MADISON, Wis. -- University of Wisconsin-Madison SAFEwalkers are walking off the job with many citing bad management as their main concern.

"For the past nine months, they haven't listened to our concerns," says Dana DeMet, a UW-Madison senior and former SAFEwalk employee.

DeMet said management has cut positions even though requests for Safewalks have increased, especially in light of the recent slaying of UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann last month.

"On an average night, we used to see seven or eight calls. But in the past month, we're seeing double that," DeMet said.

Last year, five SAFEwalk patrols, consisting of two students each, patrolled campus every night. Recently, that number has been reduced to three or four.

With workers quitting in protest, there will only be two patrols each night, starting May 1 and continuing through the end of the school year.

DeMet said he and his fellow former workers understand their protest might be inconveniencing those looking to get a SAFEwalk, but he said the high demand might be enough for UW-Madison students and staff to finally take notice.

"By doing this, it's a move we can make that is going to force some action," DeMet said. "If we were to stay on until the end of the semester, we would not have any time to bring it to the students and make it an issue."

Lisa Fike, the director of SAFEwalk, didn't return WISC-TV's calls seeking comment.