Local 212 Accomplishments
What has Local 212 accomplished?
Local 212 has been the collective voice of MATC’s faculty since 1931, long before public employees won the legal right to collectively bargain. In its first decade Local 212 secured tenure and a single-salary schedule based on educational attainment and length of service. Since its Depression-era origin, Local 212 has expanded its ranks by organizing the counselors, professional staff and part-time employees.
Local 212 fights for and organizes its members. Local 212 also fights for MATC’s students. We are committed to student success and we recognize that our students’ learning conditions are our working conditions.
MATC faculty, counselors and professional staff are among the highest paid in the nation and have secured important institutional rights and protections because of Local 212’s commitment to fair play, professional development, member involvement and member mobilization. All four of Local 212 ‘s bargaining units, full time faculty and counselors, part-time faculty, and professional staff, and engineers and production staff of Milwaukee PBS were overwhelmingly recertified in the last state recertification election.
What Local 212 has accomplished recently:
Successfully recertified all bargaining units by wide margins, including the first recertification of the MPBS Engineers and Production Staff bargaining unit and welcomed record number of new members. Thank you to all!
Represented many members in discipline or other proceedings, while enforcing the “Just Cause” employment status for all non-probationary members, as well as those who had their longevity and handbook rights violated.
Negotiated a 2022-2023, 4% total wage increase in two parts for all 212-represented employees. This was much higher than the college’s initial proposal of a 2.5% increase that included just a lump sum payout for top earners.
Pushed the college to address issues with 2019 Compensation Study implementation and continue to represent front-line professionals’ interests in the 2022 Compensation Study revisit, including fair adjustments to PTF pay.
Represented all bargaining unit member interests on multiple committees, task forces, and work teams, including MPBS not only at the station but school wide! This has successfully prevented unilateral changes to provisions and included advocacy for sensible policies and practices.
Passed the Local 212 Anti-Racism Resolution and joined with other MATC employee groups in forming the MATC Anti-racism Coalition.
Performed member “wellness and concerns” check-in calls, co-sponsored multiple vaccination clinics, ran 12 student outreach phone banks with over 1000 connections made with demonstrable student registration success, created/ disseminated “COVID Now What?” posters, provided over $20,000 FAST Fund student support and COVID vaccination campaign through the “Back to School Safely” grant from AFT.
Advised and continue to support individuals, departments, and programs in speaking out against workplace injustices - including those related to administrative hires, course assignments, program changes, and FQAS related initiatives - and speaking up for practices that support students.
Argued for staffing needed FT Faculty, student support professionals, and other key positions, as well as an administrative staffing solution between front-line pathway professionals and their dean,
Demanded that administration listen and respond to front-line employees and value and use our expertise and input. This included driving movement to re-build and implement an updated Shared Governance structure, development of the “Reimagining Pathways” initiative, addressing of lead faculty concerns, and timely and transparent communication of the intent of administrative decisions.
Assisted dual unit employees in attaining significant pay or benefit reimbursement
Deputy VP position added for paraprofessionals to assist with the growing number of positions in the bargaining unit. This provides additional availability and advocacy for our membership.
MPBS employee voices are being heard! Due to collaborative efforts as a unit, MPBS was able to bring attention to the communication and culture issues at the station, resulting in the school bringing in a consultant to work on opening the lines of communication at Milwaukee PBS. There is more work to be done but MPBS is moving in a very positive direction and with continued effort and unity can continue to make Milwaukee PBS and MATC a better place to work.
Aggressively advocated on behalf of PT-Faculty (PTF) who had their longevity and handbook rights violated, fought for an increase in life insurance and protection of other benefits, and earned pay for newly-hired PTF's onboard training participation, improvements to course assignment processes, fair application of raises for PTF, improvements in hiring processes, and accurate communication to our part-time colleagues.
Advocated for faculty self-certification for participation in activities for FQAS renewal for certain low-hour activities.
Assisted 765 students with almost $220,000 in direct aid via the FAST Fund (helped 157 students avoid eviction; provided 184 with tuition/debt payments; assisted157 students with books/exam fees), and guided students to almost $93,000 in aid from other community organizations.
Provided members with forums, political candidate meet-and-greets, and educational materials on pending legislation, initiatives, and issues that affect MATC, its employees, and students, educating candidates the same.
Fought for preserving the student-driven and independent nature of the MATC Times newspaper and protected the union-represented newspaper advisor position.
Sponsored/hosted multiple Student Debt Clinics where members received guidance on temporary changes in the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (program ends October 31), with some member-participants receiving a reduction in public service years remaining or full forgiveness of their loan balances!
Protected your health and safety in the workplace through our Health & Safety Committee and its chairperson who worked with the college to resolve member concerns (COVID-related and otherwise) and provided guidance on evolving conditions related to vaccination status, CDC guidelines, COVID testing requirements, etc.
Enhanced responsiveness to members via Membership Committee activities, as well as Union Listening Sessions, Surveys, Social Solidarity Events, and 1-on-1member outreach, and communications improvements.
Legal advocacy
Local 212 provides representation and legal advice on matters including:
Discipline and dismissal
Family & Medical Leave
Discrimination and sexual harassment
Disability benefits
Fair Labor Standards Act
For Students:
Led effort to increase student work study pay to $11 an hour instead of returning unused dollars to the federal government
Awarded FAST (Faculty And Students Together) Fund emergency grants for students
Established the public education program “Know before you Enroll,” in conjunction with the City of Milwaukee, to educate our community about the perils of enrolling in for-profit colleges
Local 212 members children have won $1000 in scholarships through AFT Wisconsin in both 2015 and 2016
One Local 212 member’s child won an $8000 AFT national higher ed scholarship 2015
One Local 212 member won a Wisconsin Historical Society Scholarship
Your union is working harder than ever to represent your ideas and best interests. We wholeheartedly thank you for your support and ask only one thing: When new faculty present themselves, please speak to them about the importance of joining AFT Local 212! You will be providing your union’s leadership with the leverage needed to continue to be successful on your behalf.