As a member of the Executive Board of the Teaching Assistants’ Association, I would like to address some misinformation from the office of state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, which ran in the Sept. 8, 2008 article “Baldwin, Democrats applaud teaching assistants.” Nass spokesperson Mike Mikalsen’s assertions that the TAA has no business pushing for better working conditions for its members, that domestic partnership benefits are illegal and that such benefits are “fiscally irresponsible” aren’t simply misleading; they are blatantly incorrect. In truth, providing health care coverage to the domestic partners of state employees would help keep our working families healthy and would go a long way toward keeping the University of Wisconsin competitive in its efforts to attract and retain top faculty, graduate students and undergraduates. All our families — not just those that Steve Nass and the like deem worthy — deserve quality health care, and we are working to make that a reality. 

Counter to what Nass’ office claims, the 2006 amendment banning state recognition of gay marriage does not prohibit health care for domestic partners, a benefit the city of Madison currently offers its employees. In response to a request from the city of Madison, then-state Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager wrote that the amendment’s language shows that “neither the Legislature nor the people intended to invalidate domestic partnerships when they adopted this provision.” In passing the amendment, voters endorsed language specific to the definition of marriage, not a blanket act that would deny health care to citizens. In the months before the election, even supporters of the amendment claimed that it would not prohibit employers from providing domestic partners with health care benefits. 

Providing this coverage is not only fair, it’s affordable. Public employers in Wisconsin that offer equal benefits, like the city of Madison, have reported cost increases of less than 1 percent. To the contrary, the state’s continued refusal to provide these essential benefits is what is costing Wisconsin‘s citizens. The University of Wisconsin is the only Big Ten university that does not offer health care to employees’ domestic partners. Without these benefits, UW is losing top faculty and graduate students — and the grants, research and quality of teaching they provide — every year to competing universities. By supporting domestic partner benefits, the TAA is working toward equal rights for all families and seeks to help UW-Madison recover the competitive edge that has been eroding in recent years. 

While Mikalsen may not see it as such, health care is a bread-and-butter issue for all workers, which is why it was a key element of the first employment contract the TAA negotiated in 1970. In surveys, our members have consistently rated extending health care benefits to the domestic partners of employees as a top priority in contract bargaining. Since the early 1990s, the TAA (joined later by UW administration) has pressured the state to do this; however, majorities in the state Legislature have consistently blocked these efforts. In working toward securing domestic partner health care, TAA members are fighting for one of their top priorities. 

The TAA will continue to work to create a stronger, fairer UW and a more economically secure Wisconsin. While electing a pro-education, pro-labor majority in the state Legislature will improve our chances of winning domestic partner benefits, we know that there’s still work to be done to ensure the Legislature does the right thing. To that end, the TAA and other like-minded organizations across the state have formed a coalition to ensure that we reach our goal of securing necessary health care coverage for all families. While we are fighting to become the first employee union in Wisconsin to win equality in health care, we want to make sure that we’re not the only ones. We are committed to working for equal coverage for all families in Wisconsin, and we will do what it takes to force the Legislature to do the right thing. 

Ryan Walsh

Teaching Assistants’ Association

AFT Local 3220, AFL-CIO

[email protected]