University staff are key to the success of UWM, says Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values @ Work and keynote speaker at this year\u2019s University Staff Conference on Oct. 27.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to help UWM employees name why they are important, to see what an asset they are,\u201d Bravo said, \u201cbut also name how they can work together \u2013 among themselves and with the administration \u2013 to find ways to see that value recognized more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bravo, a former instructor in Women\u2019s & Gender Studies at UWM, said she\u2019ll be addressing the stresses that public employees have been under during times of budget cuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe live in a time where state government has denigrated public employees \u2013 faculty, staff, public school teachers \u2013 and tried to make them scapegoats and stirred up animosity against them,\u201d Bravo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s not just words but actions \u2013 budget cuts that have drastically cut the budgets of schools and universities\u2026 Naturally, that\u2019s going to affect morale at these institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conference, with the theme of \u201cPutting the \u2018U\u2019 in UWM,\u201d will offer a series of workshops to educate, inform and engage university staff, as well as emphasize the importance of their role at UW-Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Bravo has long noted the irony of support staff being ranked near the top in terms of their importance to organizations, but whose compensation ranks closer to the bottom.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent my life focusing on workers whose jobs are vital but undervalued, people who are essential but underpaid,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Susan Butkovic, the conference chair, anticipates that Bravo\u2019s keynote address will help university staff navigate the stresses they face.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is a leading advocate for working people,\u201d Butkovic said. \u201cShe understands family values and the job\/family challenges in these tumultuous economic times.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gets it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bravo directs Family Values @ Work, a network of coalitions in 24 states working for policies such as paid sick days and family and medical leave insurance. Before helping start FV@W, she was the executive director of 9to5. She has written several nonfiction books, including \u201cTaking on the Big Boys, or Why Feminism is Good for Families, Business and the Nation,\u201d as well as a recent novel, \u201cAgain and Again,\u201d a political thriller involving date rape. She served on the bipartisan Commission on Leave appointed by Congress to study the impact of the Family and Medical Leave Act.<\/p>\n
The conference is sponsored by the chancellor\u2019s office. Refreshments and lunch will be served.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Public employees, including those at UWM, are under stress, says Ellen Bravo, director of Family Values @ Work. Her keynote address at this year’s University Staff Conference will talk about ways to alleviate that. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":39687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[122,126],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-39684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","section-campus-community","section-campus-news","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section"],"uwm_unpublish_requested":false,"yoast_head":"\n