More P/t Union Media Mentions

• The On Campus blog picked us up.
• WisPolitics gives us a shout.
• The Campus Connection blog continues to offer support.

Local Blogs Get the Word Out

Forward Our Motto has linked to our blog here and has some nice things to say.

It's good stuff. Too often, I feel that labor unions don't put contract negotiation in a wider-societal context. While I could go on and on about solidarity, and mutual aid in detail, I'd rather simply say: I want to live in a world where part-time teachers at the MATC are treated fairly and receive reasonable pay. That would be a nice world, yes?

Fair is fair. Thanks for your support!

Support from One of Our Own

One member of the MATC Part-time Teachers' Union has his own blog and a few things to say regarding our contract negotiations.

Overall, the effort seems positive and well-supported, but it seems the (well-paid) MATC administration really wants to maintain the status quo. This situation is not limited to MATC by any means, which I must stress; this is a national situation, affecting all higher learning institutions. Mostly, this is facilitated by the degree-farm mentality that allows universities to accept more grad students and grant more degrees than there could possibly be jobs: all to keep balanced budgets by using grad students as cheap labour.

Well said, Carl! This is something else to keep in mind: we are not just fighting for us. We are fighting to set a precedent that may affect p/t teachers down the road both at MATC and other institutions. The future of our colleagues is ours to shape.

In solidarity!

[again with the] Love from the Local Blogosphere

Blogging Blue gave us a hat tip in this post.

By my estimation, part-time teachers do the same work as full-time teachers, just on a smaller scale, so why shouldn’t they be paid at a level commensurate with what full-time teachers are making? It’s good to see the part time teaching staff at MATC standing up for themselves, and I hope they’re able to get some resolution to their situation.

Again, this outpouring of support is outstanding. Thank you!

[even more] Love from the Blogosphere

The Sconz has added a post regarding our contract negotiations.

The outpouring of support from the online community has been great! To all union members out there - support your local bloggers.

A Little [more] Love from the Blogosphere

Jim @ Pretty Important Politics has added us to his blogroll and written a nice post regarding the contract negotiations.

Making less money for doing the same job as someone else sucks, I’ve been there, which is why I am happy to publicize the part-time faculty’s cause. The image in this post conveys the essence of the problem.

We couldn't agree more, Jim. Thank you for your support!

A Little Love from the Blogosphere

Caffeinated Politics posted this a few weeks ago.

Recently, though, President Barhorst has decided to take the already unfair situation and make it demeaning and condescending as well. She informed the Union that “… if part-time faculty were serious about a career in teaching, that they should apply for a full-time position, here or someplace else.” She suggested also “…for part-time faculty, teaching was just some extra thing they do in their lives.” Hobby Teaching Professionals!? Do you suppose that these people went to obtain an extra six to ten years of expensive university training beyond high school for a HOBBY? Wouldn’t stamp collecting have been cheaper and with fewer headaches! And, can anyone imagine that these people, many of whom have PhDs in their field, aren’t already applying for the scant number of full-time tenured positions offered across the country?

Well said, indeed!