SLAC
Student Labor Action Coalition
Madison, WI

SOAR 2002

(Student Orientation And Registration)

THE SHOCKING TRUTH REVEALED!

WHAT UW OFFICIALS AREN'T TELLING YOU

(WELL, IT ISN'T THAT SHOCKING, BUT WOULD YOU READ THIS OTHERWISE?)

HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS UW OFFICIALS DON'T WANT YOU TO ASK:

Why are students in the School of Education working full time without pay?

Believe it or not, education students are required to work full-time for the Madison School District without pay! And they pay the same amount of tuition as other students. As student teachers, they work 60-hour weeks in addition to all their homework. You might want to think twice about choosing to major in education. The UW is financially soaking these students.

Despite on-going student protests is the University still letting sweatshops make Bucky Badger and other UW licensed apparel?

There's been a campaign to make University apparel sweat-free for years. The former UW Chancellor even sent in riot police to arrest 54 students participating in a peaceful 4-day sit-in at Bascom Hall just a couple of years ago. And despite all the Administration's public hand wringing and endless committee meeting, the UW is still cashing in on the exploitation of sweatshop workers all over the world.

Does the University deny permanent, family-supporting jobs to hundreds of long-term employees by unfairly classifying them as only Limited Term Employees?

The Administration tries to avoid taking responsibility for it but there are hundreds of Limited Terms Employees (LTEs) on campus who've worked the same jobs for years but are still denied the benefits of permanent employment. As LTEs, they get lower pay, no healthcare, no pension, no paid vacation, and no Union representation. Even if you've worked in the exact same job for years they just keep changing your title every six months so they don't have to make you a permanent. The former DARS encoder for the College of Agriculture, who worked as an LTE for nine years, was fired when she spoke out against LTE abuse last semester. Recently, the Student and Labor Action Coalition won legislation that converts 50 long-term LTEs into permanent classified staff.

Why is the Memorial Union director, Mark Guthier, ignoring labor, health and safety grievances at the Memorial Union?

Since the newly remodeled Memorial Union kitchen opened in October, over 20 complaints have been filed citing burn hazards, standing water, and unlabeled toxic chemicals. In addition, civil service jobs are going unfilled, while dozens of LTEs are doing the work at poverty wages. Recently, the Memorial Union management has been contracting out the floor cleaning to a non-union company. The Memorial Union and Union South receive more than $5.3 million per year from student segregated fees, that's around $120 per student. On several occasions Student and Labor Action Coalition representatives met with Mark Guthier to discuss these concerns, but each time his responses have been vague and defensive. He claims to be doing all he can, but he hasn't produced any results. It's your money, and as students we hold the power to make change.

While Madison has a lot of fun and exciting things to offer, remember there are also problems that need attention. Get involved this fall and help work to make the UW a great campus!

HELP CHANGE THE WORLD

JOIN SLAC

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY THE

STUDENT AND LABOR ACTION COALITION (SLAC).

SLAC is an officially registered student organization at the University of Wisconsin- Madison dedicated to:

• Educating students and the community about Unions and labor issues.
• Organizing students to engage in labor solidarity activities locally and worldwide.
• Building active coalition work with Unions and other community activists.
• Training students to be activists and organizers in the labor movement.

SLAC meets weekly to discuss these kinds of issues, develop strategies and organize events. All meetings are open to everyone interested in learning more and getting involved. No previous experience or knowledge is required. SLAC is a completely volunteer run organization with no dues or other membership requirements.

If you support social and economic justice on campus and in the community, consider joining SLAC. This year, we will be involved in a variety of activities and campaigns so there are plenty of ways to help out. You can learn new skills, meet a wide range of interesting students, and make a real difference in people's lives.

To find out more about SLAC, or if you'd like to be added to the SLAC email distribution list and receive notices of upcoming events, contact us for more info.

The Student and Labor Action Coalition meets Thursdays at 7PM in the Memorial Union (see the "Today in the Union" board for room number) at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI.

E-mail slac@studentorg.wisc.edu

to SLAC index page, http://slac.rso.wisc.edu/

this page is: http://slac.rso.wisc.edu/soar02.html

6-26-02