Wisconsin Academics Get Expansive Bargaining Bill (collective bargaining rights to more than 20,000)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.aftface.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=546

After 40 long years of advocacy and a roller coaster ride of hopes raised, then dashed, academic employees in the University of Wisconsin system finally have the right to decide whether they will be represented by a union. On June 29, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle signed the 2009-2011 biennial budget, which includes a provision extending collective bargaining rights to more than 20,000 UW faculty, academic staff and research assistants.

The new right extends to 6,600 full-time, tenured and tenure-track faculty and 13,100 academic staff-defined to include part-time and full-time lecturers, adjuncts, advisors, IT technicians, and others. Another provision gives 3,200 research assistants the right to determine whether they want bargaining representation through the state's first card check-off process. That option would allow research assistants at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee to be represented by the UW Teaching Assistants' Association (TAA) or the Milwaukee Graduate Assistants' Association (MGAA) when 50 percent plus one of the RAs in the unit have signed cards.

The UW academics are the only non-management class of public employees who have lacked bargaining rights in the state. It has been a very sore point on every campus, says Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine), who was co-sponsor of a motion that passed within the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee supporting collective bargaining rights for UW faculty and staff. "This is all about fairness," he says.

All of the system's faculty senates except UW-Madison's passed resolutions in support of faculty's right to decide on unionization. All of the systems academic staff senates passed supportive resolutions.

FULL story at link.