Statement from Chancellor Wiley and Provost Spear regarding TAA situation

“As you may already know, University of Wisconsin–Madison teaching assistants have voted to hold a job action next week if a settlement is not reached in their ongoing contract negotiations with the Office of State Employment Relations and the university.

“The university administration supports the efforts of the Teaching Assistants’ Association (TAA) to secure a competitive economic package. It is our hope that the TAA and the state will arrive at a settlement.

“In the event that a settlement is not reached, the university is preparing for the possibility of a Tuesday and Wednesday TA walk-out and an end of semester grade strike.

“In the past few days, some of you may have received email that appeared to come from a university official advocating that students do not attend class. In fact, the email did not come from the university.

“Faculty and instructors should hold classes as scheduled. Students should attend class as they normally would.

“We hope the campus community will approach this situation with patience and flexibility. In the meantime, we will do everything in our power to minimize the potential disruption.

“For continued updates on the situation as it develops, visit http://www.news.wisc.edu.”