by Dave Schall, Part-Time Faculty Member, Milwaukee Area Technical College
Part-timers at Milwaukee Area Technical College wentfrom being one of the lowest paid groups of faculty in Wisconsin to one of the best paid groups nation-wide, thanks to the willingness of part-timers at MATC to join together in a bargaining unit.
One of the great injustices in our society is the exploitation of part-time workers. As part of this problem, it is common to find part-time faculty members being paid one-quarter to one-third as much as full-time faculty for teaching the same course at the same institution. The part-timers at MATC have been working to correct this inequity. Their philosophy is that students, unless they are told, do not know whether a person is a full-time faculty member or a part-timer. Students want the same things from classes taught by part-timers and expect the same high quality of instruction.
While wages are often a major concern when one selects to be represented by the union, equally important is professional respect. One of the first things that part-timers requested in negotiations at the Milwaukee Area Technical College was to replace the term “adjunct faculty” with "Part-time Faculty."
WCTC uses the term “adjunct,” which means, “add-on, appendage, attachment, supplement,” or something other than an important part of WCTC and the teaching profession. The educational contribution of part-time faculty is of equal value to students; the only difference is that part-time faculty's contribution is made on a part-time basis.
The word adjunct is now seldom heard at MATC. Besides the symbolic change of names, the part-time faculty now have contractual language insuring their ability to have input into academic decisions.
MATC now includes part-time faculty in the decision making processes of the College. Many of those faculty members who were hesitant to unionize now agree that the level of professionalism has risen dramatically because of the ability of the part-time faculty to make their voices heard through a bargaining unit.
Bargaining unit dues usually range between 1% and 2% of one's salary, so are a real bargain. Bargaining units are only as strong as their membership and need money to function properly; thus it is only fair that those benefitting from the organization’s work help to pay for the representation. At MATC those teaching a standard lecture class found their salaries rising one to two hundred percent with the new contract, making the union dues a real bargain!
If you have questions, please feel free to call me.
Dave Schall
(414) 962-0184
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· Please join with the part-timers at MATC and set your goal as parity, equal pay for equal work! This can be achieved through collective bargaining by all part- time faculty in the Wisconsin Technical College System.
· It is not just wages but working conditions and respect that are improved when a bargaining unit is created.
· Vote “Yes” for representation!
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