At a meeting Thursday involving more than 350 members of The Teaching Assistants Association, the vast majority voted to consider a university-wide strike in response to disputes with the state over teaching assistants' pay and health benefits. Such a strike may halt many UW-Madison classes.
The TAA members at UW-Madison are currently opposing the state's proposal, which includes a 0 percent wage increase the first year and 1.7 percent the next, and also eliminates a $0 premium health insurance option.
After months of fighting for a contract they consider fair, TAA members at UW-Madison feel \stonewalled"" by the State, according to Deborah Herman, staff member of the TAA.
""Nobody wants to do something like this, but TAA members feel the bargaining process has broken down and there's nothing else to do,"" Herman said. ""At this point, this is the direction we're moving in.""
The strike is not definite yet and will require a petition and another vote to implement, according to TAA member Rebekah Ravenscroft-Scott. This would make the strike's earliest date sometime in April, Herman said.
This strike would most likely interfere with students' classes and discussions, but Herman said students would be negatively affected even if the strike did not take place.
""If the UW can't at least be competitive in recruiting good teachers, then in the long run it's going to affect everyone,"" Herman said. ""The pay and benefits package right now is 15-20 percent less than what places like Ohio, Michigan or Iowa offer. What does the state think will happen if they impose yet more cuts?""
Darrell Bazzell, vice chancellor for administration, echoed the sentiment that in order for the campus to attract and retain quality TAs, they must have a fair package.
However, he questioned the TAA's tactics, noting they would disrupt students' education.
""Obviously we want to make sure that students are able to attend classes as they traditionally have, and we certainly wouldn't want to see a destruction in that process,"" Bazzell said.
Bazzell also said he was unsure of how state officials would react to the illegal action.
Karen Timberlake, Director of State Employment Relations, also said a strike is not permitted under the TAA contract or the law.
Timberlake cited the main reason for the state's offer as the $3.2 billion deficit that is affecting all workers relating to the state.
""The reality is that there's a limited pot of money to spend in the bargaining table,"" Timberlake said.
Herman, however, disagreed.
""The state's own chief negotiator admitted in a public bargaining session just three weeks ago that taking away the $0 health insurance premium is not about money, it's about politics,"" she said.
Both the TAA and state representatives will send professionals to bargain before a strike ensues, according Timberlake.
