United Academic Professionals of UW-La Crosse

When Scott Walker compared 100,000 peaceful protestors - teachers, parents, police officers, fire fighters, students, nurses, and more - to the terrorists in ISIS, it hit home for William Schuth, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a member of AFT local 3220, the UW-Madison Teaching Assistants' Association.  William has created a petition calling on Walker to apologize for his remarks: "Gov. Walker, veterans and service members who risked their lives to fight terrorism deserve better than that. Americans who speak up for their rights deserve better than that. Please, Gov. Walker, show some courage: publicly take ownership of your disrespectful comments and apologize."

Scores of AFT-Wisconsin members joined the thousands of Wisconsinites that converged on the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 24, to protest legislation designed to weaken private sector unions.  (Be sure to check out our post on what you can do to stop so-called "right to work" legislation!)  And while union members and community supporters rallied outside, many more were making their voices heard inside the Capitol, registering their opposition to the bill, offering testimony about why it's wrong for Wisconsin, and holding a Solidarity Singalong in the rotunda.

So-called "right to work" legislation meant to attack private sector union workers is being fast-tracked through the Wisconsin Legislature this week. Our sisters and brothers in the private sector stood shoulder to shoulder with us when Scott Walker attacked us in 2011; now it's our turn to show that we remain united. Here are five things you can do to take action:

Madison, WI: Massive budget cuts and fundamental structural changes to the UW System proposed by Wisconsin governor Scott Walker today will lead to a significant reduction in the quality of education for UW System students, AFT-Wisconsin members and leaders predicted. “Scott Walker’s proposal to slash $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System shows that he’s willing to do just about anything as he puts his presidential ambitions above the needs of Wisconsin,” said AFT-Wisconsin President Kim Kohlhaas, a teacher in the Superior School District, in response to Walker’s plan. “He’s scrambling to find money to pay for his irresponsible tax cuts for his wealthy donors, and Wisconsin’s college students will have to pay the price. These cuts to the UW System will almost certainly threaten the ability of current students to graduate on time, and will damage, perhaps irrevocably, the ability of the UW System to attract and retain the best faculty and staff.”