OH, NOW THAT’S ‘TACKE’ Talk-show host Dan Potacke sits down with the Cardinal Arts page University of Wisconsin-Madison
ARTS
Editorial Board: Cutting bargaining rights does not help repair Wisconsin’s budget
PAGE 4
OPINION l PAGE 7
Complete campus coverage since 1892
“People view what we’re proposing as being modest.” Gov. Scott Walker
l
dailycardinal.com
Thursday, February 17, 2011
“This is an unprecedented attack we’re seeing on members of the UW community” Peter Rickman, Teaching Assistants’ Association
Amendments to the Budget Repair Bill The Joint Finance Committee approved a number of amendments to Gov. Scott Walker’s budget bill Wednesday, but did not alter many of its most controversial aspects. Here are some ways the bill is different—and similar—coming out of committee.
HOW THE BILL CHANGED
ben pierson/the daily cardinal
mark kauzlarich/the daily cardinal
The Joint Finance Committee approved the budget repair bill on a party-line vote late Wednesday amid protests inside the Capitol.
Amended budget bill passes committee as protests continue By Samy Moskol the daily cardinal
The Joint Finance Committee passed Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill late Wednesday on a 12-4 vote along party lines. Unofficial hearings on amendments to the bill delayed the hearing by more than seven hours. The amended bill still contains controversial limitations to unions’ collective bargaining powers, as well as an increase in state employee contribu-
tions to pensions and health care. State Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, criticized the bill and called it a worker retribution act. “This [bill] doesn’t solve our economic problems but creates more pain and anxiety,” Jauch said. “It’s being classified as a meaningful change. It’s nothing more than planting a bunch of dying weeds and calling it a garden.” However, State Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, did not feel
sympathy for those affected. “When Scott Walker was sitting in that desk in closed caucus about a week ago and told me my pension was going down, which I wasn’t expecting, I got over it in about 10 seconds,” Grothman said. As the discussion continued, so did the clamor of drums and chants coming from the Capitol rotunda. “For five seconds, listen to what’s going on outside this room,” said Rep.
Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse. “It’s the drumbeat of democracy.” State Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said the main problem with the bill lies in the loss of collective bargaining rights, not the increased contributions to benefits. “We’re willing to sacrifice,” Taylor said. “The issue is rights.” Committee Co-Chair Rep. Robin
• Limited term employees would be able to participate in the state retirement system and receive health insurance, which they would have been excluded from under the original bill. • Local governments that do not have a civil service system must establish a grievance system for firings, employee discipline and workplace safety. • Sales of state-owned power plants would undergo Joint Finance Committee review.
HOW IT STAYed THE SAME • State employe unions will not be able to bargain over anything beyond wages. • Workers will have to contribute 5.8 percent of their salaries to pensions, and will be responsible for 12.6 percent of health insurance premiums.
committee page 3
Letter reveals Chancellor knew of proposed split from UW System By Kayla Johnson and Scott Girard the daily cardinal
Despite professing a lack of details about UW-Madison’s relationship with the state at three student forums, a drafted letter obtained by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed Wednesday that Chancellor Biddy Martin advocated for the university’s separation from the UW system, and knew it was likely. “I appreciate knowing that
Governor Scott Walker wants to provide flexibility and intends to propose public authority status for UW-Madison,” the chancellor said in a letter to Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch Jan. 7. According to the letter, UW-Madison would have its own governing body, whose members would be appointed by the governor and university. The board would have the “authority to set and manage tuition,” according to the letter.
Although Martin has said specifics would not be available until after the release of the governor’s budget Feb. 22, many plans about economic relations with the state are outlined in the letter, including funding, insurance issues and sovereign immunity among others. “There is always a point in the development of plans when they aren’t fully formed or even really formed at all and where you need martin page 3
Teachers, TAA protest over bargaining rights By Scott Girard the daily cardinal
UW-Madison Teaching Assistants and Madison teachers and students joined protesters in and around the Capitol rotunda throughout the day Wednesday. Madison schools were shut down after more than 40 percent of the district’s teachers called in sick, giving
teachers and students a day off, which many of them spent protesting Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. Members of the Teaching Assistant Association said they felt positive about the protests, which they could hear going on in the nearby rotunda. “We’re very heartened right now seeing all of the support outside,” Sociology graduate student and TAA
member Adrienne Pagac said. “We think that more and more of the community is coming out to support not only us but all of the public sector workers that are threatened by the budget repair bill.” Like many unions at the protests, the TAs said they were concerned protest page 3
kathryn weenig/the daily cardinal
The budget repair bill’s restrictions on collective bargaining led to protests from unions across the state, including UW teaching assistants.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”