In criticism of UW-Madison's labor relations history, timed near Memorial Union's 75th anniversary, more than 50 people gathered Wednesday evening for a rally and presentation. They gathered to push for change in the status and treatment of limited-term employees.
The event began at 5 p.m. with a rally outside Memorial Union, organized by the South Central Federation of Labor, as well as other labor action groups and unions.
During the rally, union members, community members and students carried signs bearing slogans such as \Long Term Exploitation"" and ""Memorial Union: 75 Years of Deception!"" After a declaration that Memorial Union was ""built by scabs,"" the crowd booed and one man shouted, ""bad karma!""
""We stand by the workers of the Memorial Union,"" said Eric Freedman, a member of the Student Labor Action Coalition, addressing the demonstrators.
Current striking workers from Tyson were to be featured at a meeting of the International Socialist Organization that was also scheduled at the Union at a time conflicting with the later presentation. However, some Tyson workers and supporters were present at the rally.
""As a worker, we're all going through this together,"" said Chuck Moehling, a Tyson employee.
After the rally, demonstrators and onlookers went into Memorial Union's Great Hall for a presentation entitled ""Strikes, Wages & Dunkings."" The presentation featured speakers who presented information on the history of the Union and the labor movement at UW-Madison. The audience laughed, cheered, groaned and hissed to express support or disdain as the speakers recounted various events in the university's labor history.
Reflecting on the 75 years of labor relations with the university, Annie Habel, a steward at the UW-Madison Graduate School, told the audience, ""It sometimes doesn't feel like we're making much progress.""
Other speakers also said they felt more work needs to be done.
""When university workers in general are without rights, it destroys and hurts other parts of the university,"" said Frank Emspak, president of the United Faculty and Academic Staff.
Much of the presentation and rally focused on the conditions of limited-term employees, who, according to speakers, make up more than half of the workforce at Memorial Union and lack many of the benefits of permanent employees.
""The state's answer to [the budget crisis] is to hire LTEs,"" Freedman said.
""Nobody ever used to talk about LTEs as a problem. But ... they're forced to acknowledge it as a problem now,"" Habel said.
