by James Parks, Apr 13, 2011
Even as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker heads to Capitol Hill to defend his moves to deny collective bargaining to public employees and cut vital state services, more than 1,900 faculty at public and private universities and colleges across the country are standing up for the rights of workers.
The group signed an open letter in support of University of Wisconsin faculty, students and staff. The letter shows the strong support in the academic community for collective bargaining and solidarity with the workers on University of Wisconsin campuses who are under attack by Walker’s draconian budget and overreaching actions. You can read the letter here.
“Bargaining rights for workers are an essential element of a fair economic system in a democracy,” said Charles MacArthur, professor of education from the University of Delaware.
Robert McChesney, professor in the department of communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said:
The more academics and scholars feel pressure to be quiet, to not take chances, to go with the flow, the greater is the need for them to speak out publicly and truthfully in defense of social justice.
The letter is just one of many acts of support and solidarity for UW colleagues, students and staff. These include nearly 1,000 “From Memphis to Madison” rallies on April 4 and nationwide “fight-back teach-ins” organized on campuses across the country on April 5. Faculty also have signed petitions, made public statements and joined protests around recent attacks on academic freedom in Wisconsin and Michigan.
