Spring 2023 Election
We’re excited to announce AFT-Wisconsin’s endorsement of Judge Janet Protasiewicz for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
UW System Viability, Academic Freedom Facing Serious Threat from Walker Budget Proposals
Madison, WI: Massive budget cuts and fundamental structural changes to the UW System proposed by Wisconsin governor Scott Walker today will lead to a significant reduction in the quality of education for UW System students, AFT-Wisconsin members and leaders predicted. “Scott Walker’s proposal to slash $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System shows that he’s willing to do just about anything as he puts his presidential ambitions above the needs of Wisconsin,” said AFT-Wisconsin President Kim Kohlhaas, a teacher in the Superior School District, in response to Walker’s plan. “He’s scrambling to find money to pay for his irresponsible tax cuts for his wealthy donors, and Wisconsin’s college students will have to pay the price. These cuts to the UW System will almost certainly threaten the ability of current students to graduate on time, and will damage, perhaps irrevocably, the ability of the UW System to attract and retain the best faculty and staff.”
Wisconsin Labor History High School Essay Contest
The Wisconsin Labor History Society is currently accepting essays for its 2014-15 Labor History Essay Contest, open to all Wisconsin high school students in grades 9-12. Up to eight prizes between $100 and $500 will be awarded to outstanding essays of up to 750 words on the topic "Unions have been important to my family and my community because..." Essays must be postmarked by February 13 for consideration. Please distribute this contest flyer or share the contest website with any interested high school students and with your fellow union members to spread the word!
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.
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.