United Faculty and Academic Staff, AFT Local # 223

Finally—it’s President-elect Biden

Patience—counseled by former Vice President Joe Biden all election week as Americans waited for votes to be counted—finally paid off Nov. 7, four days after Election Day, when Biden won in Pennsylvania and gained enough Electoral College votes to acquire a new title: president-elect. AFT President Randi Weingarten says the union’s leaders and members “can’t wait to get started” on the work ahead “with an administration that will embrace and fight for the values we hold dear.”

AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest column outlines the urgency of using our voices—our votes—in this life-changing election, when we will make a choice “between President Donald Trump, who has trafficked in chaos, fear, lies and division, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who seeks to reverse Trump’s failures on COVID-19 and the economy, and to unite and uplift the American people.” Besides the four crises we face—a pandemic, an economic crisis, racism and a climate emergency—democracy itself is on the ballot, as Trump continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.

COPE and the 2020 August Primary

With a fast-approaching primary on August 11, the UFAS Committee on Political Education (COPE) has reached out to candidates running for State Senate and Assembly in the Madison area to share our Future of our University: Solidarity not Austerity statement. We asked candidates to review the statement and indicate whether they support it. Candidates were also encouraged—optionally—to share the statement on their social media accounts.

Worker Health and Safety Survey

Dane County continues to see record high numbers of new COVID cases, news from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement threatens our international students and co-workers, all while administration moves forward with plans for students to be back on campus this fall. We know that many in the campus community—faculty and academic staff, grad and student workers, administrative and blue collar employees—are deeply concerned about worker health and safety in light of these issues with a variety of questions and suggestions.

UFAS Steering Committee Affirms the Black Lives Matter Protests

The Steering Committee of United Faculty and Academic Staff (AFT #223), in solidarity with activists and other labor unions across the country, stands in outrage and grief at the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade. They are the most recent in a long string of such murders of Black people by the police. This includes the murder of 19-year old Tony Terrell Robinson Jr. on the near Eastside of Madison on March 6, 2015. His killer, Matthew Kenny, is still an officer with the Madison Police Department.

The Future of our University after the COVID-19 Crisis

Sign on to our demands for the future of our university!