News | Wisconsin Science Professionals

AFT-Wisconsin State Employee Council: Proposed civil service changes will increase corruption

The State Employees Council of AFT-Wisconsin issued the following statement today in response to proposed changes to state civil service law, and urged Wisconsinites to contact their legislators to oppose this attempt to weaken civil service:

The recent Republican proposal to reform Wisconsin’s Civil Service rules is an attempt to degrade the work of state employees, and will only serve to introduce more corruption into state government.

The Civil Service System was created to counteract the influence of politicians on state jobs. Allowing politicians to essentially appoint public employees

Republicans threaten state civil service protections

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports today that Scott Walker and Republicans in the state legislature have hatched a scheme to weaken Wisconsin's civil service protections, which have prevented politicians from using government jobs as patronage for their supporters and from firing employees for political reasons for more than a century. Under the guise of "modernization," Walker and his supporters are proposing to weaken just cause protections, eliminate the state civil service test, shorten the appeals process for workers being disciplined or fired, and centralize all state hiring under

AFT-Wisconsin statement on the end of Scott Walker's presidential campaign

AFT-Wisconsin President Kim Kohlhaas, a teacher in the Superior School District, issued the following statement today in response to Scott Walker's announcement that he is ending his presidential campaign:

"Today marks the end of Scott Walker's illusions that the American people want to buy what he's selling. AFT-Wisconsin members and other working Wisconsinites have been getting the word out about the damage that Walker has done to this state...

UW merger with tech colleges a bad idea

Be sure to check out the op-ed by retired Milwaukee Area Technical College instructor and former Local 212 Executive Vice-President Charlie Dee that lays out why the secretive plan to merge the Wisconsin Technical College System and the UW Colleges would be a disaster: "The first thing a responsible committee would do is research what happened when other states tried this. It would discover that mergers in Minnesota, Georgia, Alaska, Connecticut and New Jersey have failed to produced expected savings, but instead have created myriad problems."

Higher Education Council Statement: Protect Tenure and Indefinite Status

In response to attacks by Wisconsin Republicans on academic freedom in the University of Wisconsin System, the AFT-Wisconsin Higher Education Council has drafted a statement calling on the UW System Regents and chancellors to uphold protections for academic staff and tenure-track faculty that ensure academic freedom and high quality research and education at every UW System institution. UW System employees are encouraged to print the statement and display it in their workplaces. AFT-Wisconsin members are also circulating a petition in support of the statement; to obtain a copy of the

Labor Day celebrations across Wisconsin

Labor Day is just around the corner! Local labor councils, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, and community partners will be coming together across the state to celebrate the struggles, achievements, and victories of workers everywhere. Our sisters and brothers at the Wisconsin AFL-CIO have compiled a list of local Labor Day celebrations throughout Wisconsin - check it out, and help spread the word!

AFT: Wisconsin universities shaken by anti-academic policies

AFT published an in-depth article today on Scott Walker's attacks on the UW System - and how AFT-Wisconsin members are fighting back:

"It's hard to miss the rumble out in Wisconsin: The battle between labor and its union-bashing foes has been loud and long. But for faculty and staff of public colleges and universities, the Wisconsin story is even worse... 'People have been demoralized, and everyone recognizes the new challenges, but it has galvanized a lot of people to become active in the union,' says [UW-Green Bay union member Jon] Shelton."

Read the full story at aft.org - and share it with family, friends, and coworkers!

Joint Statement on Gov. Scott Walker's Higher Education Attacks

I'm proud to share with you a joint statement from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Sara Goldrick-Rab, professor of educational policy studies and sociology at UW-Madison and a member of AFT local 223, United Faculty and Academic Staff. Randi and Sara, two committed educators and unionists, strongly condemn Scott Walker's attacks on higher education, which will slash essential state funding and threaten the bedrock of academic freedom upon which higher education depends. Please share this statement widely and help us get the word out about the danger facing every university in the UW System, from Superior to Milwaukee.

What the heck is going on with Wisconsin Public Education?

That's the provocative title of an article by Washington Post education reporter Valerie Strauss, who provides a comprehensive overview of the relentless assault on public education in Wisconsin. Strauss notes that for the first time in over 20 years, the legislature will not be increasing state aid for PK-12 education to at least keep up with inflation, in addition to further draining public education funds by expanding the statewide voucher program that takes money from public school students and sends it to unaccountable private and charter schools. And Wisconsin is one of only six states

Members organize for success in technical college recertification elections

The results are in, and the message is clear: strong unions matter. Once again, every AFT-Wisconsin local union that pursued recertification was victorious, showing that even with the game rigged, union members still know how to organize for success. (You can read AFT-Wisconsin's press release by clicking "more" below.) Congratulations to members of the following AFT-Wisconsin local unions for their election victories!

Local 212 - faculty and PSRP at Milwaukee Area Technical College
Local 243 - full-time faculty and PSRP at Madison Area Technical College
Local 395 - faculty at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College
Local 2308 - faculty at Blackhawk Technical College
Local 3338 - faculty at Moraine Park Technical College
Local 3605 - faculty, non-teaching professionals, and PSRP at Western Technical College
Local 4019 - PSRP at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College
Local 6100 - part-time faculty at Madison Area Technical College