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A Message From Local 212 President Michael Rosen:

May 16, 2006

Childcare Centers Saved;
Tech College Grads Wages Increase

There is good news to report on a number of issues that affect the quality of education at MATC and the jobs of Local 212 members.

CHILD CARE CENTERS TO STAY OPEN!

On Monday, May 15 the MATC Board's Educational Services and Institutional Relations (ESIR) Committee decided that the college would continue to run Child Care Learning Labs at all four MATC campuses. Previously the Cole Administration had announced its intention to close the learning labs at the North and West Campuses.

This is great news for the students who use the centers. Nine students from the Child Care Learning Labs targeted for closing testified eloquently that if these centers were closed, they would be forced to leave MATC. Local 212 member and Early Childhood Development Instructor Douglas Udell also testified persuasively.

As we have stated repeatedly, child care services are critical to student success and according to the Federal Reserve, early childhood education is the most important investment a nation can make. These are also crucial learning labs for our students in the Early Childhood Development program, no less important the Culinary Arts or Automobile Technology Learning Labs.

ATTEMPT TO PRIVATIZE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SCUTTLED

We have had other important victories as well. In March the college decided not to outsource the Director of Information Technology and named Dean Mike Walsh to that post.

Larry Domine, an IT instructor and co chair of the Forward Technology Core Committee, worked with other Local 212 members to research the problems that develop when colleges outsource their strategic IT function.

Their arguments to both the Core Committee and the MATC Board were persuasive, so the administration dropped its plan to outsource this key job.

They were also successful in convincing the administration to implement a modified version of the Wi MAX (wireless) project that Mike Sargent, the Vice-President of Finance had proposed dropping.

TABOR KILLED IN MADISON

In Madison , the Taxpayer Protection Act, a misnamed and misguided attempt to change the Wisconsin constitution and undermine MATC's funding, was defeated.

Not bad for three months. And there's more.

TECHNICAL COLLEGE GRADS EARN MORE

Our work as technical educators was recently validated by a study released by the WTCS state office Technical college graduates get a nice boost in wages which reports that wages for technical college grads had grown by 5% between 2004 and 2005. This is especially significant since this comes at a time when hourly wages are stagnant.

Never forget that you provide our students with the technical skills they need to secure family supporting employment.

CONTRACT NEGOTIATION QUAGMIRE

Of course not all the news is good. Contract negotiations continue to move at a snail's pace due to the administration's intransigence. This misguided approach has forced many of this institution's most valued and experienced faculty and staff to retire prematurely. I am sorry that we could not get the administration to modify its retirement and healthcare proposals. We tried.

MATC will be diminished by the absence of those employees who are being forced to retire earlier than they planned. But your colleagues will never forget your contributions: to your students, the Milwaukee economy and your brothers and sisters in Local 212.

Enjoy your retirement. You have earned it. But, please…. don't forget those of us who remain behind. And never forget that the retirement benefits you are about to enjoy reflect both your contribution to MATC and the collective efforts of generations of AFT Local 212 members who have fought to ensure that we are treated professionally.

Finally, if you are not retiring, enjoy your vacation! You have earned it too.

Michael Rosen, President
Charlie Dee, Executive Vice-President

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