No big surprise here. The UW Teaching Assistants Association votes to oppose the New Badger Partnership, which includes the separation of UW-Madison from the rest of the UW System, as proposed by Gov. Walker's budget.
The TAA opposes the New Badger Partnership, especially the separation of UW-Madison from the UW System, the formation of the public authority model, and the threat to affordability and accessibility it poses to public education and the lack of protection for labor unions on campus. The TAA also objects to the non-transparent and undemocratic process by which the New Badger Partnership was designed.
"Our members have serious reservations about the sweeping changes being proposed to UW-Madison and UW System and the process through which these proposals have been pushed through without the full engagement of the UW community," said Kevin Gibbons, TAA Co-President. "We see these provisions in the Budget Bill as a blatant attempt to privatize public education in Wisconsin. The budget bill divides the campuses of the UW System and makes sweeping cuts to our institutions and thus higher education in the state."
In addition, the TAA cited the low representation that faculty, staff and students would have on the Board of Trustees (4 of 21), the panel which would govern the Madison campus.
As predictable as the opposition from the uber-left-wing TAA is, the concerns they voice are ones you will hear from people across the political spectrum in the coming weeks and months. I'm guessing faculty, especially, will be skeptical of a plan that puts such power into the hands of fundraisers.
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