TAs Rally for Tuition Waiver

Members of the Teaching Assistants’ Association at UW–Madison rallied Thursday for a permanent tuition waiver in their next union contract.

TAA members marched from Library Mall to Bascom Hall and back to bring attention to their contract demands. Similar rallies were held on more than 30 campuses across the country. The TAA says wages for teaching assistants at UW–Madison are the lowest in the Big 10 after taxes and tuition are paid.

University officials say they are sympathetic to rising costs for teaching assistants but add that money shifted from wages to pay for tuition waivers — as the TAA suggests — would still be considered taxable income under IRS rules.