Teach-out Tuesday

For Immediate Release

Feb. 20, 2011

Membership of the Teaching Assistants’ Association voted today to call for another “teach-out” on Tuesday, to protest the reconvening of the State Assembly and Governor Scott Walker’s planned statement about his budget.

The Assembly is expected to pass the union-busting budget repair bill, even as tens of thousands of people demonstrate against the anti-worker provisions in the bill. Scott Fitzgerald, the Senate Majority Leader, has also indicated that the Senate will convene to pass non-fiscal measures, which they do not need the Senate Democrats to pass and which would put additional pressure on Senate Democrats to return to the Capitol. We plan to be at the Capitol in force on Tuesday to ensure that our voices are heard on these matters and in support of our goal of preventing Governor Walker from gutting our right to unionize.

The teach-out is a sign of solidarity with our elected representatives who have left the state to protect us from a bill that would eliminate our rights to fair representation and a democratic process, and with the tens of thousands of people from around the state who continue to peacefully demonstrate at the Capitol.

We are calling for a teach-out rather than a walk-out because we do not want learning to cease at the UW. We value education and thus we are calling for instructors to use their discretion to cancel classes, reschedule them or hold them off campus. We are calling on action from teaching assistants, research assistants, project assistants and professors.

Efforts are ongoing to educate undergraduates about the actions being taken. The School of Education organized two teach-ins on Sunday at College Library and more are being planned for the coming week.

Contact TAA co-presidents:

Alex Hanna, 765-404-6996

Kevin Gibbons, 813-466-0952