Charge of the Solidarity & Community Coalition Committee

The Solidarity and Community Coalition Committee shall:

• frame the work of AAUP-UWM in broad terms of working for social justice in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, & citizenship;
• promote inclusion, access and equity in campus policies and practices;
• create relationships at UWM and in the broader Milwaukee community with constituencies working to support public education, both K-12 and higher education;
• seek out allies working for social justice and against the privatization of public   institutions, including but not limited to education.

Five Reasons that Solidarity Matters

1. We are part of a larger system. Our ability to provide an excellent higher education that transforms lives and helps build thriving democratic communities requires that the whole system works. This includes K-12 education, institutions that protect our social welfare, and an economy that will provide for secure futures.

2. Divided, we’ve fallen. The movement to erode labor rights and democracy has succeeded through successive piecemeal reforms that have pitted the people of this state against each other, promising to preserve the privileges of certain groups while stripping the rights of others. As a result, we have all fallen. It is time to recognize that we must work together for all of our rights. In the words of the old-time wisdom, “an injury to one is an injury to all.”

3. Creative forms of cooperation are more important than ever. We no longer enjoy the right to collective bargaining. The success of our attempts to ensure academic freedom, shared governance, economic security, and accessible higher education rely on a broad base of support—on and off campus—to advance our shared vision.

4. We have much to learn from our allies. Attacks on the public sector have been on going for decades. While our branch of the AAUP is newly reborn, there are many community organizations in Milwaukee that have developed tactics and strategies that we can learn from.

5. Because another world is possible. We work in public education because we believe in the common good. Solidarity is another expression of our commitment to building an equal and just world.

Milwaukee Efforts for Social Justice