We are a labor union that represent over 500 Teaching Assistants at Western Michigan University. We are affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers at the state & national level, as well as the AFL-CIO as an afffiliate locally in the AFL-CIO South Center Labor Council.
We are a member driven, member run organization. We have democratically elected leadership. Our executive board members are TAU members in different departments across campus, elected on a yearly basis. Our current board members are:
President Thomas Fisher (PhD- Clinical Psychology)
Vice President of Contract Enforcement Naomi Bick (PhD- Political Science)
Vice President of Organizing Hanna Fussman
Communications Officer Tre Goodhue (MA- Public History)
Treasurer Lauren Weiss (PhD- Math Education)
We also currently have a fellowship program with 6 TAU organizing fellows that come from different departments across campus & a stewardship program with member organizers/representatives from across campus as well.
TAU negotiates the TA's contract every few years and has just completed negotiations with Western Michigan University by ratifiying the contract. Our bargaining team was made up of members, officers & staff. We are a state recognized labor union with collective bargaining rights. We are also tasked with protecting the integrity of the contract by following the grievance procedure when the contract is violated. We aim to defend and protect TA's rights by ensuring fair treatment for all.
Our TAU members on the bargaining team- Donald Vonkannon, Ran Wei, Deirdre Courtney, Sam Imbody & Adam Bennett
