The University of Wisconsin’s touchstone is a plaque on Bascom Hall that reads: “Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state university of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
….Now, 115 years later, the state Legislature has removed barriers to organizing faculty and staff (including research assistants) on the UW campus. Members of the current Board of Regents are griping that allowing members of the great state university’s staff to unionize poses a threat to its sound operations and fiscal future.
Richard Ely would be disappointed, and so are we.