Message from Chancellor Martin to Graduate Students and the University Community Regarding Collective Bargaining

Graduate students and the university community,

I am writing to inform you of a provision in the 2009–11 state budget that affects University of Wisconsin–Madison research assistants and is a matter of importance for the campus.

The legislation, passed by both houses of the Legislature and signed into law by the governor, permits the unionization of research assistants. I am writing to provide information on the process and to encourage open and informed discussion of the issues.

Because some of you are aware of the current statutory procedures for state employees forming unions, you should be aware that the process for research assistants differs from those procedures.

The process for research assistants will involve a single step: the signing of authorization cards by research assistants, which would serve as an affirmative vote to form a union.

That differs from the current statutory process for other state employees (including faculty and academic staff who will also be permitted to form unions under the budget’s provisions), which involves two steps: a 30 percent showing of interest through a signed authorization card, and a secret ballot administered by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.

In the case of research assistants, a majority (50 percent plus one) will have to sign authorization cards for a union to be formed, and there will be no subsequent vote.

This measure became part of the budget bill relatively recently, and we continue to analyze the language of the bill and the process it lays out.

The university’s interest in the issue can be described very simply. We are an academic community in which open, informed discussion is not only a norm, but is also the very definition of what we do.

The decision about whether to form a union is a decision for our research assistants. The university administration encourages informed debate and ample opportunity for research assistants to inform themselves before deciding whether to sign authorization cards.

It is our hope that students will gather and discuss the issues in depth, and that faculty and staff will also inform themselves, contribute to the discussion and express opinions. Faculty must bear in mind, however, that, by law, neither faculty nor administrators may interfere with students’ decisions, either through threats or promises in exchange for a positive or negative vote. Faculty opinions should be expressed in ways that are informative and avoid any form of intimidation or coercion of our students.

More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Biddy Martin

Chancellor