FROM: Steve Lund, Interim Director, Office of Human Resources

FROM: Steve Lund, Interim Director, Office of Human Resources

August 14, 2009

TO: Deans and Directors

HR Representatives

FROM: Steve Lund, Interim Director, Office of Human Resources

Lisa Rutherford, Director, Administrative Legal Services

RE:Protocol for Responding to WPEC/AFT-Wisconsin Workplace Contacts with Academic Staff

A representative of the Wisconsin Professional Employees Council (WPEC) and the American Federation of Teachers–Wisconsin (AFT-Wisconsin) continues to go office to office to talk with academic staff about WPEC’s unit clarification efforts. This is despite the president of American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin being informed orally and in writing that such visits were prohibited.

As a result, representatives from our offices along with System Administration staff will meet with the President of AFT-Wisconsin to discuss the matter. We are willing to allow WPEC to set up a few meetings for academic staff on campus during non-standard hours, but we are not willing to permit them to approach academic staff in the workplace.

In the meantime, UW System Administration has established a protocol for institutions to use to deal with these workplace visits. Attached please find the UW-Madison protocol to follow if a representative of WPEC or AFT-Wisconsin approaches an academic staff member in one of your departments (the action steps are summarized below).

  • An employee of the department (can be any employee) asks the individual to stop making “workplace contacts at UW-Madison” and asks him/her to leave the premises.
  • Whether the union representative leaves the premises or not, an employee of the department calls, as soon as possible, the Office of Administrative Legal Services at 3-7400 and asks for attorneys Brian Vaughan, Casey Nagy or John Dowling.
  • The attorney will decide whether to contact the UW Police Department based on the information provided. If UWPD is contacted, they will be asked to escort the representative from the building and give him/her a warning. If the behavior is repeated, he/she may be subject to a citation.

We hope that our meeting with AFT-Wisconsin will result in the cessation of campus visits, but we need to be prepared if they continue.

Please distribute this memo to your department chairs, directors and/or administrators so that they are aware of the protocol.

If you have any questions or concerns about this protocol, please e-mail either of us, one of the attorneys listed above or Mark Walters.

xc: Carolyn Biddy Martin, Chancellor

Paul DeLuca, Provost

Darrell Bazzell, Vice Chancellor

Academic Staff Executive Committee

University Committee

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