The results are in, and the message is clear: strong unions matter. Once again, every AFT-Wisconsin local union that pursued recertification was victorious, showing that even with the game rigged, union members still know how to organize for success. (You can read AFT-Wisconsin's press release by clicking "more" below.) Congratulations to members of the following AFT-Wisconsin local unions for their election victories!
- Local 212 - faculty and PSRP at Milwaukee Area Technical College
- Local 243 - full-time faculty and PSRP at Madison Area Technical College
- Local 395 - faculty at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College
- Local 2308 - faculty at Blackhawk Technical College
- Local 3338 - faculty at Moraine Park Technical College
- Local 3605 - faculty, non-teaching professionals, and PSRP at Western Technical College
- Local 4019 - PSRP at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College
- Local 6100 - part-time faculty at Madison Area Technical College
TECHNICAL COLLEGE FACULTY AND STAFF VOTE “YES” FOR AFT-WISCONSIN UNION RECERTIFICATION
Madison, WI: From Milwaukee to Superior, strong majorities of faculty and staff in the Wisconsin Technical College System voted for their AFT-Wisconsin unions, according to election results released today by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. “Today’s results show that my fellow support staff and full-time faculty at Madison Area Technical College continue to see our union, AFT Local 243, as our powerful collective voice in the college,” said Theresa Valencia, a manufacturing instructor at MATC and chair of AFT Local 243’s recertification and membership committee. “With 82% of full-time faculty and 76% of support staff voting ‘union yes,’ it’s clear that our union voice will remain strong at MATC,” Valencia said.
While a successful recertification vote ensures that a local union can negotiate base wages for district employees, union leaders stated that they saw today’s results as adding strength to union members’ advocacy efforts in areas beyond wages. “Our union has never just been about our pay,” said Mike Gradinjan, an electrical instructor at Moraine Park Technical College and the president of the Moraine Park Federation of Teachers. “As important as negotiations are, they’re just one piece of what matters to us as technical college instructors. Today’s results will give us strength as we continue to engage the MPTC administration on a wide variety of workplace issues, and as we continue to work on our campuses and in our communities to improve the education that we provide our students at our college.”
Cynthia Dallmann, Senior Program Coordinator for the MATC School of Academic Advancement and AFT Local 243 support staff chapter vice president, sounded a similar note, pointing to cooperative efforts between MATC and union members and leaders to develop college policy, efforts that she believed recertification results would support. “While the law limits what we can formally negotiate, AFT Local 243 members are organized and engaged with the MATC administration to protect our democratic voice at work. I’m proud of the work that we’ve done over the past two years to make sure that MATC remains a great place to work and learn. With these election results, it’s clear that other support staff and full-time faculty feel the same.”