We all remember the first days on campus as a new grad student. Getting acclimated to Madison, figuring out the whole grad assistant role, meeting new people, and becoming part of an intellectual community: those days were heady times that shape our experiences in grad school today. In just a couple of weeks, thousands of…
We have in our local a dynamic of the union being “of, by, and for” graduate assistants. No one tells us what to do – we decide it ourselves. From collective bargaining of a contract to political action to general business of our organization, this union is run for graduate assistants. But for that “of,…
There is simply no better way to come back to campus for an academic year than with a party on the Terrace. We’re going to kick off the year in style with a big party full of grad assistants, with plenty of free food and beer, rockin’ music, and a small bit of union business.…
Every September, the local labor movement celebrates the holiday for working people, Labor Day, with a big party. Consider yourselves invited to attend as working people and members of the baddest graduate employee union in all the land. The South Central Federation of Labor (SCFL, or “scuffle”), the local labor council for unions in this…
As noted previously (once or twice, or three times), Orientation is a critical time for our union to engage new graduate assistants, build membership, and recruit new activists and leaders. We need you to get involved to make our Orientation Organizing Campaign successful. A good campaign here means a stronger union, and a stronger union…
To start the semester and the academic year off right, the TAA will be putting on its annual “Welcome Back Happy Hour” event on Friday, September 4th. So save the date now and plan to be there with new and old union members and fellow graduate assistants. Where else but the annual TAA Welcome Back…
As many of you know, recent action by Wisconsin’s state legislature extended to research assistants collective bargaining rights. As you all definitely know, teaching and project assistants have enjoyed this basic labor right for decades. Further, faculty and academic staff in the UW System now will also have the right to organize a union and…
Once again, we are asking all rank-and-file members of the union to update their membership information. Knowing the crucial details about our membership makes it possible for our union to be as best-organized as possible. A better organized union means a stronger union, and a stronger unions means better results for rank-and-file members. So please…
Our summer and fall Orientation Organizing Campaign is getting ready to kick off. This campaign is going to be really important to build our union to be strong and successful. Our union should be of, by, and for rank-and-file members, and this campaign is going to have a big impact on building that kind of…
Our union is built upon rank-and-file members organizing among ourselves, the union being our vehicle for collective action. One of our best opportunities to engage new graduate assistants to get involved in our union, from becoming members to becoming activists, is through each fall’s Orientation. With hundreds, even thousands of new graduate assistants coming to…
