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Georgetown University graduate employees cast historic vote for the union

Graduate employees at Georgetown University made history Nov. 9 when they finished tallying an 83 percent vote to join the union, the Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees. The overwhelming victory is the first that circumvents the Trump-appointed National Labor Relations Board. Instead it is certified by the American Arbitration Association, and it decisively frames graduates not as students but as workers, with all the rights that title commands.

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AFT members are taking Navient to court

A class-action suit filed in federal court sets out serious allegations that student loan servicer Navient has misled borrowers in public service professions from accessing a loan forgiveness program to boost its own profits. The landmark complaint, which seeks millions in damages and class-wide injunctive relief, details a spate of systematic misrepresentations, untruths and misdirection pedaled by Navient to stop borrowers from enrolling in Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a 10-year payoff plan administered by rival servicer FedLoan.

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A Decade of Neglect

“A Decade of Neglect: Public Education Funding in the Aftermath of the Great Recession” details for the first time the devastating impact on schools, classrooms and students when states choose to pursue an austerity agenda in the false belief that tax cuts will pay for themselves. The comprehensive report offers a deep dive into the long-term austerity agendas and historic disinvestment that sparked the wave of nationwide walkouts this spring.

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AFT-Wisconsin Endorses the Campaign to “Vote No" on the Ballot Initiative to Remove the Office of the State Treasurer

Madison, WI – The AFT-Wisconsin Executive Board has endorsed the campaign to “Vote No” on the removal of the Office of the Wisconsin State Treasurer.

“I would encourage you to Vote NO on eliminating the position of State Treasurer,” said Dawn Totzke, a School Library Media Specialist in Chippewa Falls and member of AFT Local 1907.  “Save the funding that supports your school libraries. And keep our financial watchdog over our state finances!”

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Walker Administration Prioritizes Armed Guards Over Mental Health Services in School Safety Plan

Shortly following a DPI proposal on school safety and a Democrat-introduced school safety bill, Governor Walker has announced a special session to consider $100 million dollars for school safety proposals.  However, unlike proposals from the DPI that call for long-term solutions aimed at school safety improvements and mental health support for students, Governor Walker’s plan militarizes the school environment.

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UW-Superior Administration Knowingly Ignored Shared Governance Procedures in Program Suspensions and Warnings

Superior, WI – The University of Wisconsin Superior AFT Local #6514 has released emails, gained through an open records request, that give a detailed picture of UWS administration’s actions before and after the surprise suspensions of 24 programs on October 31, 2017. These actions set off a series of contentious forums, student protests, and formal expressions of disapproval by various stakeholders that continue to this day.

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UW-System President Ray Cross: Courting Republican Lawmakers is More Important than Students, Faculty, and Staff

Madison, WI – Faculty, students, and staff across the UW System are reacting to the recent news that the largest UW System reorganization in 40 years was an “open secret” at the Capitol.  According to a report from Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), “Before faculty, staff and students learned about the plan to eliminate the two-year UW Colleges and UW-Extension, UW System President Ray Cross had discussed it with a lawmaker who called for similar action in 2015.”  In a clear disregar

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PROGRAMMING CUTS AT UW-SUPERIOR ARE THE LATEST IN A STRING OF ATTACKS ON THE UW SYSTEM.

Superior, WI – On Halloween, faculty, staff, and students at the University of Wisconsin in Superior were blindsided by the administration’s blanket announcement to suspend nine majors, fifteen minors, and one masters program.  Fifteen additional programs were put on “warning” for suspension.  These program suspensions are the latest in a string of brazen attacks on public higher education in Wisconsin, and have sparked student protests and an online petition that has garnered more than 5,300 signatures. 

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MATC Local 212 Condemns Governor Walker's Veto Eliminating the Education Approval Board (EAB) as an Independent Agency.

According to Dr. Michael Rosen, a retired economics instructor and prominent critic of for-profit colleges, “Thousands of economically disadvantaged students will be hurt by this veto. Wisconsin is now open for business for these predatory enterprises that are educational institutions in name only.”
 
As Wisconsin’s postsecondary education regulatory agency, the EAB’s mission was “To protect Wisconsin's consumers and support quality educational options.”
 
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