Local 212 represents over 1,000 full-time and part-time faculty as well as full and part-time paraprofessional staff (Education Assistants, Advisors, etc. These people educate and train the area’s workforce.
These days are tough for teachers. Many are teaching remotely, or completely online for the first time and have had to learn new skills and adapt their curriculum in the midst of a pandemic. Many are home-schooling their children as well. And many are still teaching skills courses face-to-face where curriculums demand hands-on learning. AFT members teach and train those on the frontlines of health care, fire and other protective services.
Educators have been under enormous pressure and scrutiny here in Wisconsin since Scott Walker’s Act 10 legislation was passed. We have seen a decline in the teaching ranks overall and especially in the highly skilled areas that MATC is known for. Local 212 have been successful in recertifying every year as Act 10 requires and doing so with the resounding affirmation of those they represent. In fact, no other technical college in Wisconsin can boast the recertification numbers that Local 212 does.
Many think that any nurse can be a nursing instructor, or any police man a police science instructor. But Local 212 fights for the wages and working conditions that attract former fire department chiefs, retired FBI agents, and nurses with advanced degrees and top positions in notable hospitals and health care centers. These are just a couple of examples that prove the members of local 212 are both skilled professionals in the careers they represent as well as highly skilled educators. Finally, people must know that MATC drives the local economy and is a great investment for our community’s future.
Check back on Friday for more on the future of AFT Local 212
