This Saturday, higher ed unionists from around AFT-Wisconsin came together for a joint action as part of our 2008 political program. Member-activists from the TAA joined with our brothers and sisters from AFT-Wisconsin higher ed locals for a political action around this year's elections. They included union members from the Milwaukee Graduate Assistants Association, United Faculty & Academic Staff, and The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals (the latter two being the unions for faculty and academic staff at UW-Madison and other UW-system campuses, respectively). But the TAA definitely led the pack.
As many of you know, we have two major political opportunities this year. One, which I'm sure most are familiar with, is the chance to bring change to our country by electing Barack Obama as our next president. The TAA membership voted to endorse Senator Obama way back in January and we'll be continuing, along with our brothers and sisters in the labor movement, to work to ensure that Barack Obama wins the crucial labor vote by the margin he needs to win Wisconsin's electoral votes.
The other major political opportunity in front of us in 2008 is to build a pro-labor, pro-education, pro-UW majority in the state legislature. The state legislature has a huge impact on us as graduate students, grad student workers, and members of the UW community. Right now, there is a narrow margin between us and our progressive majority. Six of the top-tier races are right here in our own backyard, so we can have a huge impact by mobilizing the labor vote for key candidates that we support.
This Saturday's action was a combination of our work on both of these fronts.
The event centered around higher ed unionists working to elect one of our own. Kim Hixson is a progressive State Assembly Representative in a dog-fight of a re-election campaign (one of our six priority races). He is also a UW-system professor on leave from UW-Whitewater AND a member of our union. His local, TAUWP is made up of UW-system faculty and academic staff that right now do not have collective bargaining rights. So one fight on which Kim has been a leader has been in working towards guaranteeing faculty & academic staff the same rights we have, the basic human right of organizing into a union. Kim has also been an incredibly strong and credible voice for better support of the UW-system as the crown jewel of our state. He has stood in solidarity with us in working to ensure better funding of Wisconsin's state universities.
So on Saturday, we went and spoke with fellow union members in Whitewater, Edgerton, and Milton about re-electing Kim Hixson against radical anti-education privatizer Debi Towns, the person Kim beat in 2006 by 38 votes in a highly-contested recount. The support for Kim was strong - union members realize that we need a strong university system as an economic driver in our state; and the principle of solidarity stood strong - union members want another one of their own from the House of Labor in the state legislature.
The other aim of our work on Saturday was in building support amongst union households for Barack Obama. Many have thought that this election is in the bag for Barack Obama, especially right here in Wisconsin. However, the facts on the ground are different. This is a hotly-contested race where we will need to work hard, along with the hard work of the Obama campaign proper, to win Wisconsin's critical electoral votes for Barack Obama.
The men and women of organized labor, traditionally a Democratic stronghold, are a swing voting bloc this year for a number of reasons. But make no mistake about it - when we in the TAA endorsed Senator Obama, it was because we knew he is the pro-worker, pro-labor candidate in this election. John McCain is just wrong for union members, wrong for Wisconsin, and wrong for this country. From getting our economy back on track to re-establishing America's moral leadership around the world, Barack Obama is the right choice.
So we knocked on the doors of fellow union members to encourage their support of Barack Obama. Not surprisingly, in this area that has been badly damaged by the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration, there was strong support for Barack Obama.
But we need to keep it up. These elections won't win themselves, and there's too much at stake to sit at home and watch. WE will win these elections, be it the presidential race or the fight for the state legislature. WE must be active and involved. That's what our political program is all about - organizing our members as activists to deliver the electoral victories we need to bring about change and to build the political power to enact a progressive agenda here in Wisconsin and throughout this country.
So this Saturday was an opening salvo of sorts (even though we've been engaged in multiple major actions prior to this one)...our announcement that the TAA will fight like hell to win in 2008. But soon, we'll have more actions, from working to win a primary for a progressive Democrat to building more support among fellow AFT members for Barack Obama, to organizing in our top-tier Assembly races. And much, much more.
Stay tuned here and elsewhere for updates...and keep your calendars open for September 16th at 5:30 PM. Along with our brothers and sisters of UFAS, we'll host a political kickoff event with a host of great speakers and opportunities for you to get involved.
In the meantime, we'd love to have you involved. So if you'd like to step up and help us win in 2008, just get in touch with us today!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
100 People For 100 Days
This year is going to be a critical election year. Our country and our state need serious and real change, and we can help bring that about through the democratic political process.
In 2008, we can elect a new president whose campaign has made their major thematic hallmark that of "change." To elect Barack Obama, our endorsed candidate for president, to the White House, we need to win Wisconsin's electoral votes. And to do that, we'll need to turn out every voter who is clamoring for and needs the kind of change of which Senator Obama speaks. That starts with the members of our union local, the Teaching Assistants Association, our union of the American Federation of Teachers Wisconsin, and all labor household voters in our area. To make this happen, we will need an unprecedented level of political activism from our TAA members.
In 2008, we can build a pro-labor, pro-education, pro-UW majority in the state legislature. After years of veering way off course from what Wisconsin needs and a lack of progressive solutions to the challenges we face, we can right the proverbial ship of the state legislature by putting in place leaders that understand and will act upon the political principles we strive to see realized. Right now, we are only three seats short of that kind of electoral majority in the State Assembly after seeing to a majority in the State Senate in 2006. With fifteen to twenty seats really up for grabs statewide, there are six districts right near us that we can and must win to build that progressive majority in the statehouse. To make this happen, we will need to organize to win in these districts with the activism our members. Again, we'll need an unprecedented level of action from our members of the TAA.
With so much potential for creating real electoral political change in 2008, we are just 100 days out from the November election. Over the last few weeks, we have been working to contact as many members of the TAA as possible to build the base of our organized political activists for this year, educating those with whom we speak and asking them to commit to some involvement. It is only through our member activism that we can make the kind of impact we need to win in 2008. Through our conversations, we have been working to identify at least 100 political activists. As of today, 101 days out, we have achieved that goal. Our "100 People For 100 Days" organizing campaign has definitely been a success, and we invite you to be a part of it, from now through the election.
But we want - and need - you to get involved. There a lot of ways for people to be involved in our organizing campaign to gain the electoral political victories for which we have the potential this year, and that which we need and deserve. From phone banking to canvassing, office visits to organizing meetings with new people, and through many other avenues, we will put a focus on engaging people about the political scene and getting them involved, as voters and as activists. If you'd like to get involved, there are two great ways to get started.
First, you can join join our TAA Politics Facebook group. This is our networking home on Facebook that will serve as a way to keep people informed, educated, and activated. Join up yourself and invite your fellow grad students and TAA members.
Second, you can get in touch with our TAA political team by email to find out what ways in which you be involved. We'll be in touch with you right away to get you activated.
We're building on our "100 People For 100 Days" organizing campaign and starting to shift our focus to both building and expanding our activist base and of course, activating TAA members to make the impact we need to build our political program and win in 2008. There's a lot at stake and a lot of opportunities staring us in the face. With our activism, we can bring about the change we want and need.
In 2008, we can elect a new president whose campaign has made their major thematic hallmark that of "change." To elect Barack Obama, our endorsed candidate for president, to the White House, we need to win Wisconsin's electoral votes. And to do that, we'll need to turn out every voter who is clamoring for and needs the kind of change of which Senator Obama speaks. That starts with the members of our union local, the Teaching Assistants Association, our union of the American Federation of Teachers Wisconsin, and all labor household voters in our area. To make this happen, we will need an unprecedented level of political activism from our TAA members.
In 2008, we can build a pro-labor, pro-education, pro-UW majority in the state legislature. After years of veering way off course from what Wisconsin needs and a lack of progressive solutions to the challenges we face, we can right the proverbial ship of the state legislature by putting in place leaders that understand and will act upon the political principles we strive to see realized. Right now, we are only three seats short of that kind of electoral majority in the State Assembly after seeing to a majority in the State Senate in 2006. With fifteen to twenty seats really up for grabs statewide, there are six districts right near us that we can and must win to build that progressive majority in the statehouse. To make this happen, we will need to organize to win in these districts with the activism our members. Again, we'll need an unprecedented level of action from our members of the TAA.
With so much potential for creating real electoral political change in 2008, we are just 100 days out from the November election. Over the last few weeks, we have been working to contact as many members of the TAA as possible to build the base of our organized political activists for this year, educating those with whom we speak and asking them to commit to some involvement. It is only through our member activism that we can make the kind of impact we need to win in 2008. Through our conversations, we have been working to identify at least 100 political activists. As of today, 101 days out, we have achieved that goal. Our "100 People For 100 Days" organizing campaign has definitely been a success, and we invite you to be a part of it, from now through the election.
But we want - and need - you to get involved. There a lot of ways for people to be involved in our organizing campaign to gain the electoral political victories for which we have the potential this year, and that which we need and deserve. From phone banking to canvassing, office visits to organizing meetings with new people, and through many other avenues, we will put a focus on engaging people about the political scene and getting them involved, as voters and as activists. If you'd like to get involved, there are two great ways to get started.
First, you can join join our TAA Politics Facebook group. This is our networking home on Facebook that will serve as a way to keep people informed, educated, and activated. Join up yourself and invite your fellow grad students and TAA members.
Second, you can get in touch with our TAA political team by email to find out what ways in which you be involved. We'll be in touch with you right away to get you activated.
We're building on our "100 People For 100 Days" organizing campaign and starting to shift our focus to both building and expanding our activist base and of course, activating TAA members to make the impact we need to build our political program and win in 2008. There's a lot at stake and a lot of opportunities staring us in the face. With our activism, we can bring about the change we want and need.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Firing It Up
Seems like a good time to be starting the TAA Politics blog, with this year being one of the most important in our history for our political work.
In 2008, the TAA - along with thousands of other students and progressives - will be working to elect our endorsed candidate for president, Barack Obama. To win the White House, Barack Obama is going to need to win Wisconsin's electoral votes - and to do that, he'll need massive turnout not only on-campus with UW wards, in Madison's city limits, and in Dane County, but also in the other areas of South Central Wisconsin where Democrats can rack up votes at the top of the ticket.
So the TAA political program will be ramping up to turn out the grad student vote, the student vote, and the labor vote in South Central Wisconsin. From the war to the economy to education to climate change, we need a generational change - and that's why Barack Obama offers us. That's why we were one of the first to endorse Barack Obama before the Wisconsin primary - and that's why we'll be working hardest to elect him our next president.
But it doesn't stop with the White House. The Wisconsin state legislature is up for grabs, and we need to elect a pro-labor, pro-education, pro-UW majority in the State Assembly. The difference between the progressive majority in the State Senate and the regressive majority in the State Assembly is stark. We need to elect a State Assembly majority that will help return Wisconsin to its progressive roots.
We are three or so seats short of making that happen. And six of the most important seats are right here in South Central Wisconsin. So the TAA political program will be working to organize, educate, activate, and mobilize union members and their families here in our neck of the woods to take back the Assembly for the people of Wisconsin.
This year couldn't be more critical to the health and well-being of our country, our state, and our university - as well as the people that make up those communities. So we are going to work hard together as a union, exercising our collective power for our common good - mobilizing the largest political program in our history. Stay tuned here to the TAA Politics blog for more information, updates, commentary, and ways to get involved.
In 2008, the TAA - along with thousands of other students and progressives - will be working to elect our endorsed candidate for president, Barack Obama. To win the White House, Barack Obama is going to need to win Wisconsin's electoral votes - and to do that, he'll need massive turnout not only on-campus with UW wards, in Madison's city limits, and in Dane County, but also in the other areas of South Central Wisconsin where Democrats can rack up votes at the top of the ticket.
So the TAA political program will be ramping up to turn out the grad student vote, the student vote, and the labor vote in South Central Wisconsin. From the war to the economy to education to climate change, we need a generational change - and that's why Barack Obama offers us. That's why we were one of the first to endorse Barack Obama before the Wisconsin primary - and that's why we'll be working hardest to elect him our next president.
But it doesn't stop with the White House. The Wisconsin state legislature is up for grabs, and we need to elect a pro-labor, pro-education, pro-UW majority in the State Assembly. The difference between the progressive majority in the State Senate and the regressive majority in the State Assembly is stark. We need to elect a State Assembly majority that will help return Wisconsin to its progressive roots.
We are three or so seats short of making that happen. And six of the most important seats are right here in South Central Wisconsin. So the TAA political program will be working to organize, educate, activate, and mobilize union members and their families here in our neck of the woods to take back the Assembly for the people of Wisconsin.
This year couldn't be more critical to the health and well-being of our country, our state, and our university - as well as the people that make up those communities. So we are going to work hard together as a union, exercising our collective power for our common good - mobilizing the largest political program in our history. Stay tuned here to the TAA Politics blog for more information, updates, commentary, and ways to get involved.
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