Grad Workers Wear #RedForEd on Wednesdays

Red for Ed

Graduate workers at UW–Madison are wearing Red for Ed every Wednesday this October as we fight for a more just, inclusive, and accessible university. Wearing red is a show of solidarity with graduate assistants across campus and education workers across the country trying to make publicly-funded education a reality.

Red for Ed started as a grassroots solidarity movement among public school teachers in places like Arizona, West Virginia, and Chicago. When a worker sees their coworker wearing red, they know that they have their back. This simple show of solidarity was one of the factors in the huge wave of educator organizing and activism that has spread across the country — and shows no sign of slowing down. The victories won in the teacher’s strike wave have inspired striking auto workers at GM as well as graduate workers at other universities, including UIC, University of Chicago, and Columbia University. Red for Ed is a symbol of the education system we deserve, and of how we are going to achieve it: together.

Check out some photos grads sent in from our first two weeks of #RedForEd:

Get Involved:

Here’s how grad workers and allies can participate every Wednesday in October:

• Wear a red shirt or top
• Wear a TAA shirt if you have one, or get one of our new 50th anniversary TAA t-shirts
• Wear a TAA button from our ongoing campaign for full fee relief (ask your steward)
• Take a picture of you and your colleagues wearing your red and post it on social media

The TAA supports the principles of publicly-funded education: a UW where the cost of running the university is not offloaded onto its most vulnerable students, a UW that is compassionate and adequately serves the needs of students with disabilities and mental health concerns, a UW that pays its workers engaged in diversity and inclusivity efforts. Only by working together will we make the university a site of real, public, education.