last two weeks.
UW Health Services announced Monday it would begin an investigation into UW Health physicians who reportedly wrote sick notes for Capitol protestors last Saturday.
Public Representation Organization of the Faculty Senate, a membership organization consisting of UW-Madison faculty, has scheduled a march to the Capitol Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in response to the budget repair bill.
In a show of solidarity with University of Wisconsin teaching assistants? and students? continued demonstrations of opposition to the budget repair bill, some professors said they will begin to reschedule classes and meetings today.
MADISON, Wis. — Tuesday will mark the eighth-straight day of rallies and protests at the Wisconsin Capitol, and the battle over barraging rights is gaining international attention. Local and statewide media have been doing most of the coverage of the protests, and it grew late last week to a national audience. And now, people across the world are seeing what?s happening in Madison.
Among the thousands of government workers who demonstrated against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker over collective bargaining rights were men and women wearing white lab coats and carrying clipboards. Some had stethoscopes around their necks.According to the Wisconsin Republican Party, they were doctors who wrote excuses for the protesters to explain their absence from work.
This is not your parents? state Capitol anymore.
From violinists serenading protesters as they entered the halls of state government to the makeshift information desk that has sprung up to offer everything from media talking points to directions to the nearest electrical outlets, the Capitol and surrounding grounds have become Wisconsin?s three-ring circus of protest.
State Sen. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) vowed Monday to look into allegations that doctors handed out medical excuses to protesters in Madison over the weekend.
Amidst all the protesting centered on Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker?s Budget Reform Bill, a more heinous act of treachery has been stealthily executed in an attempt to damn the University of Wisconsin ? Madison into the obscurity of bottom-tier education quality.
So, lost in the activity at the capital is the important question of what becomes of UW-Madison and the System with the new budget. I?ve heard from sources in the Walker camp that Madison will likely have the Public Authority model that UW-System originally asked for. Apparently, the Governor decided that it would be too much for the entire system to go that route without a test case, which led to Madison?s choice. Seeing it from that perspective, it makes perfect sense to have a trial run, and to do it with the school most able to do it, before committing all students down that path.
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine is investigating the disturbing and disgraceful writing of fake sick notes by some of its doctors to excuse state lawmakers who decided to bail from the capital. It is the right call. But an investigation is not enough. The state Medical Examining Board of the Department of Regulation and Licensing needs to reprimand these doctors and, in some cases, consider handing down suspensions.
Column by Andrew Reschovsky, professor of public affairs and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
University of Wisconsin System administrators and chancellors are frustrated with a proposal to remove the system?s flagship school, UW-Madison, from the system.
The UW-Madison Teaching Assistants? Association called for “teach-out” Tuesday to protest Walker?s bill. The teach-out means that teaching assistants will gather at the Capitol, but it?s not a strike.
Scores of union members from other states joined the pro-labor rallies Monday at the state Capitol, saying they fear for their own collective bargaining rights because of what?s happening here. Among the more renowned protesters was Jeff Skiles, the “Miracle on the Hudson River” co-pilot who was hailed as a hero in 2009 for helping safely land a US Airways plane in New York. “Gov. Walker?s plan goes too far to promote an extreme right-wing agenda of what America should look like,” he said at a press conference. Skiles, who lives in the city of Oregon near Madison, said he has been protesting at the Capitol numerous hours daily since Friday. His daughter, Kelly, a UW-Madison student, and his son, Matt, an Oregon High School junior, have slept some nights at the Capitol.”I have never been more proud of them,” Skiles said.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across Wisconsin are being sent to Madison to assist with security at the State Capitol. A central command center has been set up away from the Capitol, manned by Capitol Police, Madison Police, UW-Madison Police, the Dane County Sheriff?s Office, the Rock County Sheriff?s Office, the State Patrol, the Dane County Communications Center (911), and the Wisconsin DNR. Protest parades and demonstrations planned on Tuesday include rallies major rallies at noon and 5 p.m. by organized labor groups. And the United Council of UW Students is calling for a student walkout at noon Tuesday with students to gather at the Library Mall.
Gov. Scott Walker?s budget repair bill would effectively end all fledgling efforts to form faculty unions on University of Wisconsin System campuses. Faculty were just granted the right to collectively bargain two years ago. His bill calls for a repeal of that law. That differs from many other state workers, whose rights would be severely curtailed, but not completely revoked.
UW Health is investigating reports of doctors writing sick notes last weekend to excuse Capitol protesters from work, and the Wisconsin Medical Society has criticized the doctors? actions. “These charges are very serious,” a statement by UW Health said. “These UW Health physicians were acting on their own and without the knowledge or approval of UW Health.”
Quoted: David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist.
The feud between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and that state?s employees has all of a sudden become ground zero in the battle between efforts by the GOP to shut down unions as they exist and union workers. This pitched battle is clearly a precursor to the 2012 elections, but it is also the latest shot across the bow of union purists who don?t want to give up wages or benefits they have won in negotiations with government and business.
The Legislative Hotline for the Wisconsin State Legislature has been temporarily disconnected due to a flood of telephone calls. The line was disconnected Friday afternoon, according to the Assembly Chief Clerk?s office, and will be reconnected at a future date. People can still call their state Senators and state Representatives directly.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker warns that state employees could start receiving layoff notices as early as next week if a bill eliminating collective bargaining rights isn?t passed soon. Walker said Tuesday in a statement to The Associated Press that the layoffs wouldn?t take effect immediately. He didn?t say which workers would be targeted.
The public will be banned from parts of the Capitol on Tuesday as security is beefed up with the Assembly set to start debating the governor?s controversial budget repair bill.
* Not everyone on the UW-Madison campus is pumped up about all the protesting that?s going on. And one student had the guts to say as much in an opinion piece which appeared in the Daily Cardinal.
** Meanwhile, a group of faculty leaders and the student government at UW-Madison, among others, are urging the campus community to join a rally and march to the Capitol on Tuesday.
The South Central Federation of Labor is calling for a general strike of close to 100 unions, representing about 45,000 workers, if Gov. Scott Walker?s budget repair bill is passed by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor.
The SCFL endorsed two motions at a meeting Monday night, one opposing all provisions in the bill and the other calling for the general strike if the bill becomes law.
The standoff between Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the Democratic senators that caused a massing of protesters in the state capital isnt just about the bargaining rights of public employees.
(Mentions UW-Madison and the impact of the voter ID bill on students.)
In a show of solidarity with University of Wisconsin teaching assistants? and students? continued demonstrations of opposition to the budget repair bill, some professors said they will begin to reschedule classes and meetings today.
Public Representation Organization of the Faculty Senate, a membership organization consisting of UW-Madison faculty, has scheduled a march to the Capitol Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in response to the budget repair bill.
A key part of Gov. Scott Walker?s stalled plan to balance the state?s budget in part through making public workers pay more for benefits faces a Friday deadline.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he won?t negotiate over his plan to strip most collective bargaining rights from nearly every public employee.
UW Health says its investigating doctors who passed out medical notes to teachers protesting over the weekend.
The Assembly meets today to take up the Governor?s budget repair bill, although it could be awhile before a final vote on the measure takes place.
Governor Scott Walker stands by his refusal to negotiate with state union workers over his plan to eliminate nearly all of their collective bargaining rights. Union leaders are saying they would be willing to pay more for pensions and health care, but want to keep their ability to collectively bargain. Walker won?t compromise.
Wisconsin?s financial problems are not as dire as those of many other states. But a simmering resentment over those lost jobs and lost benefits in private industry ? combined with the state?s history of highly polarized politics ? may explain why Wisconsin, once a pioneer in supporting organized labor, has set off a debate that is spreading to other states over public workers, unions and budget woes.
Quoted: ?The Republicans are really Republicans here, and the Democrats are really Democrats, so the candidates who come out of primaries reflect that,? said Ken Goldstein, a political scientist from the University of Wisconsin.
For about a week, tens of thousands of men, women and children have been gathering at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, protesting Gov. Scott Walker?s “budget repair” bill. Besides requiring sharp increases in employee contributions to pension and health insurance benefits, the bill strips most of the state?s public sector unions of almost all their collective bargaining rights.
If Walker?s bill passes, and salaries and benefits continue to be slashed by local governments with no negotiations necessary, it will be the most effective teachers, the best managers and the most successful university professors who will be the first to leave their jobs for the private sector.
As scholars, teachers and citizens, we recognize that the right to form unions and bargain collectively has been essential to the establishment and enrichment of democracy in Wisconsin, in the United States and around the world. The International Labor Organization, which the United States joined in 1934, states that ?the right of workers and employers to form and join organizations of their own choosing is an integral part of a free and open society? and includes collective bargaining rights among the four ?fundamental principles and rights at work.? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United States endorsed in 1948, states that all workers have the ?right to form and to join trade unions for the protection? of their interests.
UW Health is investigating doctors who wrote medical notes last weekend excusing protesters at the Capitol from work, and the Wisconsin Medical Society has criticized their actions.
?These UW Health physicians were acting on their own and without the knowledge or approval of UW Health,? UW Health said in a statement. ?These charges are very serious.?
The Wisconsin state Senate?s 14 Democrats left Madison last week, and Republican leaders in the chamber now say they?ll be on the floor Tuesday with or without them. Provisions of Governor Scott Walker?s budget repair bill would radically restrict the ability of state workers to collectively bargain, and Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) said Democrats will stay away as long as necessary to oppose that. ?He wanted us to come back and do our jobs and debate the proposals,? Erpenbach said of statements Walker had made. ?And then in the very next sentence, he says he?s not going to negotiate this. So it doesn?t make any sense to me for us come back and debate something that?s not negotiable. That?s ridiculous.?
Camped out at the Capitol in a room strewn with backpacks and sleeping bags, surrounded by signs with caricatures of Gov. Scott Walker and reminders to keep the peace, the Teaching Assistants? Association called for a general assembly meeting Sunday.
As scholars, teachers and citizens, we recognize that the right to form unions and bargain collectively has been essential to the establishment and enrichment of democracy in Wisconsin, in the United States and around the world. The International Labor Organization, which the United States joined in 1934, states that ?the right of workers and employers to form and join organizations of their own choosing is an integral part of a free and open society? and includes collective bargaining rights among the four ?fundamental principles and rights at work.? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United States endorsed in 1948, states that all workers have the ?right to form and to join trade unions for the protection? of their interests.
Members of the Teaching Assistants? Association voted to endorse a third teach-out for Tuesday classes and said University of Wisconsin officials cannot provide a guarantee that tuition remission will not be eliminated should the budget repair bill pass.
As rallies in opposition to the governor?s budget repair bill continued to draw tens of thousands to the Capitol, the appearance of a famed civil rights activist and a conservative rally in support of the proposal were marked by continued peaceful protests.
The University of Wisconsin medical school says it?s investigating reports that doctors from the school handed out medical excuse notes to protesters at the state Capitol this weekend.
MADISON, Wis. — Protests at the state Capitol about Gov. Scott Walkers controversial union bill are expected to heat up again on Monday after cold, wet weather dampened the rallies numbers this weekend.
A member of the UW System?s Board of Regents is calling on Chancellor Biddy Martin to “withdraw her support” for UW-Madison being spun off from the rest of the UW System. Tom Loftus, who has served on the Board of Regents since June of 2005, made the statement in a letter e-mailed to The Capital Times.
In a phone conversation Monday, Loftus said he?s disappointed that Martin never told the Regents — even though she has known for more than a month — that Gov. Scott Walker?s 2011-13 budget proposal would likely contain a provision that would not only give UW-Madison some key flexibilities and freedoms, but split the university from the UW System.
MADISON, Wis. — One of the 14 Democratic state senators who fled Wisconsin rather than vote on a bill taking away collective bargaining rights said that he fears Republicans might find a way to vote on a key part of the measure without them.
Jeff Waksman is a Ph.D. candidate who works as a UW-Madison research assistant, and he stands to see his paycheck dwindle if Gov. Scott Walker succeeds in making state workers pay more for health and retirement benefits, but that?s OK with him. “It?s going to cost us a little beer money,” Waksman said Friday as he and other Walker supporters prepared for a rally Saturday intended to answer a week of anti-Walker protests at the Capitol.
Quoted: Dennis Dresang, UW-Madison political science professor emeritus.
With one stroke of his pen, Gov. Scott Walker can end the quality of education in Wisconsin as well as the rich history of cooperation that Wisconsin government is known for. Our state ranks among the nation?s highest academic achievers. Walker?s economic plan makes scapegoats out of state teachers and will lead to a brain drain the likes of which this state has never seen. The nation?s leading researchers at UW-Madison will likely take millions of research dollars with them as they flee, causing tuition raises to unprecedented levels. Wisconsin?s once proud academic system is about to be shredded.
Joshua Sandquist, of Madison, is a research scientist in zoology at UW-Madison.
Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky, UW-Madison professor of public affairs and applied economics.
Quoted: Charles Kalish, professor of educational psychology at UW-Madison.
When I left a major corporation in another state to take a job at UW-Madison, I cut my salary in half. I wanted to do something worthwhile and provide a public service. Part of the deal, however, was good health insurance and pension. Many state employees made the same deal, which the governor now wants to rescind.
Quoted: Tim Smeeding, director of the UW-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty.
What stuns me is why UW Chancellor Biddy Martin and the UW Board of Regents would approve salary increases for football coaches at the same time that other UW staff members were informed their salaries will be cut.
MADISON, Wis. — A key part of Gov. Scott Walker?s stalled plan to balance the state?s budget in part through making public workers pay more for benefits faces a Friday deadline.
UW-Madison Provost Paul DeLuca sent an e-mail to members of the campus community Sunday morning asking people to “engage in this debate” that?s taking place just down the road in the Capitol and around the Capitol Square — and which is reverberating across the nation.
Gov. Scott Walker?s plan to end collective bargaining for most state employees is tearing one labor organization apart. Walker exempted the State Patrol and its inspectors from the bill, but UW and Capitol police, among others in the WLEA, would lose their collective bargaining rights if the budget repair bill passes.
I wanted to talk about the budget protests with people who don?t have a dog in the fight — people who aren?t public employees, not union members. How are they sizing up the momentous demonstrations against Gov. Scott Walker?s budget repair bill that have grabbed headlines around the country? Polls say the protesters are winning the war of public opinion. I wanted to hear for myself.
From her office near Capitol Square last week, Susan Bauman could hear the chants of union protesters rising and falling. For Bauman, a former teacher in the Madison School District, the sound took her back to one of the most difficult times of her life ? the city?s bitter 1976 teacher strike.
….Bauman and others now fear Gov. Scott Walker?s plan to eliminate almost all collective bargaining for most public employees will lead to gut-wrenching strikes and workplaces where uncertainty over everything from sick days to the timing of breaks will fundamentally change a day on the job.
Quoted: Dennis Dresang, UW-Madison professor emeritus of political science and public affairs.
