— Nurses at UW Health say they will be appealing the decision by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission that their employer isn’t required to recognize their union.
In a statement Friday, registered nurses Mary Jorgensen, Colin Gillis and Sarah Langland say the WERC’s ruling “does not impact” ongoing negotiations with UW Health leadership or their efforts to form a union.
“The groundbreaking agreement that nurses won in September empowers us with a union voice, and through a ‘Meet and Discuss’ process we are currently working on urgent improvements in patient care, staffing and retention,” they said. “Hundreds of us have already signed up to become union members and we are meeting directly with the administration to raise critical issues and create real solutions.”
State officials in September announced UW Health nurses, the health system and labor organizers had reached an agreement to avoid a planned strike related to the unionization effort. While both UW Health and the nurses touted the agreement as a step forward, health system CEO Alan Kaplan said it laid out “a path to resolve the question once and for all” of whether or not UW Health can recognize the nurses’ union.
Attorney General Josh Kaul previously issued an opinion arguing in favor of the nurses being able to form a union, which was referenced in the statement Friday.
“While we respect WERC, we do not agree with its opinion that UW Health nurses are excluded from the Employment Peace Act,” the nurses wrote.
Meanwhile, UW Health said in a statement it is petitioning the Wisconsin Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue.
“WERC’s decision is an important first step toward obtaining definitive answers from the Wisconsin legal system on both the question WERC addressed and whether UW Health could voluntarily recognize a union and bargain collectively,” the health system said. “We believe that an expedited decision on these important legal issues will best allow us to move forward, which is why we are petitioning the Wisconsin Supreme Court for an opinion on these questions.”
Along with appealing the commission’s decision through the courts, the nurses say they will be petitioning for a union election through the National Labor Relations Board.
“This is the first round in a multi-step process for nurses achieving collective bargaining rights, either through the courts, the NLRB, or through voluntary recognition by UW Health,” they wrote.
See more in Top Stories below.
— An assistant professor at UW-Stout has co-authored a new study detailing the benefits of incorporating solar panel windows into building designs.
According to the study, including “photovoltaic windows” in certain buildings could reduce their energy use and CO2 emissions by 40 percent.
It was co-written by Vincent Wheeler, who directs the university’s mechanical engineering program, alongside his twin brother Lance Wheeler, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
As part of their research, they developed modeling software called PVwindow that helped them analyze design possibilities for “highly glazed” buildings. That means they have a window-to-wall ratio of 95 percent or greater, according to the release. Vincent says that while these kinds of buildings aren’t typically seen as energy efficient, the study suggests otherwise.
Using the modeling software, researchers determined the impact of using several different solar panel technologies in the windows of such buildings. They also simulated the use of these technologies in multiple climates with varying amounts of sunlight.
“It is not obvious that replacing ordinary windows with ones that improve the thermal performance and adds PV generation to a building in New York City can add as much benefit as doing so in sunny Tucson, but that is exactly what we found,” Vincent said in the release.
The researchers say these specialized windows could be coupled with rooftop solar systems to improve electricity generation and potentially produce more energy than the building consumes.
“Picture a skyline in, like, New York City where there are these high-rise buildings that are entirely glass,” Lance said in the release. “They’re fully glazed. The Freedom Tower has millions of square feet of glass. It could be a power plant in itself.”
See the full study: https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(22)00540-1
See the release: https://www.uwstout.edu/about-us/news-center/high-impact-assistant-professor-wheeler-helps-unlock-key-energy-efficient-skyscrapers
— Madison-based investment firm 4490 Ventures led a recent $7.7 million funding round for a Chicago data startup called QualSights.
The venture capital firm’s managing partner, Dan Malven, is joining the company’s board of directors, according to a release announcing the funding round. He says QualSights has created a technology platform that addresses “a major gap in consumer behavior understanding.”
“These advances will allow brands to get access to data they’ve never had before and truly understand how everyday people use products post-purchase,” he said in the release. “It is a brilliant, globally scalable and defensible innovation.”
Company founder and CEO Nihal Advani says the Series A round will help the consumer insights business reach more brands and expand its sales and marketing along with research and development.
Further financial details of the investment round were not disclosed.
See the release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fastest-growing-insights-company-in-america-qualsights-announces-7-7m-series-a-funding-round-301683863.html
#TOP STORIES#
# Wisconsin board: UW Health not required to recognize union
# How 9/11, cancer, financial crisis shaped Fiserv CEO Bisignano
# New holiday pop-up market introduces shoppers to new businesses
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Wisconsin chickens laying less eggs
– State milk production rose slightly in October
# CONSTRUCTION
– Construction on new fair buildings moving forward
# EDUCATION
– Longtime ‘Music Man’ at St. Norbert College — Dudley Birder — dies at 95
# ENVIRONMENT
– DNR: Opening weekend deer kill up 14% from 2021
– What should I do about PFAS in my water?
# FOOD AND BEVERAGE
– Let’s Eat: Hot Pot 608 simmers something special on University Ave
# HEALTH CARE
– State commission rules nurses can’t force UW Health to recognize union
– CARES program answered over half of city mental health calls in 2022
# MANAGEMENT
– See the executives at Milwaukee area-based public companies with highest total compensation
# MANUFACTURING
– Erik Buell, a Wisconsin motorcycle designer, is testing electric bike
– Briggs & Stratton charges into electrification via battery-powered zero-turn mower
# MEDIA
– Wisconsin singer wins NCBA National Anthem Contest
– Q&A: Muralist Audifax finds her purpose in art
– UW-Madison grad dredges up the past in Netflix’s ‘Descendant’
# REAL ESTATE
– 86-room hotel, dance studio pitched in Pleasant Prairie
# SPORTS
– Schools add amenities to make end-zone seats more attractive
– Luke Fickell will be next Wisconsin football coach, Barry Alvarez confirms
– Regents scheduled to meet to approve new Wisconsin football coach’s contract
– After raising $3.2M this year, Brewers Community Foundation leader hints at 2023 initiative
# TECHNOLOGY
– UW-Stout professor helps unlock a key to energy-efficient skyscrapers
# TRANSPORTATION
– Spirit Airlines cuts flights out of Milwaukee
# COLUMNS
– Smith: A deer hunt to help fulfill Aldo Leopold’s legacy
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
http://wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82 </i>
Historical Society: Sidney O. Neff shipwreck listed in the National Register of Historic Places
