AFT-Wisconsin | AFT Stateweb

State-employed workers, such as graduate assistants like us, should be guaranteed the same rights as public safety workers. We contribute so much to our communities, and we deserve a voice on the job. Legal action to restore collective bargaining rights to all state employees is one way to secure the livelihood of working people in Wisconsin.

We're Taking On Act 10

Wisconsin public employees file lawsuit challenging constitutionality of law banning collective bargaining State statute unconstitutionally violates workers’ freedom to negotiate, unlawfully creating a disfavored class of public sector employees, says a new lawsuit filed by workers.

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AFT-Wisconsin's new website is now live!

Welcome to AFT-Wisconsin's new website! Our new site, which uses AFT's StateWeb system, will allow us to better share information from the national AFT and our state federation with AFT-Wisconsin local union members. We hope you find our new site useful—if you have any suggestions for useful pages or features, or if you have any news from your local that you'd like to share, please contact AFT-Wisconsin Communications Director Aaron Bibb at bibb@aft-wisconsin.org.

2014 AFT-Wisconsin Scholarship Winners

AFT-Wisconsin members highly value and honor education. As part of our values, we offer scholarships for children and grandchildren of current or retired AFT-Wisconsin members who will be attending technical colleges or universities. This year a $1,000 university scholarship and a $500 technical college scholarship were awarded.

2015 AFT-Wisconsin Scholarship Applications Now Being Accepted

AFT-Wisconsin has a long tradition of offering educational scholarships to support dependents of members in good standing who wish to pursue higher education at a technical college or university. Currently, AFT-Wisconsin offers one $1,000 university scholarship and one $500 technical college scholarship. The application period for 2015-2016 scholarships is now open; applications are due to AFT-Wisconsin by March 15, 2015, and winners will be notified by May 1, 2015.

Eligibility for Scholarships:
Applicant's parent, grandparent, or guardian must be a current AFT-Wisconsin member or a retiree in

A Call to Action

Yesterday’s election results were disappointing, to say the least. With Scott Walker’s reelection, we’re going to have some tough fights on our hands in the coming months. We must remain vigilant against many threats that are likely to come our way, including forced public school privatization, outsourcing of state positions, further cuts to higher education, and centralization of power in the state technical college system. But while the political environment in the Capitol will continue to present us with challenges, remember—AFT-Wisconsin members are resilient. We’ve already taken the

Legal Update from AFT-Wisconsin: MTI v. Walker

This morning, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued its ruling in Madison Teachers, Inc. v. Walker, in which the Court’s conservative majority overturned Judge Juan Colas’s 2012 decision that found most of Act 10 unconstitutional for municipal employees. The decision did not affect our state employee and UW System unions, which have been operating under Act 10 since 2011. As expected, a majority of the Court upheld the law, which is no surprise—the conservative ideologues that make up the Court’s majority have reliably sided with Scott Walker and big-money special interests in nearly every major case over the past few years. This decision is aptly summarized by Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, joined by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, in her dissent, which states that "the majority's failure to address the actual issues presented in this case allows it to reach results that countenance the needless diminution of multiple constitutional rights." While I (and our legal counsel) strongly disagree with the Court’s opinion, today’s decision closes the books on the major legal challenges to Act 10.

AFT-Wisconsin Leaders Urge Legislators to Protect WTCS Local Control

Madison, WI: As legislators and other committee members met on Thursday, July 24, to discuss drastic centralization of power in the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS), members of AFT-Wisconsin called on the committee to keep WTCS decision-making power in Wisconsin’s communities. AFT-Wisconsin President Kim Kohlhaas, a teacher in the Superior School District, urged the committee to protect a system that gives each technical college the ability to respond to local needs and provide high-quality practical education. “The structure of the WTCS gives our technical colleges the ability to