Now these people know how to make a statement - good for you.

A little music to walk by
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTuf826MQ...

Who cares! Let em walk to their feet swell... Only 11.9% of American workers give a rip. The rest of us could care less about their feelings of entitlement.

@ sarahB
the challenge phrase will be:
"who do you favor in the Virginia Slims tournament"?
the correct response will be:
"in womens tennis, I always root against the heterosexual".
.
(one of Val Kilmers greatest movies- Top Secret)

Best of luck to all making the trek. I'd recommend completing it in one day!

Do you think they could pick me up an Oreo Blizzard at Dairy Queen while their out? That really sounds good right about now!

Yes, they are still being paid during spring break just as they are being paid on Sundays and just as they are being paid at 3:30 am on any given day. A yearly salary means they are even being paid when they are using the restroom. Since when are they expected to be chained to a classroom or their office 24/7? Anybody that attempts to make the argument that these professors shouldn't be protesting on their own time simply because they receive a salary for what they do when the university is in session needs a mental health evaluation.

WalterReuther, I actually am unfamiliar with the term spring break. What is this "spring break" you speak of?

It may be spring break, however, professors are still PAID during spring break.

I'm also not real sure about the reasoning behind this walk. If all public employees are spreading the pain, it seems logical to me that the university system faculty are no exception. However, this will certainly fuel the division that will happen between UW-Madison and the other UW-system schools. Not sure if that was a good idea or not but time will tell.

At least they're doing this on their spring break and not shirking their teaching duties. Students don't have to miss class or make work up, which is good. I agree it's a free country and they do have the right to do this. I don't necessarily agree with their reasoning, and I have a right to disagree. Something has to be done to pay the debt Wisconsin has incurred for many years during previous Republican and Democratic administrations. It's not too much to ask that teachers in the public sector pay their own health care through their employers, instead of us taxpayers footing the bill. Others that don't work in the public sector have to pay their own insurance.

partarican1,

Eric Compass may be a great guy but I disagree with his political ideology. I fully support his ability to "protest" but perhaps he should protest the chancellors who have more than doubled the cost of tuition at UWW over the past 10 years (this while enrollment has consistently increased over that same period).

If his true concern is the cost of eduation-Dr Compass should lead the charge for free or a vastly reduced (perhaps means tested) education-not many 18 year old can write a check for 20K per year-can they?

Dr. Compas is a good man-don't knock him if you don't know him....He is standing up for what he believes in. That is one of the many great things about this country-we are free to do so within the law. No one will have to cancel classes-it will be during the UW-W spring break-through which most professors I've met, work every day.

fromjanesville,
Are you unfamiliar with the concept of "spring break" or did you just not read the article throughly?

Fortunately they can take a paid personal day for the walk and still have plenty of paid sick days to recover. They'll probably even cancel classes for the affected time period.

Luv ya unions!

vorass. do you also see strange little green people landing here in flying saucers too? Please tell us about it.

Walking Morons !

Walker will win and so will Wisconsin.
Thank you Scott.

wando and chadvader.

This action by the UWW faculty is nothing more than a stunt. I applaude their willingness to walk 43 miles-thats a long way. When I ran the Chicago Marathon it certainly felt like a lot more than 26 miles.

Wando, where do you think the State of Wisconsin derives its revenues? Here is a hint-states do not print money....

Here's the unwanted truth: those who work for govt (including state operated institutions of higher learning) will be forced to get by on less. The economic reality is the problems are much more acute at the local level. Unlike the federal govt, states and municipalities cannot run deficits. Spending gaps are too large to be closed by tax increases alone without making the local economy even worse-resulting in lower revenues.

Those who ignore the reality of the situation essentially are saying to hell with private sector workers who've taken pay cuts or lost their jobs-the faculty has it good and they intend to keep the status quo. Ultimately, these public sector employees will lose the battle as they are outnumbered by those in the private sector on whose tax revenue they feed.

Maybe this symbolic walk to Madison symbolizes their outrage over the fact that tuition has increased at 4 times the rate of inflation and these faculty demand a roll back in the cost of attending UWW? IS this why they are walking? No probably not.

I hope you are using a good proxy on your computer dude. You do know that this site is nothing more than a modified "honey trap" so the man can find you through your IP? All those so called "energy star" compliant devices have MASERS in them that can be activated at a flick of the switch. I suggest wearing a full Faraday cage at all times. I too know that directed energy weapons are nothing to sneeze at. My cousin was in a remote area of Saskatchewan when she was set uppon by rabid wolverines. (We think they were the result of a genetic experiment by the Canadian govt gone awry.) luckily she found a junked microwave oven, and being that she is an electrical engineer, was able to strip the core to create a crude microwave pulse generator using her Prius voltage regulator and batteries as a power source. Saved her life....

For the record, my wife's cousin was 3rd generation career military. He was employed in the state department in satellite surveillance. His wife. also a state department employee, may have been outspoken regarding her opposition to the "my way or the highway" policy of her boss at the time, Condaleeza Rice. He mysteriously fell into a coma (he was an extremely fit individual) while jogging near his home. When she explained what happened over Christmas dinner, it reminded me of how several individuals I had known had experienced unexpected physical or mental problems. They all were powerful individuals who opposed the current government's policies. So what shall we do about the usage of directed energy weapons by U.S. agencies?

And do you think the Obama administration will be any better?

I guess my point is their is nothing funny about microwaves - tin foil hats not withstanding. People end up being sent off to the emergency room, and then the mental hospital, or some die because of these supposedly "non-lethal" weapons. It is no joke.

My wife's cousin, a state department agent, was killed by microwaves. Died of an aneurism while jogging in Virginia. My wife and I have both been targeted. We know how it feels. We have built up some tolerance. There is strength in numbers -- they can't target us all. We will resist.

This is our future.... just wait Wisconsin will be next.

http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/0...

Yer tinfoil is a bit too tight matey!!! Sure thing, Walker is going to be hiring Blackwater mercs. to send you off to the reeducation camp. Here is a little secret, Walkers people have already planted RF trackers in your cell phone and have killer satellites in orbit to take you out with microwave beams from space.....be careful, man! The code phrase will be "the chair is against the wall"........

I love the fact that Wisconsin citizens from college professors to unemployed workers all are agreed that we will unite to oppose the corporate takeover of our state and our common assets. It is a peaceful resistance, yet I have some reassurance that all of my friends and family members are well-armed and are damned good shots. If the corporate suit and tie folk plan on hiring their mercenaries to take over our state, I think we can kick their ass up one side and down the other. Put me on the front line.

TCB: I guess I misinterpreted your original post. Now I understand where you really stand on the issue. You want to be able to dictate what a public employee does at any given moment, regardless of whether or not it may be during their working hours. Not only that, but you somehow believe that these employees are actually paid by you, not the state of Wisconsin. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

anyway I guess it was removed because I said something about the people who haven't read this bill in full..It affects all walks of life in wi. not just unions and public workers. Badger care senoir care utility companies and a lot more. If you want to have a real understanding please read it all and then the 2 yr buget also. Informed citizens make the best ones. I for one will be protesting when walker gives his speach at the forward janesville meeting at 5 on this Tuesday. Why, because I have read both and my voice will be heard. And I have never worked for a union but I have worked at some pretty bad companies right here in janesville.

I wonder what happened to my post of this morning?

TCB - so now you want to dictate what people should do on their own time! Yeah, your just as much a dictator as Walker. I suppose when you go on vacation or any other paid time off you don't dare do anything you WANT to do. It is their time. They can do with it as they please. They don't need you to run their lives.

wando,

I presume they are employees who are walking, correct? Whether they are on a spring break is not material. They will collect their paycheck, paid by tax payers-whether they sun themselves in Cancun or walk to the state capital in a symbolic excercise complaining about the budget cuts to high education. State schools are not exempt from the impact of a contraction of economic activity-though these ivory tower professors would like you to think they are.

Perhaps you should do a little research on the rate of tuition increases. Tuition rates at institutions of higher learning nationally and locally have risen at a much faster rate than the cost of healthcare and yet no one is calling for the nationalization of university systems. Perhaps the employees are tenured professors whose arduous schedules demand 9-12 hours of classroom instruction per week? Thats a tough gig, but given tenure, why worry? Maybe some who chose to walk are on a paid sabatical? Symbolism over substance.

Irrespective of their station-they are state employees. Who do you think pays their salary?

They are just trying to make a point, although Walker hasn't acknowledged anything that anyone has said thus far, and probably wont. For those of you who may STILL think this is just about unions, this clip puts it in fairly plain terms. Let me know if it doesn't concern you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k7F8O_5y...

TCB: Do a little research before posting. It's spring break for UWW, so no, taxpayers are not paying for anything.

Are these professors donating their income for the day while walking? Or are the taxpayers paying for this stunt?

Good for them! But, why not walk via Highway 14? I'm sure they could "pick up" support on their journey either way, however, I think the trek up Park Street to the Captiol would be more significant and have more impact.