NEWS
Crossing the line
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Also by Chris Werner:
- New ticket lottery off to bumpy start (October 22, 2004)
- Whitewater mourns over student's death (September 22, 2004)
- The changing face of UW System leadership (September 1, 2004)
- La Crosse student died of alcohol, drowning (April 30, 2004)
- Crossing the line (April 29, 2004)
Related Stories:
- A difficult decision for some (April 29, 2004)
- Average student on strike days (April 29, 2004)
- Students react to possibility of TAA strike, organize rally (April 1, 2004)
- Not crossing the line (April 29, 2004)
- Minnesota staff begins strike (September 6, 2007)
by Chris Werner
Thursday, April 29, 2004
“Strike breaker!”
“Please don’t cross the picket line!”
“Hey, hey, ho, ho — This union busting has got to go!”
These, and various other remarks, were shot at University of Wisconsin sophomore Craig Schiller as he broke a barrier of TAA members while entering Van Vleck building early April 27, making for a day he won’t soon forget.
“It was like no other day here. It was just shocking,” Schiller said. “It was a completely new [campus] feeling.”
As he entered the building, a move that immediately sparked TAs to refocus chants on his action of splitting the barricade, Schiller said he faced an “intimidating” situation.
Although Schiller was part of the slim group to attend class Tuesday, creating what he described as a “vacation”-like day, hundreds of teaching assistants picketed around campus urging undergraduates to support the TAA by not breaking protest lines.
“They definitely got the message across that they didn’t want you to go to class,” Schiller said.
But despite the posted signs on his classroom building door reading “Please do not enter this building; the TAA is on strike,” Schiller felt it was his right to attend class as scheduled.
“I already paid for my classes. I need my discussions, academically and financially,” he said, adding he does, however, agree that TAs should receive better pay. “I don’t think it’s fair.”
Like Schiller, UW sophomore Aaron Zittnan also attended class Tuesday, and feels that the strike was “a great idea” and “supports the TAs and what they [were] doing.”
Nonetheless, he could see how splitting lines could intimidate students, and he opted not to make eye contact with TAs while entering buildings. Instead, he “just sneaked through.”
During those classes, attendance was sparse, especially in his first one, with only about half of the regular students showing up, he said.
