University of Wisconsin-La Crosse faculty members Thursday approved forming a union, despite the prospect that state action soon could take away any collective bargaining rights gained from the move.

The faculty voted 249-37 to organize as part of the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin. The 286 ballots cast represented an 87 percent turnout.

The two-day vote would have been canceled had the state Legislature passed Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, which

calls for repealing collective bargaining rights that Wisconsin faculty and staff gained only two years ago.

UW-L faculty members said they weren’t daunted by the threat of losing bargaining powers.

“I think it’s galvanized the faculty to maybe push back a little bit,” said Darlene Lake, an associate professor of modern languages.

“I think we’re much better off with a union than without it, particularly if the bill passes,” history professor Deborah Buffton said.

Michael Abler, an associate professor of biology and an AFT-Wisconsin representative who has worked for years to gain bargaining rights, said the state battle “helped crystallize” the issue on campus.

“Unions aren’t just about collective bargaining,” said Susan

Crutchfield, an associate professor and chairwoman of the English department. “Unions can make a lot of waves, because they’re organized.”

La Crosse becomes the third UW faculty to unionize, after UW-Eau Claire and UW-Superior.

“I think it’s very healthy that our faculty are expressing their preferences regarding collective bargaining,” said UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow, who Thursday was en route to Madison for a UW Board of Regents meeting. “It’s difficult at the present time to know what will happen, so we’ll all need to keep an eye on developments in the Legislature.”