OPENING STATEMENT FOR TESTIMONIALS, BY ELLEN MEI, PRESIDENT OF WCTEA June 24, 1998 GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. MY NAME IS ELLEN MEI. I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE WAUKESHA COUNTY TECHNICAL EDUCATORS' ASSOCIATION. I WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK THE AFL-CIO, MILWAUKEE AND WAUKESHA LABOR COUNCILS,WEAC, FOR THEIR HELP IN ORGANIZING THIS EVENINGS' EVENT. I ALSO WISH TO THANK OUR PANELISTS AND EVERY MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR DAY OF ACTION. AS YOU KNOW, TODAY WAS DECLARED A DAY OF ACTION BY THE AFL-CIO. A TIME FOR WORKERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO LET THEIR VOICES BE HEARD. HERE AT WCTC, WE WISH TO ADDRESS THE WORKING CONDITIONS OF ALL FACULTY AND SUPPORT STAFF BUT ESPECIALLY OUR PART TIME OR ADJUNCT FACULTY. TO THAT END, WE HAVE INVITED OUR PANELISTS AND EACH OF YOU TO LISTEN TO INDIVIDUAL TESTIMONIALS ABOUT WORKING AT WAUKESHA COUNTY TECHNICAL COLLEGE. WCTC IS CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. IT IS A FITTING TIME TO REMEMBER THAT IT WAS LABOR WHO FIRST FORMED OUR TECHNICAL INSTITUTION AND IT IS LABOR WHO WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE QUALITY WORKERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. Statement by Ellen Bravo Co-Director, 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women June 24, 1998Why would college administrators treat someone who teaches after 6 PM differently from someone who teaches before 6? Why would they use a compensation system for part-time teachers that's different from the one for full-time teachers? The answer is: because they can, and because their competitors do. Part-time teachers work full time every hour on the job. On the whole, they prepare as much or more for each course taught as do full-time instructors. Their work is no more limited to actual class time than the work of people employed full time. Yet part-time instructors are paid for that classroom time only. The U.S. has long established that those doing the same job for the same employer should get the same base rates of pay. Unfortunately, the area of non-standard jobs - part-time and temporary positions, for example -- have fallen through a giant crack. Because no law requires equal terms of pay and benefits for part-time workers, employers pay much less and offer fewer or no benefits. What part-time teachers at WCTC are experiencing is part of a national trend. For the same work, the average part-time worker earns just 70% of the hourly wages of a full-time worker. Only 16% of part-timers receive employer-provided health insurance and just 11% are enrolled in employer-sponsored pension plans. In 1992, close to one-third of those working part time did so involuntarily. Not surprisingly, two-thirds of contingent workers in the U.S. are female and a disproportionate percentage are people of color. Some will argue that wages are determined by supply and demand. Clearly that is not the case here. As often happens, what determines the level of compensation is the bargaining power of employees and the existence or non-existence of minimum labor standards. We need a new minimum standard that ends discrimination against part-time and other non-standard workers. Collective bargaining is another and quicker way to achieve equitable treatment. WCTC should not use taxpayer dollars to stand in the way of equity and fairness. Some will argue that lower pay and benefits for this group is a necessary way to keep costs down. But so would paying people less because they happen to be female or people of color. As a nation we have said discrimination is wrong and must be stopped -- not just if doing so happens to be cheap or expedient. These teachers are also taxpayers, and family members, and homeowners, and citizens of this community. Unfair treatment hurts not just them and their families -- it also hurts students when experienced teachers move on because they can't afford to continue here. Publicly-funded colleges need to lead the way, not stand in the way. On behalf of 9 to 5, I call on the community to speak with one voice and tell WCTC: stop opposition to equity for evening and part-time teachers. Testimony of Leigh Barker, WEAC WTCS Consultant June 24, 1998 Hello, Distinguished Panel Members and Guests in the Audience. Thank you for participating in these proceedings. Many of today’s workers piece together two or three part-time jobs in order to make a living. This is an unfortunate trend in our society and needs attention. What is even worse, however, is when a worker must piece together two or three part-time jobs with the same employer! That’s the situation that currently exists at WCTC. Between 50-75 WCTC teachers are classified and paid as hourly part-time faculty, when they actually work close to, at, or more than full-time. These teachers receive no benefits, no protections; and are not covered by the union contract... Why? Because some or all of their work takes place after 6:00 p.m. I am Leigh Barker, the union representative who works with the faculty local here at WCTC. The WCTC faculty union believes it is important for you, as leaders in this community and Waukesha County residents who care about this public institution, to know about our organizing effort at WCTC---what it is, why it is taking place, and what the Employer’s response has been. We’re here today because of the Employer’s response to the faculty union’s efforts to organize our faculty union to fit today’s reality AND to allow WCTC’s over-700 part-time teachers the opportunity to vote to join together as a union. Back in 1973, Union and management agreed to a structure of the faculty union that worked back in 1973--a structure where work after 6 p.m. was considered non-union work. That structure worked in 1973 because WCTC operated much like a high school--with full-time students going to school full-time during the day taught by full-time teachers who worked during the day. WCTC had a separate, clearly distinct night school of recreational, hobby courses. But WCTC no longer operates like it did back in 1973--and so that structure no longer fits. With modern technology, teaching is no longer bound in time; students no longer are full-time day students; many faculty no longer teach just in the day or just in an evening; WCTC’s programs are no longer delivered primarily by full-time teachers holding full-time jobs. WCTC’s President, Dr. Anderson, knows that WCTC’s structure and way of doing business has changed---in fact he prides himself on WCTC’s responsiveness and flexibility. However, he has done everything possible to keep the union confined to the structure established back in 1973 by refusing to get rid of the artificial 6:00 p.m. rule. WCTC refuses to add together the classes a part-time teacher teaches before 6:00 p.m. and those he/she teaches after 6:00 p.m. to determine if the teacher is really full time. WCTC absolutely refuses to bargain with the union about the work after 6:00 p.m. However, at the same time, WCTC plays games with the 6:00 p.m. rule--the administration sometimes schedules classes to start at 5:55 p.m. when they want to assign them; but then won’t assign a 6:00 p.m. class to another teacher---and instead, has issued them layoff notices. In fact, last year WCTC took the union to the Wisconsin Labor Relations Board to confirm that they wouldn’t have to negotiate with the union about evening classes. The faculty Union spent the past four (4) years attempting to work with Dr. Anderson to get WCTC to agree to address these issues, and to allow all the part-time faculty to join together to vote for union representation to address the unique issues, concerns and needs of WCTC’s part- time faculty. For four years, the College refused to agree to any changes. That has brought us to this current organizing drive. Since the announcement of our campaign, WCTC’s President, Dr. Anderson, and the Board have actively opposed and worked against this organizing effort. WCTC administration has put up road blocks every step of way:
In a recent news article, a WCTC administrator claims they did not hire Mickus to fight the union, but merely as a communications consultant. I assert that WCTC knew exactly what they were doing by hiring Mickus. In its written proposal, Mickus bragged about its “successes,” citing the following as examples of its “excellence”:
Clearly, WCTC hired Mickus to fight our union organizing effort.
This cannot continue. WCTC faculty are not being allowed to exercise their right to decide for themselves. Part-time faculty must be given the opportunity to vote. But--wait! There’s even more. I need to share with you other actions being taken by WCTC that reveal this employer’s hostile attitude toward its unions. These are stories that you will also hear about from some of the other speakers :
We believe WCTC’s anti-union positions and actions have no place in a public institution. We are asking for the help of the community to persuade WCTC to change its attitude toward its own unions and toward the unions who represent the workers who come out of our training programs. Please listen to the stories of the remaining speakers. Thank you for this opportunity to share with you. WE ASK OF YOU, DISTINGUISHED PANEL MEMBERS:
Testimony of Andrea Frank, AB.D., Part-Time Allied Health and Community Health Education Instructor June 24, 1998 Good evening. My name is Andrea Frank. I've taught health and retirement planning classes part-time at WCTC for more than a decade. WCTC named me part-time teacher of the year in 1988. I am here tonight to publicly express my dissatisfaction about the employment ghetto which exists for part-time instructors in higher education -- an employment ghetto which is actively sustained and knowingly promoted by the administration at WCTC. When I began working at WCTC eleven years ago, with a master's degree and 6 years of teaching experience, WCTC told me I would start at the top of WCTC's part-time instructor pay scale. More than a decade later, with 17 years of experience and a nearly completed doctorate in education I am still at the top of their pay scale. I'd like to share with you what it means to be a part time instructor "at the top" of the heap at WCTC... Administrators at WCTC want people like you to believe that a gross wage of $26 per instructional hour is a fair and just rate of pay for an instructor like me. However, what WCTC fails to reveal is that an INSTRUCTIONAL hour -- the time spent teaching in the class room -- is only a small fraction of the ACTUAL WORK HOURS required to do a teaching job. EVERY teacher in higher education and ANY competent educational administrator knows that each hour of teaching in the classroom involves, on average, an additional 2 hours outside the classroom for class preparation and course administration. Thus, when WCTC tells you that I make $26 per hour, they overstate my REAL gross hourly wage by nearly 300%! Furthermore, if my wage is framed in terms of real take- home dollars (by subtracting taxes and commuting costs from my REAL work hours) I am left with a walloping, net take-home pay of ... (are you ready for this?) ... $5 per hour -- yes, that's $5 per hour for a part-time teacher of the year with a bachelors degree, a masters degree, and a nearly completed doctoral degree along with 17 years of teaching experience! Remember now, this is the remuneration AT THE TOP of the part-time instructor pay scale at WCTC. On numerous occasions, being "at the top" at WCTC has also meant that months before my classes met, I've blocked out large chunks of time on my calendar only to be told ONE week before a class was scheduled to begin that it had been cancelled. In addition, since I'm paid only for instructional hours in the class room -- not course preparation or administration time -- WCTC never pays me for any work I've done in advance of a cancelled class. Being "at the top" of the part-time instructor heap at WCTC also means that WCTC provides me with no office, no storage space, no phone, no computer, no email service, no money to attend professional meetings or for professional development, no sick pay, retirement, health, disability, or life insurance benefits. When compared to the salary and benefits of a full time instructor, I estimate that on an hourly basis I am making somewhere between 10 - 20% of what comparably qualified and experienced full time instructors earn at WCTC. But the reason I support the formation of a union at WCTC is deeper than just pay. Two years ago, when a student threatened me after I finished teaching an evening class in an empty, unsecured building, I faced only antagonism from the highest levels of WCTC's administration as I reported and attempted to resolve a volatile situation. The serious nature of the incident was repeatedly downplayed by various upper level WCTC administrators. For example, when I expressed concerns about the lack of campus security, I was told that in the future, if anyone attacked me all I needed to do was find a phone and dial 9-1-1, and the Pewaukee Police Department would respond. Although I was emotionally traumatized by the incident WCTC also refused to provide me with the confidential professional counseling I sought. My privacy was also violated by senior level administrators who literally pulled me out of the middle of a class I was teaching and IN THE HALLWAY discussed whether or not the school would provide police protection or pay for my counseling. In the middle of this humiliating experience, I discovered that my name in conjunction with the incident had been leaked by senior staff to others around campus and had entered the campus gossip pipeline. It quickly became clear that WCTC had no policies or procedures for dealing with sexual harassment on campus. They didn't even have a proper form to report the incident! I finally met with WCTC's president to make him aware of the situation and ask for his help. I received absolutely no assistance from him, followed by more foot dragging and antagonism from other senior administrators. The school only began cooperating with me when I obtained legal counsel and threatened to sue WCTC in federal court for the school's numerous blatant violations of laws governing the handling of sexual harassment in the educational workplace. Nonetheless, more than 2 years later, there still is no security inside campus buildings for evening instructors, other than dialing 9-1-1. Now, you might wonder, if part-time work at WCTC is such an employment ghetto and since this is America with a freedom of choice, why don't I just quit and change jobs or even careers? First, it is hard for me to abandon teaching and switch to another profession when I've spent my entire adult life working toward three degrees in a field I love. I am not a quitter. Unlike the movie, I'm not ready to accept that a token teacher of the year plaque "is as good as it gets" at WCTC. In terms of leaving WCTC to teach elsewhere, the crux of the matter is that there is no free market economy for part-time instructors in higher education. A free labor market only exists when there is freedom of choice -- where there are job options. Unfortunately, when it comes to choosing a different part- time job, I've discovered that the pay and working conditions for NON- UNIONIZED part-time teachers are no better elsewhere. A true, free market economy in higher education
can only exist when wages and working conditions for part-time
teachers parallel those of full-time instructors. I'm nothing if not
patient, but my 11 years of experience at WCTC has taught me that the
only way to realize the socially just and equitable goal of equal pay
for equal work is through the formation of unions for part-time
faculty across this land. Testimony of Elroy Harmelink, Special Needs Counselor June 24, 1998 I am standing here tonight (on my 52nd birthday) to speak out publicly in support of the WCTEA. In the fall semester of 1997 when I was on long-term disability following a complete physical and emotional collapse, several union representatives made the difference in assisting me in my effort to obtain a working relationship with the administration. This help allowed me to return to work. I never in my life thought I would need the union and many of you may feel the same way. You will never learn the true value of union representation until you need it. We need to join together to support and help each other.Testimony of Joan Wolf, RN, MSN, WCTC Faculty ADN Instructor, WCTEA Member June 24, 1998As a staff nurse I was an active participant in the unionization of Registered Nurses (RNs) at St. Francis Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the late 1970's. The effort to organize began with staff nurse recognition of inadequate staffing of the patient units on the night shift. Our concern was the safety of patients. As a result we asked the administration for room facilities in which a meeting for RNs would be held to discuss problems at the hospital that endangered patients and ways in which to resolve these problems. The request was denied. This was our impetus to become unionized. St. Francis hired consultants, the 3M Company (Modem Management Methods) of Minneapolis. 3M literally occupied the hospital's administration suite as they advised for both written and oral communications with RNs. The nurses received letters at home and handouts at work. We were removed from our patient care-giving activities and required to attend large propaganda meetings. We also were singled out for individual private meetings with managers in their offices. I personally had these meetings with my patient care coordinator and the nursing education coordinator. There would also be impromptu meetings with various representatives of management in the hallways. The managers would meet with 3M in the morning and be coached in what to say to their RN staff that day as a group and individually. After the individual meetings, the manager would return to report to 3M what was said and be given a way to deal with the individual RN's response. As a result of this intimidation and harassment orchestrated by 3M, many RNs, out of fear, changed their vote in the election and the election results were very close. The St. Francis staff nurses then went to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with the complaint of unfair labor practices. I testified for three hours based on process recordings of the meetings to which I had been subjected. The NLRB found St. Francis Hospital at the direction of 3M to be in violation and ordered the union to be installed. Another important result for registered nurses was a change in federal legislation. Formerly registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse assistants, and other hospital workers (e.g., dietary) could be lumped into one union. With the diversity of union members, the effectiveness of the union could be diluted. After the St. Francis RN effort, the AFL-CIO successfully lobbied so that RN's could have their own union. Interestingly, the hospital administrator and director of nursing service along with some other administrators quickly lost their jobs. 3M temporarily replaced them with their own people from other parts of the country until those positions were permanently filled. Two of the RN managers voluntarily became staff nurses and union members. The nursing education coordinator is now a teacher and a union member. After the successful St. Francis organization effort 3M broke up and a part of the company moved to Chicago. It is my understanding the company is now named Mickus. Testimony of Tom Fredricks, Part-Time Accounting Instructor June 24, 1998 Good evening. My name is Tom Fredricks. I am an Accounting Instructor at WCTC part time for the last 5 years but full time for 28 years prior to that. In addition I am a CPA and CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst), partner in a public accounting firm for 22 years and a sole practitioner for about 8 years before that.I consider myself a teacher who practices in the field he teaches, and one who knows from experience the difference between being a full time or part time instructor. I'm here tonight to speak about what I believe are 3 major issues facing part time instructors at WCTC, and why I believe we need to organize so that injustices and inequities can be eliminated. First, we are only paid for our time in class. Unlike full time faculty, all time devoted to preparation and evaluation - grading, homework and exams - is expected to be done on our own time. We are expected to meet the same standards as full time faculty. We meet classes from as early at 7:30 AM to as late at 9:30 PM for the evening school - the same schedule as our full time counterparts. We work from the same texts, assign the same homework, and grade the same tests as those used by full time teachers. Also, we are expected to provide input on curriculum materials but are not provided any test keys. Rather we are required to develop our own keys in isolation. And we are often evaluated just as full time faculty are. Students in our sections receive the same credit for their work as if they were in a full time section and yet we receive one-third of the pay that full time teachers do. In many ways we are treated as less important to the school. A second item of concern is that, while we are given the opportunity to offer equal input into the overall curriculum of a program, we are not included in department meetings. Nor are we asked to develop the overall curriculum, even though the large number of part time faculty should make us an integral part of the staff. Further, full time faculty are compensated for their workload assignments or receive supplemental pay at their regular rate if they teach at night and otherwise have a full time teaching load of three to four classes per semester. Finally, another indication of our faculty's second class status is that we do not have exclusive office space in which to meet with students outside of class time, to prepare materials, or to grade and evaluate student performance. Nor do we even have bookshelves for storing reference materials. Also, we have no phone or voice mail through which students can reach us if they need extra help, if they are struggling with a difficult concept or will be missing class. To whom is the student supposed to turn when they have problems? We are their teachers but except for our own homes - we are inaccessible. I am involved in an organizing campaign on behalf of the part time faculty. Of these teachers, several have expressed a fear that if they become actively involved in organizing a union of their own, they may not be given a chance for future teaching assignments. For us, there is no job security or seniority system regardless of how many years we have taught at WCTC. My hope as a part time instructor at WCTC is that all those who serve the district in this capacity have an opportunity to vote their choice for representation through a union. Testimony of Steven Krawczyk, Part-Time Workplace Instructor June 24, 1998 I would have enjoyed coming to this meeting to tell about my current situation; unfortunately due to a work conflict, I am unable to be present. I would like to think that this letter will serve the same purpose.For the past two and a half years, I have been employed with WCTC as a workplace instructor. In January of this year, I accepted an evening teaching position at the Menomonee Falls Learning Center. Although I was working approximately twenty hours a week, I was not able to obtain benefits because evening teaching hours are classified differently. As a result, I remain a part time I instructor. (I teach the same way during the day as I do at night. As a matter of fact, some of the students who come at night also attend during the day.) So I do question - why is it that I am doing more work than a part time I instructor, but I am still being classified as a part time I instructor? As you are probably aware, as a part time I instructor I do not receive benefits through WCTC. As a result, it is necessary for me to have an employer outside of the educational field who does offer me benefits. I strongly believe that many gifted and talented instructors will leave if this situation continues. In the long run, it will be the students who will lose out. Testimony of Orin Christenson, WCTC Student June 24, 1998 My name is Orin Christenson. I was a student at WCTC from November 1995 to January 1997. I have had the pleasure of working with full and part-time teachers. They were both concerned with helping me get the best formal training that I could receive; they were both helpful and understanding and would spend the extra time needed to help me through the courses making sure that I fully understood what the process was and what the final outcome would be. I truly believe that I worked with the kind of teaching staff that is best for all students, and I also believe that the caring and understanding that goes into everyday classroom activities should be equally rewarded. The fact that WCTC would not allow the part-time staff the same benefits as the full time teachers is a slap in the face. Testimony of Bill Jordan, Part-time Math Instructor June 24, 1998 My name is Bill Jordan and I teach Math part time at WCTC. I can tell you from my personal experience as a part-time teacher that PT instructors at WCTC do not receive the support necessary to offer the best for our students. Most part-time instructors do not enjoy a working relationship with other FT and PT instructors. Often our only contact is at the mailboxes when checking for messages and class materials requested from a secretary. As a part-time math instructor, I received a course syllabus that was used primarily as the basis for evaluating my performance as the instructor. The syllabus did not contain any information about quizzes or testing for evaluating students' progress. When I pointed this out, the WCTC evaluator did not seem concerned with that. In fact, it appeared to me that on the course evaluation questionnaire that the students were asked to complete at the end of the course, evaluating the teacher was of more concern than assessing students' academic progress. The WCTC administration's lack of concern for student academic progress was very painfully illustrated to me by the following incident: I was asked to go teach a six hour course on basic fundamental arithmetic off campus to Industry. I was able to use materials from a self-study course in Tech Math, which I had copied and put into binders to pass out to the industry students ahead of time so that the students could be ready for the first classroom presentation. I was well prepared for the class. However, the contact at the industry site was most difficult to work with and was indifferent to my concerns. When I relayed such information to WCTC, I was simply told to deal with it myself. The only concern from my supervisor was getting teacher evaluation forms from those students. Well, as luck would have it the week of the last class session, my wife was in the hospital following major surgery. Despite this, I went to the industrial site and proctored the exam but inadvertently did not take the evaluation forms. Did I hear about it! Was any support offered to me at this personally trying time? None whatsoever. My supervisor was only concerned with collecting those evaluation forms. I personally went back and delivered the forms to the industrial site after the course was over, in order to satisfy my supervisor. This lack of support from WCTC insured that I would not return to this site, and I discovered that other instructors had had similar experiences. It is clear to me that the students were not the primary focus in this situation. Lack of support creates a revolving door for PT instructors who are struggling to do a difficult job, but often leave WCTC when they sense that student needs are secondary to political and economic considerations. I support the formation of a union of WCTC part-time faculty so that we part-time teachers can express our needs, issues and concerns-and have them heard and listened to, for the sake of our students as well as ourselves! Thank you. Testimony of Kathleen Kaufelt, Part-Time Social Science Instructor June 24, 1998 I have been a part time II instructor in the social science department at WCTC since the spring of 1989. In an effort to create the security of a full time salary for myself I have been teaching an average of eight courses each semester for the last nine years. The courses I teach are both day and evening courses. The evening courses, however, are scheduled with a 6:00 PM start time. The premise of the college is that courses starting at 6:00 PM and taught by part time instructors are to be compensated differently than those taught by work loaded instructors during the day. In my case, I have been teaching the same identical course during the day as I am at night but in the evening receive significantly different compensation simply because of the time frame. In fact, the hourly wage I receive during the day is approximately twice what I receive in the evening. The concern that this raises is whether or not there is a justification to pay evening instructors considerably less than the pay work loaded instructors receive during the day. I can assure you that there is no pedagogical difference between the courses I teach at 8:30 AM and the courses that I teach at 6:00 PM. The curriculum is identical, the prep and post time is identical and the rigor of the course is identical. I strongly encourage a serious deliberation on this practice. From the interest of fairness and equity, I would suggest that such wage disparities be eliminated and all instructors, regardless of the time their courses are taught, receive the work loaded salary.Testimony of Julie McIntosh-Mroz, President of WCTC's Support Staff Union (WCESSU) June 24, 1998 Julie shared that WCTC's support staff union also has important, grave concerns: WCTC has been systematically replacing their union jobs to subcontracting.WCTC's support staff union has lost TWENTY THREE (23) support staff positions to subcontracting of their unit's work. WCTC has contracted out the janitorial/cleaning work. Mail Room services have been contracted out. Food Service, (with the exception of one employee who stays despite tremendous pressure), has been contracted out. The WCTC Health Service Office has been contracted out. Julie shared printed materials with the Panel members to illustrate how the WCESSU has attempted to deal with WCTC on these issues. Testimony of Bud Teske, Full-Time Auto Body Instructor, WCTEA Member June 24, 1998 Good Evening. My name is Bud Teske. I have been employed at WCTC for the last 26 years as an auto body instructor. I have been active in our union, the Waukesha County Technical Educators Association, the WCTEA, since 1978 when I joined the bargaining team. I have been on the bargaining team for 20 years, the last 11 as the chair of the team. I have also handled grievances during that time. In May the College issued me a lay off notice. The College claimed the starting salary of our completing auto body students was too low and therefore the College was cutting the program to one section for next fall. Although I have been with WCTC for 26 years, the other auto body instructor has four months more seniority than I do, so I was issued the lay off notice. In my 26 years at WCTC there has never been a program or course dropped when there were sufficient students to run the program and job opportunities waiting for all the completing students which is the case in the auto body program. Although the starting wage for auto body students may not be as high as some of WCTC's other programs, most of these same students three, four and five years down the road will be earning $30,000, $40,000, and $50,000 a year. The College made this decision without consulting the Auto Body advisory committee! Without even consulting with associate dean in charge of the program! My associate dean said he was called in and told the decision had been made. He was not asked for input in this decision. A decision such as this needs be made only after thorough open discussion and input by all involved in the outcome and done in the open over a period of time. Too low of a starting wage is a rationalized bogus trumped up reason used to justify cutting one section of this successful program. It is extremely clear why the College did this. This allowed them to issue a lay off to someone they would like to get rid of. The reason for cutting one section of auto body and issuing me a lay off notice is purely political. The College has tried this before. In 1987 I was issued a lay off notice when I had twelve students in my class. At that time I checked out other classes in our area and three others had only five, six, and seven students, but these people had not been issued a lay off notices. I confronted the College with this information and the lay off notice was rescinded. I was the chair of the WCTEA negotiating team and a union activist at that time too. The positions I fill in the WCTEA do not make me popular with the College administrators. The other auto body instructor volunteered to take the lay off toward the end of May. At this point the College should have rescinded my lay off notice. This has not been done. It is unconscionable, unfeeling, and unconcerned act by the college to let a person struggle with apprehension, uncertainty, and anxiety over a lay off notice when it is not necessary. However this is typical of the way the College deals with its employees, like numbers, objects to be used, tools to do the work, without any real concern for us as people and individuals. The College can say whatever they want to attempt to justify this lay off, but they can't cover up the smell of a rotten decision that anybody can see through. There action was clearly an attempt to scare, intimidate and punish the Union. But it will not work. They should be ashamed of themselves. Thanks to all involved for this opportunity to tell my story. Testimony of Jeannie Lehmann, Part-Time Adult Basic Education Instructor June 24, 1998 This past fall I received letters from WCTC President Dr. Anderson. This was a surprise! I had never before received personal letters from Dr. Anderson. Unfortunately, the letters were not to thank me for my seven years of service to WCTC, but to tell me that (I quote)" union representation is not in the adjunct faculty's best interests." (End quote) Another letter stated: "Why is the College Administration against the union representing Adjunct Faculty? We do not believe that having a union represent our Adjunct faculty adds value to our relationship with you. The tension that is created during bargaining, the reduced flexibility that is a natural consequence of contract language, and the expansion of the role of a third party with its own agenda all run counter to the individual participation and the professional, Total Quality culture we have been trying to build." (End quote) This statement did not match my reality-because in my experience, WCTC's Total Quality culture has meant that: Like many of you: I receive pay for student contact hours only. When I spend time preparing for a class, I am never paid. When I spend time evaluating student work, I am never paid. Like many of you: Even though my total work hours are over half time, I am treated like two separate employees who are not eligible for the benefits negotiated for faculty working more than half time. Like many of you: I have never received and am not eligible for sick pay. As it is for many of you: It is difficult for me to participate in committees that give input into decisions about course content because these committees meet during times that I am in class or working at another job. Like many of you: I have no job security. Like many of you: I have no avenue to full-time employment with WCTC. In fact, I have been told that WCTC will hire another part-time employee to do the same work I can do rather than allow me to have sufficient hours to be covered under the over 50% contract. Like many of you: I receive no pay when I meet with my students outside of class time to assist them with their coursework. My students and I are both losers in this arrangement; either I lose the pay I should be entitled to for providing service to WCTC or my students lose my services if I refuse to be taken advantage of by the college. Like many of you: I have watched gifted teaching colleagues leave WCTC for employment that recognizes, respects and rewards their dedicated service. I ask: Total Quality Culture for whom? The college also indicated that a part-time faculty union may result in reduced flexibility. I ask: flexibility for whom? Our part-time faculty is the very essence of flexibility. Like many of you, I have taught WCTC classes at multiple campuses (four in my case) and several area high schools. I have taught three hours in the morning at one campus and three hours at night at another and commuted fifty minutes each way. I have taught classes that did not have a curriculum available. I have developed or revised curriculum for classes without pay only to have a different class in need of a new curriculum assigned to me the next semester. We have been flexible, and we will continue to be flexible. Last Fall, our union made a request of the college for the home addresses and phone numbers of part-time faculty in order to share our concerns and provide information about a representative election. In yet another letter Dr. Anderson said :(quote) "If we were to convey the home address and telephone number information to the union, we would be in a position of having to convey it to anyone else who would request it. That would include students, students' family members, textbook companies or anyone else who makes a similar request." This blatantly false statement was MAILED to every part-time faculty member. The Union filed suit to protect its rights to this information. The court rejected the administration's argument. It, too, saw the injustice of withholding information from the union while at the same time the College itself was using the very list we had requested to wage, at taxpayer expense, a one-sided campaign against our ability to unionize. Meanwhile, the College had hired a high priced Illinois firm well-known for its union busting tactics. Again it used taxpayer dollars to pay this outfit $250/hour to help subvert the WCTC part-timers union representation campaign. In a plan devised by this firm, the associate deans began meeting one-on-one with part-time faculty. The stated message was clear: With a union WCTC might not be able to offer as many hours as you now work. And if you support a union, you will hurt the students; you will no longer be a professional. Their REAL message was clear: Union activity could cost you your job. The desired effect was quite successful and is evident here tonight. Many people who have stories to share, have expressed fear that their hours may be reduced or eliminated if they speak out. They know we part-timers have no contractual right to the work we have done semester after semester; we have no security to prevent the college from hiring someone else to do our jobs; we have no recourse if our hours are reduced even when work is available. Some have even stayed away lest they be seen as openly supporting a cause they most certainly hope comes to pass. I ask: Total Quality Culture for whom? Distinguished panelists, colleagues and fellow workers, we are asking that our members who do work without representation be allowed to vote whether or not they want all their work represented. Please help us get the message to WCTC. Tell them to let our faculty vote! Thank you for your attention. Testimony by Dr. Michael Rosen on MATC's Opposition to WCTC's Construction Program June 24, 1998 MATC and the American Federation of Teachers Local 212 are emphatically opposed to WCTC's plans to begin a new construction technology program in the fall of 1998. We are opposed to this initiative on two grounds: First, WCTC's plans to establish a new program when MATC has excess capacity less than twenty minutes away is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Second, since WCTC's plans duplicate existing programs now offered by the Milwaukee Area Technical College, programs in which Waukesha residents are currently enrolled, the initiation of such programs at WCTC could effectively undermine MATC's construction and masonry programs.While WCTC denies that these new initiatives are an attempt to revive their discredited concept of a regional training center, how does their technology training center differ? If it walks like a duck and looks like a duck and talks like a duck, then in my book it is a duck. Here are the facts. At present, MATC's carpentry tabs at South Campus and Downtown Campus are underutilized. We currently run 1 section at each campus and could, with additional faculty, add an additional 4 sections, 2 at South and 2 at Downtown. In addition, MATC has two Cabinet/Millwork shops at South and Downtown with excess student capacity, which could be utilized in the area of Building/Construction training. The current two sections are both filled with 20% of the students enrolling from outside our district. Last year eight of 35 first semester students came from out of district, five of whom were from Waukesha County. The year before when we had three sections. 18 of 45 were nonresident carpentry students, half from Waukesha County. In the spirit of regional cooperation and the efficient utilization of resources, we have offered WCTC a full section, 16 seats, day or evening. We are also willing to increase their allocation of seats based on their success in recruiting students. In addition, we are willing to explore distance education classes between WCTC and MATC for related classes. WCTC has rejected this offer of cooperation. Economically, it is much easier to add sections than it would be to build/lease a new facility. In addition, the cost of capital equipment to furnish a complete carpentry lab and educational supplies, especially using industrial-based equipment, would be expensive. Regional cooperation, advocated by the State Board, is clearly the most desirable path for the vocational technical All apprenticeship training is done independently by the Carpenters JAC. MATC has been working cooperatively with the JAC to assure a good working relationship between our carpentry diploma program and their apprenticeship program. During the past school year MATC has done Cab/Mil apprentice instruction in cooperation with the JAC. MATC also has a strong positive relationship with the Milwaukee Building & Construction Trades Council. The masonry program taught at the West Campus is also under capacity. The one semester diploma program was suspended in FY98 due to a concern by the Bricklayers' JAC that they would not be able to place the graduates in apprenticeship slots. MATC does offer the Bricklayer and Mason Apprenticeship program at the West Campus in cooperation with the Milwaukee Area Bricklayers' Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee. Careful scrutiny of WCTC's needs assessment data does not substantiate a need for establishing a new program. The assessment relied far too heavily on small contractors. Of the 40 surveyed, the greatest frequency of response was a two person shop, followed by a tie for second place with four and six person operations. Amazingly, one employer said he had zero! Twenty-six of the forty companies interviewed had five or fewer employees. Given the size of operation of the respondents, what can a graduating student expect regarding stable employment and most importantly, wages? In actuality WCTC is not proposing to train people for careers as carpenters. They are proposing to train nail pounders. The truth is that many of the companies who responded to WCTC's survey have problems a new occupational program will not cure. Listing seven factors that are important to employers when making a hiring decision, number seven was a "one or two year tech college program" and number six was apprenticeship. The most important factor was "honesty & reliability" followed by "interpersonal skills" and "previous work experience," respectively. WCTC's argues that they are launching this program because of a severe shortage of carpenters. Yet, in 1997 the Carpenter Joint Apprenticeship Committee, which is not a part of the Wisconsin Technical College System, enrolled 56 new apprentices. They have a waiting list of 140 potential carpenters who have passed the apprenticeship entry exam. They want to work in the construction industry, have demonstrated the aptitude, passed the exam, but have not been hired. With MATC's potential six sections of 96 carpentry diploma students and the carpenter's school with unlimited capacity, where's the need for another program that would duplicate such services? WCTC maintains that students from Waukesha are not willing to attend classes in Milwaukee. Yet, twenty percent of our current carpentry students come from outside the district. Moreover, construction workers are employed in a trade that requires mobility as employees move from site to site. Currently seven of the areas largest ten construction projects are in Milwaukee County, sixteen of the top twenty-five. Certainly, carpenters and other construction workers living in Waukesha are not refusing this work because of its location. If people will travel to Milwaukee to work (and be entertained, for that matter), they will travel to Milwaukee to obtain high quality training. The City of Waukesha and all the Waukesha County suburbs between, after all, are less than a twenty minute drive from our campuses. WCTC's administration appears to be resurrecting its proposal to build a regional training center housing all apprenticeship training in SE WI. The implementation of this strategic approach would effectively undermine MATC's exciting and successful programs in these areas. It would also adversely effect those in close proximity to the Waukesha district: Madison Area Technical College, Gateway and Moraine Park. More importantly, establishing a regional training center in Waukesha is not in the interest of our students, particularly Milwaukee's students of color whose access to such relocated programs would be severely limited. At a time when Milwaukee's African American unemployment rate remains four times that of the white rate, it is socially and economically irresponsible to launch initiatives that would make it more difficult for students of color to access technical and industrial training programs that are a prerequisite for entry into the apprenticeable trades. While this may not be the intent of WCTC's initiatives, it will be the unintended consequence. For all of these reasons MATC and Local 212 are opposed to WCTC's ill advised plans. It is not in the interest of the vocational technical college system to wastefully replicate existing resources or launch new programs without a thorough analysis of the need for such an initiative and its consequences. |