Tyson. It’s a word most students are not familiar with, and for
good reason. But with recent decisions by ASM and the Wiley
Administration, students should be asking, “Where are the
priorities?”
For more than six months, Tyson Foods, Inc. and their labor
contractor, United Food Workers, have been embroiled in a bitter
and arduous labor strike. Neither side has shown a great deal of
willingness to compromise and the strike could go on for some
time.
In and of itself, this does not concern students — and rightfully
so. Who cares what goes on at a chicken factory in Jefferson? What
does that have to do with our tuition bill? But 11 out of 33 ASM
representatives felt differently, passing a resolution during the
summer session calling on the University to boycott all Tyson
products. The administration, feeling pressured by the vote,
announced that UW will not purchase Tyson Foods products during the
strike.
The decision to stop purchasing from Tyson raises three
questions:
First, why is the University, a government agency, taking a
position on a private sector labor-management dispute? The National
Labor Relations Board has already ruled on the case, finding in
favor of Tyson. Does the administration somehow feel more qualified
to deal with national labor issues in addition to governing this
University? Perhaps the NLRB should decide how best to fund
SEVIS.
Secondly, why is our student government, ASM, taking a position on
private labor issues? ASM representatives are beholden to the
students who elected them, not strikers on a picket line in
Jefferson County.
Third, why is the University administration bowing to a contingent
of merely 11 students, all of whom cast their votes when class was
not in session? Wiley’s Chief of Staff, Casey Nagy, says the ASM
resolution carried a great deal of weight in the decision to stop
buying Tyson goods. But if 11 students can get together and
convince the administration to change its policies, then let’s give
the 46-ounce beer cup at the Memorial Union another try?
Nagy denies the University took a position on the labor dispute
itself and argues the decision to stop buying from Tyson was
“consumer driven.”
However, discussions with Union food service officials have not
confirmed any decrease in consumer purchases of Tyson foods at
Memorial Union and Union South. If there has been no decrease in
consumption of Tyson products at the Unions, how can this action by
Bascom be “consumer driven?”
A Tyson spokesman said UW-Madison is the only university he is
aware of that has decided to stop purchasing Tyson products while
the strike continues. We can find better distinctions.
ASM and the administration should do their jobs: Protecting student
interests and providing them a world-class education, respectively.
By becoming involved in private business matters having little to
do with either issue, both groups extend beyond their reach and
waste students’ time. We have to ask: where are the priorities?