Faculty from a University of Wisconsin System campus are making a protest trek to Madison, protesting cuts to the UW System. Associate professor James Hartwick, one of the walkers, notes faculty will face a seven to ten percent pay cut under Governor Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. “Maybe that doesn’t sound so bad, but faculty already make between 11 and 21 percent less than they would make at a comparable institution out of state,” said Hartwick. UW Whitewater faculty are not unionized.
Hartwick also said the Walker administration’s $250 million in proposed cuts to the UW System will hurt students, especially on campuses like Whitewater, which serves many first generation college students. “When you cut higher education, you limit people peoples access to have a better life,” said Hartwick. “When you transfer that money to the wealthy, to the business interests, that’s a problem, because you’re taking away the average person’s chance top get ahead.”
Hartwick and a small group of colleagues plan to leave Thursday on the three county, 43 mile trek, carrying a letter protesting Walker’s cuts. They’ll be joined by teachers from Madison East High School for the final leg, and be greeted by Democrat lawmakers at the Capitol.
