In a march that took UW-Madison undergraduates and members of the Teaching Assistant's Association through the state Capital and the Pyle Center Thursday, TAA members and supporters demanded zero-premium health care benefits for the TAA and lower tuition costs for UW-Madison students and warned of a potential TAA strike.
The large crowd of supporters initially filled Library Mall and proceeded to chant \Not on strike today, not yet"" through the halls of the Pyle Center, where the UW System Board of Regents held a meeting.
As of now, the TAA's contract states they do not have to pay any health care premiums. However, the state government is threatening to take that away.
According to TAA member Rob Emmett, the TAA's health care policy and undergraduates' tuition fees are related in that they both involve the preservation of quality public higher education in Wisconsin.
He said there is a problem when tuition costs are being raised while corporate income taxes are being decreased. Also, state funding for UW-Madison is continually decreasing.
""We're concerned that that's going to have a detrimental effect on the quality of public education in the state,"" Emmett said.
Similarly, Ald. Austin King, District 8, said taking away TAs' zero-premium health care poses a threat to the quality of education at UW-Madison.
""[If this happens], the quality of candidates that we're able to recruit to this university will decline, and then the quality of education at this university will decline,"" King said. ""I can't stand for that and I don't think any other grad at this university should.""
Additionally, UW-Madison junior Kyle Myhre said he is concerned about the treatment of the TAs who are so important to students and greatly contribute to their valued educational system.
""It's bigger than just health care for TAs,"" Myhre said. ""It's about priorities.""
He also added corporate welfare is a major problem that is not addressed by the media. Large corporation tax cuts are made at the expense of the poor who continue receiving tax increases.
""Money just goes to the wrong places and it's not really a whole lot more complicated than that,"" Myhre said.
