UW System officials are accusing some union leaders of trying to deny faculty and staff the right to vote on whether or not they want to join a union.
The latest biennial budget signed by Governor Doyle grants thousands of faculty and staff the right to form unions, to help them bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions.
But last week the UW System chastised the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), for trying to do an end run around the conventional union organizing process. AFT wants to re-classify some academic staff through what’s known as unit clarification. The result would be that many people would simply be absorbed into a union without a vote. (Third item.)