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Letter to the UW Hospital Administration Demanding Nurse Union Recognition

TAA UW-Madison Posted on August 30, 2022 Posted in COVID-19, Solidarity, TAA Statements Tagged with nurses
TAA (bold logo). The Graduate Worker Union of UW-Madison | 520 University Avenue, Suite 220, Madison, WI 53703 taa@taa-madison.org | www.taa-madison.org Tuesday August 30, 2022 To: Dr. Alan Kaplan, chief executive officer of UW Health, akaplan@uwhealth.org Paul Seidenstricker, board chair of the UWHCA, pseidenstricker@att.net Honorable Board Members of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority 7974 UW Health Court, Middleton, WI 53562 As labor leaders, we have been closely following nurses’ efforts to form a union at UW Health. We’ve watched them stand up for good jobs and high quality patient care for our community. We also have watched with deep disappointment and concern as UW Health has ignored their efforts or flat out fought them. As one of the largest employers in the state, UW Health’s staffing cuts and anti-union actions drag down job standards for every working person. Many of our members and their families receive medical care at UW, so we also have a vested interest from a patients’ perspective. Now we are on the cusp of a disruption to our community that’s absolutely avoidable. We emphatically demand that you prevent a strike by recognizing the nurses’ union. The attorney general opened the door for you, very clearly stating you can recognize the nurses’ union at any time. The time is now to walk through that door. In addition to recognizing the union, we demand an immediate end to the ongoing anti-union bullying and retaliation against nurses who support the union. Like other workers in Wisconsin, UW nurses are protected by state employment laws providing them with the legal right to engage in concerted activity, including the right to strike, free of retaliation. Wisconsin Statute Chapter 103, Employment Regulations, encourages and protects collective bargaining and mutual aid among workers in Wisconsin. (Wis. Stat. §§ 103.505 to 103.61) For nurses, their jobs are about more than work. This is a calling. They risked their lives during the pandemic to care for us. They held hands with patients dying of COVID and held up iPads so patients could say goodbye to their loved ones. Honor their efforts by treating them with respect. They deserve to be recognized, not threatened and harassed by their own employer. If and when these nurses take the brave step to march the picket line, we will be there in solidarity with them. We will encourage our members to honor the picket line and not conduct business with UW Health as long as the picket line is in effect. We will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to help UW nurses win their union. What happens next is up to you. We hope you’ll do what’s right: recognize the nurses’ union immediately. Sincerely, Teaching Assistants Association Executive Board The Graduate Worker Union of UW-Madison

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Teaching Assistants’ Association
TAA/AFT Local 3220
520 University Avenue, Suite 220 Madison, WI 53703

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