Heh. You didn’t think it was about the students or Wisconsin, did you?
United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS) circulated the resolution of no confidence in UW System leaders that was overwhelmingly endorsed by the campus faculty senate earlier this month, setting off a series of union-led actions across the state.
Chad Alan Goldberg, the UW-Madison sociology professor who drafted the resolution and helped marshal forces in support, is president of UFAS, Local 223 of the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin.
[…]
But UFAS leaders say the votes, and the media attention they received, were important because they got people talking. And they hope the attention convinces more faculty and academic staff to join the union.
[…]
Beyond fostering public discourse on public higher education, UFAS leaders say the energy around the no confidence votes translates into increased membership, which has hovered around 100 for years, they say.
That entity has about a half dozen members on the Madison campus. Another shot and another miss, Owen. Still waiting for you to ID a wasteful building project on the Madison campus. Are you able to back up what you claimed?
Yes, Rufus, but I’ve been blogging long enough to know how that conversation goes. I give you several examples; you find some reason that those facilities are absolutely necessary to the core mission of the University; I dispute your notion of what is “necessary”; we end in disagreement. Let’s just go ahead and state now that we would disagree on what is wasteful and what is not.
BTW, I didn’t specify the Madison campus. You did. But there’s plenty in Madison too.
So, produce an example. You said there are wasteful projects. Maybe I will agree with you. Have at it!
Oh Rufus let’s start with 0.5 Billion USD. http://isthmus.com/opinion/opinion/uw-campus-building-boom-is-wasteful-unnecessary/
kevin j:
Relying on a 7 year old opinion piece is proof of nothing.
PS: Were you ever in the old Union South? It needed replacing.
Hmm. Was the old union south deemed unsafe?
How dare those people join their minds and dollars together to express their opinion and drive political action! Don’t they know that right is reserved by our betters?
As for Owen deciding what’s necessary and what’s not, I’m all for it, just as long as he shows all his work, and is willing to engage in reasoned debate and defense against experts in the field. You know, like someone who has to defend a thesis.
On the other hand, when a private corporation builds a new Taj on farmland and erects a big fountain and an even bigger flagpole, no one should even criticize or comment, as that’s their money. (Pay no attention to the TIF and the discounted land and the rail subsidy.)
John:
Don’t forget the tax credits, extra cost of public services, and job training…
kevin:
Did I say it was unsafe? If I did someone deleted that word from my post .
Baldy, industry always needs $13 an hour welders, and it’s the free market at work when the tech schools pump them out to keep up with the demand from the loss of the last wave of $13 welders who decided they didn’t like the pay or the conditions.
It’s crazy, though, the WisGOP never suggests that industry should pay more for welders in order to retain all the welders we’ve already paid to educate and train.
An unsafe building needs replacing othwerise it can be renovated.
kevin:
I’m glad you don’t do facility planning for any public entity. We would all be in caves..
kevin:
Another question or two:
How did you feel about County Stadium/Miller Park? Or the new Bucks arena? Or the new Hill Farms project?
woa:
And you are an expert at stupidity.
Baldy. Hate the idea of tax payers funding professional stadiums but in both cases the pro team would have left Milwaukee resulting in a large negative impact to the area. Hills Farms seems like a good deal unless 12 million is too little for selling 14 acers.
kevin:
So safety isn’t the criteria for replacement? Or does that just apply to the UW ??
Thank you, Kevin J, for falling into the trap. You want to talk about Union South? Perfect example. Zero cost to the taxpayers of Wisconsin. It was all funded by fees that students voted to impose upon themselves and gifts from grateful alumni and other donors.
Owen has yet to provide a single example.
Thank you all for playing.
RTF, I missed the rule stating taxpayer money had to be wasted.
There isn’t one as you well know. And thank you for confirming my point. You folks can’t come up with an example.