Faculty at a Madison area college ratified contract amendments cutting pay increases to prevent layoffs despite concerns on how the new contracts could negatively affect students.

Madison Area Technical College’s Board of Education voted Thursday to allow the ratifications that establish pay freezes or cut pay raises and increase employee pension contributions for both part-time and full-time employees.

Last Monday, MATC’s Part-Time Union voted to ratify the extension to a contract that would freeze pay at the 2008-09 levels for the next three years and require employees to contribute 5.8 percent of their take-home pay to their pensions.

MATC Part-Time Union spokesperson Catherine Frederick said the changes to the contract were necessary after Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill proposal was passed.

“The governor’s anti-union bill gave [MATC president] Bettsey Barhorst and the MATC Board an excuse to remove all financial provisions from the part-time contract, no raises whatsoever,” Frederick said. “Part-time employees are overwhelmingly depressed and feel totally disrespected. There is no support for the governor, Bettsey Barhorst or the MATC Board.”

Similarly, MATC full-time faculty and staff unions voted Wednesday evening to ratify amendments to their own contracts that would eliminate pay increases for the next three years, lift class size limitations and call for a 5.8 percent pension contribution. The vote passed with nearly unanimous approval of 283 in favor with eight votes against the measure.

Walker’s bill would reduce funding for MATC by an estimated $10.3 million, and the amendments made to both the part-time and full-time employee contracts are expected to save about $5 million per year – a contribution employees hope will enable the school to avoid massive layoffs.

MATC Part-Time Union President Mike Kent said the results of the part-time vote were in favor of ratification 30 to 5.

MATC Vice President for Learner Success Terry Webb said both unions have been extremely cooperative despite the “unfortunate changes.”

“The large drawbacks remain to be seen,” Webb said. “There are going to be big changes to our employees’ contributions to their pensions and to their workload here.”

Webb said the faculty’s main concern is the impact these changes will have on students. He said by modifying traditional class limits, the school runs the risk of trying to serve too many students in one class. He said employees are strategizing to ensure every student remains well-served.