Faculty on 2 UW campuses take step to form unions

Faculty members at University of Wisconsin campuses in Eau Claire and Superior could be the first professors in the state to form unions.

Organizers on both campuses say they have collected more than enough authorization cards to require an election to decide union representation.

They have asked the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to verify the cards and set a date for an election, which could be as early as May. Both unions would be affiliated with AFT-Wisconsin.

While 30 percent of workers need to sign cards, a union spokeswoman says organizers gathered signatures from roughly 70 percent at UW-Eau Claire and 75 percent at UW-Superior.

Lawmakers gave UW System faculty and academic staff collective bargaining rights in the state budget last year.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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