AMERICA, USA, MATC defends new contract for faculty

Collective bargaining has long been recognized as an important principle and value at Milwaukee Area Technical College, MATC President Michael Burke said in a prepared statement a day after the school's board of directors approved a new contract for its unionized faculty.

"Working respectfully and collaboratively with Local 212 on these issues has resulted in significant and unprecedented savings for the college," Burke said in the statement released Wednesday night.

Critics alleged MATC's negotiations with one of its employee unions violated the state's collective bargaining law, Act 10, although the law is in legal limbo.

The new one-year contract approved this week for MATC faculty, counselors and professional staff is expected to save the college $14.3 million in the short-term.

And by eliminating early retirement health benefits for those hired after next February, the contract also is expected to save the college an additional $108 million over 25 years.

But the contract was negotiated under unusual circumstances. Act 10, which restricts bargaining to cost-of-living wage increases for most public employees, is under appeal in state and federal courts. The new contract also was approved a whole year before the existing three-year contract expires.

"We studied the issue, consulted with outside counsel and determined that, due to the pending legal issues surrounding Act 10, it was permissible to negotiate with our represented employees," MATC Vice President and General Counsel Janice Falkenberg said in a prepared statement.

Burke said "looming budgetary constraints and a challenging economic situation threatened the college's long-term financial viability."

So the MATC board directed the administration to enter negotiations with represented employees "in order to achieve the needed financial savings without jeopardizing high-quality education programs to our students and the community," he said.

Burke said the agreement reached with Local 212 generates permanent long-term savings, including a reduction in overload pay, and part-time and online instructor salaries.

In addition, he said, the contract captures Wisconsin Retirement System and health care contributions required by Act 10.

Some questioned the contract's legality, including Rick Esenberg, president of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a conservative public interest law firm.

"There is no 'window' for local governments to ignore Act 10,' " Esenberg said Wednesday. "Unions and government entities that negotiated contracts with terms that violate Act 10 run the risk of having those contracts declared unlawful."

But Kevin Mulvenna, executive vice president for the union representing MATC faculty, counselors and professional staff, responded in a statement Thursday that the technical college "has the best legal advice money can buy."

MATC's outside counsel is Michael Best and Friedrich, the law firm that helped draft Act 10 and has defended it in court, Mulvenna said.

"The firm advised the college that in light of the Colas decision ruling the Act unconstitutional, negotiations were legal," he said. "MATC also retained independent counsel from Davis and Kuelthau who confirmed the same decision."