An Education is Worth the Fight
I write this not to voice support for or criticism against unions, collective bargaining, or the political process—though I certainly have opinions about all of them. I write this only to try and provide one perspective from a public university.
For the record, I am a UW Milwaukee employee. UW Milwaukee includes a mixture of union and non-union workers, with salaries that cut across many income brackets. Whether we teach or keep the buildings operational, we all support some part of the UW Milwaukee mission and we too feel the effects of the state’s fiscal crisis.
I work in student affairs and services, one of the non-union employee groups. My salary is not the stuff of TV ads. I drive an old car. I clip coupons. I hope for a wage increase knowing it will not come. In fact, the wages here have remained almost flat for many years and have been reduced even more by furlough days.
Soon, I may have significantly less in my take home pay, as much as 10% less by one estimate, even though wages have remained flat. Still, I am proud to be a part of this campus and its mission to provide an accessible college education to as many students as possible.
I readily admit I feel fortunate to have a job in a struggling economy. Many people don’t. However, I was able to get this job because I earned an advanced degree, something I worked hard for and sacrificed a lot to obtain. I started my academic life at a two-year college and went on to a local public university not terribly different from UW Milwaukee.
After working for a university in another state, I chose to come to UW Milwaukee (despite the furloughs and flat wages) because I share a commitment to access to higher education, the same kind of access that gave me opportunities. Now more than ever, success for future generations means more than job creation and deficit reduction. Who will be qualified enough to fill new jobs if our educational system continues to be gutted? What will be left of our public schools (at all levels) if funding continues to be stripped away?
Success means a quality education, beginning early and not ending with high school. UW Milwaukee serves many middle and lower income students and families, working adult students, veterans, career changers, and others who might not otherwise come to a university. Many, many of the students here are local and plan to stay in Milwaukee, or other parts of Wisconsin, after completing a degree.
UW Milwaukee does not have the same resources as the state’s flagship school and for every educational program that will need to be “more efficient,” for every dollar increase in tuition, and for every department that will have to make more hard choices about staffing and services, workers and students alike will suffer—and as a result, so will the state.
The business leaders, innovators, artists, philanthropists, researchers and minds that will shape the future are here now. What will we be able to offer them to nurture their dreams and abilities? What will we offer future generations?
Education is not an unnecessary state expense, but a vital public service. It’s worth fighting for.
