A Message From Local 212 President
Michael Rosen:
 LOCAL
212 SPEECH - COORDINATION DAY
August 24, 2009
Good Morning.
This is always an exciting time. It’s great to see all of our colleagues again. The halls are brimming with excitement; classes, labs and clinicals with anticipation. So welcome back.
It is also a day for reflection. Three years ago on coordination day eve my mother died. And last year Ernie Schnook our beloved mentor and union president passed away.
Just a few weeks ago we lost another dear friend and colleague, nursing instructor Patti Kenney.
Patti loved MATC’s students and I know those feelings were reciprocated. As her husband told me she loved and respected who our students are, adults juggling work, family, and school. They inspired her.
Long before she joined the faculty, Patti told me teaching at MATC was her “dream job.” Despite her untimely death, we know that at least that dream came true.
Could I please have a moment of silence for Patti and all of those from the MATC family that we have recently lost.
Speaking of Ernie - we have launched an matc scholarship fund in his name. So far we have raised $8,700. But we need a minimum of $10,000 and $25,000 for an endowed scholarship. This year when you designate your giving campaign contributions remember Ernie and contribute to Fund 715 so that Ernie’s commitment to technical education will endure through our students.
6.7 million Americans have lost jobs since the Great Recession began.
Unemployment has soared to 9.4%. But the real rate of unemployment is actually 19%. Long term unemployment is at a record level and many of the jobs that have been lost will not return even when the economy does.
Thousands of dislocated workers who are trying to maintain their very tenuous foothold in the middle class are enrolling in MATC.
Our enrollment mirrors the unemployment rate and as unemployment continues to rise so will our enrollment. All of us should feel honored and humbled that we are our Milwaukee’s safety net.
At the same time MATC’s property tax revenues have declined. We recognized this in the spring when we voluntarily gave up our salary increase and invested $4.9 million in MATC. We did this so that no student would be turned away and to preserve the quality of MATC’s education.
Not only did we make a significant investment in the college, but we were able to use that decision as leverage in Madison to ensure that all of the state’s technical colleges were spared funding cuts despite the worst deficit in the state’s history.
Recently we got some good news. District equalized property values didn’t fall by the projected 4.5% but by 1.9%. As a result the college has an additional $2.9 million dollars. In addition, the dramatic increase in FTEs, will generate additional dollars.
This is great news for all of us and it means that we will not have to, as we feared in the spring, turn away students.
But it also means that the pressure to reduce the number of classes, increase class sizes and cut academically necessary release time is not nearly as great as some thought.
Throughout the summer Local 212 has had to repeatedly contact the administration to prevent section and classes from being eliminated, as early as July in some cases, and to prevent Associate Deans from arbitrarily increasing the number of students in classes or eliminating program coordinating release time.
In light of this positive economic news it is imperative that the leadership of the college make serving students our highest priority. Those in charge of class scheduling should take their foot off the austerity brake.
Student survey after survey concludes that MATC competitive advantage is its faculty and the direct interaction we have with our students. To arbitrarily raise the cap on class enrollments potentially undermines the quality of the faculty student relationship and our competitive advantage.
We have informed the administration that we are more than willing to discuss any cap it thinks is too low. The appropriate people to discuss that with are the faculty for they are the one’s who have an intimate understanding of every class and program’s dynamic. Additionally, MATC needs to ensure that students have a variety of sections to choose from because our students are juggling family, work and other responsibilities. This has always been true. But is more true under the present circumstances than ever. If any of you believe your class sizes are too high, you need to speak up. If you aren’t being listened to, contact us.
Faculty members- as teachers and mentors we have a tremendous responsibility. Our students need us to help them rebuild their lives that have been torn apart by forces beyond their control. This summer I had a student, a great student, one of the best I have had in my 22 years at MATC. I saw him after the class ended and he told me that he was a veteran who had worked at A T and T, been laid off, got messed up on drugs and had only returned to school after almost 20 years. He said that if it was not for his summer school experience he would have dropped out and……….All of us have stories like this. The point is that we have a moral obligation to work with passion, energy and creativity. We need to make every class, lab and clinical a dynamic learning space that inspires our students. And E R and D is here to help you accomplish that.
Let me say just a few words about another issue-healthcare. Frank Shansky has led 212’s contract negotiations for more than 25 years. He recently told me that because of soaring healthcare costs bargaining is defined by and limited to healthcare. This is unsustainable.
We need health care reform in this country which spends twice as much as any other nation yet is ranked only 37th internationally in terms of quality of care. Almost 50 million American including many of our students have no health insurance and many others have inadequate coverage.
We have the opportunity to change this by supporting President Obama’s national health care reform initiative including a public option.
Let me be clear-government already funds 60% of all health care in the country. The Veterans administration and Medicare are government run programs that work. Medicare has kept literally millions of seniors out of poverty over the last 45 years. Its bureaucratic overhead is in the low single digits while insurance companies have double digit bureaucratic costs. So when these loonies tell you that government can’t do anything right, they are lying. They are carrying water for the insurance companies who fear that providing our citizens with a public option for health care will cut into their profits.
Just remember, no insurance company has ever provided medical care. They are an unnecessary middle man burden between the patient and their doctor. We need a public option to use its purchasing power to hold down costs. This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss. In the coming days watch your email, and local 212 website and newsletter for information on how you can help make this happen.
Finally I urge you everyone to come to the local 212 welcome back reception that begins at 3 pm today at Trinity.
Work hard today and then come get together for some fun with your colleagues.
Thanks for all that you do. Keep on doing it.
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