[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 171 (Tuesday, October 29, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6238-S6239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING MORRIS ANDREWS

  Ms. BALDWIN. Madam President, I rise today to honor the life and 
legacy of Morris Andrews, a revered champion of teachers, children, and 
public education in Wisconsin.
  Morris Andrews was born in Big Rapids, MI, on November 26, 1935. As a 
talented student athlete, Andrews graduated from Big Rapids High School 
and went on to play football at Central Michigan University, graduating 
with a bachelor's degree in secondary education. He earned his master's 
degree from Indiana University in physical education.
  Morris taught high school government, coached football, and organized 
teachers throughout the country. He came to Wisconsin to lead the 
Wisconsin Education Association Council, WEAC, in 1972, initiating a 
transformation in the way teachers were valued in the State. Morris 
brought pride, power, and respectable wages to the teaching profession.

[[Page S6239]]

  After the protracted and bitter Hortonville teachers strike in 1974, 
Morris helped craft a mediation/arbitration law that replaced the right 
to strike with collective bargaining. This new way of settling public 
sector labor disputes ushered in decades of labor peace.
  Under his leadership, WEAC set the standard for recognizing the 
importance of teachers in shaping the future for generations of 
students. As teachers' rights increased, so did graduation rates and 
test scores. Wisconsin ACT scores rose to the top of the national 
charts for decades. Morris also initiated advancements in education 
that are now taken for granted, including uniform graduation 
requirements, gender equity in school athletics, universal special 
education programs, school nursing services, and remedial reading 
programs for underachieving students.
  Morris never shied away from a fight worth winning. One never had to 
guess whose side he was on. He knew what was best for teachers, 
students, and education, and he knew how to get it for them. By 
organizing and empowering teachers, he shifted the balance of political 
power in Wisconsin away from well-heeled corporate interests toward K-
12 students, their parents, and the dedicated educators who teach them.
  When Morris began his tenure in 1972, WEAC had 40,000 members and 
little involvement in State politics or education policy. When he 
retired 20 years later, he left a 62,000-member powerhouse with a $10 
million budget and a staff of 175 that was a major player in the State 
legislature and at the ballot box.
  Morris didn't rest after his retirement from WEAC in 1992. He 
remained committed to his passions of organizing and advocacy, 
providing sage advice to candidates of both parties running for office 
and speaking assertively for those without a voice. Morris also left an 
indelible mark on the State through his work on behalf of the Urban 
League of Greater Madison, Fair Wisconsin, and the campaign to build 
the Monona Terrace Convention Center.
  There is only one endeavor that surpassed his commitment to teachers, 
children, and public schools: his dedication to Kris, his wife of 25 
years, and his siblings, children, and grandchildren. Beneath his gruff 
exterior lived a man with a gentle heart who cared deeply about his 
family, friends, and colleagues.
  Morris Andrews believed in his heart and soul that a solid education 
system was the very foundation of a strong democracy. He dedicated his 
life to ensuring both education and democracy thrived in Wisconsin. His 
legacy lives on in the successes of generations of leaders educated in 
Wisconsin public schools. He can rest in peace knowing he indeed made a 
significant difference.

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