Capital Times Coverage

The Campus Connection Blog at The Capital Times has a lengthy article regarding the past few months of negotiations that link back to this blog.  The author, Todd Finkelmeyer, brings up some items of interest for the public at large:

If you are an area homeowner wondering how this deal might impact the amount of taxes you'll be sending to MATC, Roger Price, the school's vice president of infrastructure services, said he expects it'll have a "minimal effect."
Kent notes that over the next two years, the part-time teachers' new deal is expected to increase the college's operating budget by just 0.3 percent.

He also added a bit of perspective for anyone in doubt of the unfair treatment we've experienced over the years:

The college employs roughly 1,200 part-time teachers and about 450 full-timers.


Although these raises are significant, especially during the current economic crisis, part-timers argue they are long overdue as the gap between what they make and what the full-time faculty earn had widened too far.

The average part-time teacher at MATC, who receives no benefits, will earn about $2,600 per three-credit course during the 2009-10 school year. A full-time faculty member, meanwhile, gets an average of nearly $13,400 in total compensation (pay plus benefits).

To add perspective, Kent notes full-time faculty members at MATC are required to teach the equivalent of 10 three-credit courses per year -- which comes to an average of $133,972 in total compensation. If part-timers were allowed to teach the same amount, their pay would be $25,825.

This pay discrepancy so infuriated the part-time union that its members voted in September to allocate $100,000 to fund a "public education" campaign about its plight. Among other things, the union produced print ads, purchased air time and put up yard signs in an effort to make people aware of what it viewed as an unfair situation.

This is great press and a fair view of our efforts.

WKOW Covers Protest at West Campus

Madison's WKOWTV.com has posted a short writeup regarding last nights protest at the West Campus ribbon cutting ceremony.

"We're not asking for any wage increase in this upcoming school year and we're not asking for benefits. What we're really asking for starting in 2011 that the college agree to lock in whatever the gap is right there an not let it get any bigger," says Part-Time Teachers Union Rep Mike Kent.

The MATC Administration gave their side of the story.

MATC's attorney Jon Anderson says they are working on resolving contract disputes.
Anderson says their part-time workers have salaries competitive to other Wisconsin technical colleges.
He says the school has to be sensitive to the condition of the economy and to taxpayers.

Again, we need to drive home that we not asking for a pay increase for next year. We, too, are sensitive to the condition of the economy and taxpayers. Also, we should not be compared to other technical colleges as our point of reference is the steady gap in compensation with full-time faculty at Madison Area Technical College.
Please go to WKOW's site and comment on this issue. We must ensure that the public knows that we are not trying to rip-off taxpayers during a recession and that our issues lie with the steadily growing wage gap.

More Media Attention

This time from the Wisconsin State Journal.

The union has been wrangling for higher wages with the MATC District Board, citing the widening pay gap between full- and part-time faculty.

To further call attention to the cause, the union also hopes to purchase air time, produce print ads, and buy billboard space, according to an article in The Cap Times. There's even an MATC part-time faculty blog dedicated to the issue.

Make sure to visit the site and leave comments. More comments = more exposure.