President Michael Young Hears our Message about Suspended Custodian

We took our protest to UW President Michael Young today, delivering the letter below at his campus wide open discussion about staff issues on campus.
He responded to questioning by saying that, most definitely "when someone is placed on paid administrative leave they should be told immediately of any charges against them and should be given a time line for any adjudication process". He said there was no exception to this policy for the custodial department. After the President's talk the head of Human Resources, Mindy Kornberg told us in the lobby that the employee in question would be sent a letter tomorrow explaining why he has been placed on Admin Leave. She said that it was "outrageous" he had not been told.

Open Letter to President Young Regarding a Suspended Employee:
Dear President Michael Young,
A member of our union, Washington Federation of State Employees, Local 1488, has been placed on paid administrative leave by Building Services Director Gene Woodard, for the past 10 weeks (since the day before Thanksgiving). Despite repeated inquiries, we have not received an explanation as to the reason behind this suspension.
The only indication we have is that the member has been questioned about the distribution of his personal newsletter, which he has distributed within the department (on his own time) for 6 years. To our knowledge, there are no charges against him. We have not been told if there is an investigation ongoing; and if there is, what it is about. In the meantime, yet another vacancy has been created within the ranks of Custodial Services where members are already seriously overworked. How long will this continue?
President Young, please do what you can to resolve this issue.
Sincerely,
Paula Lukaszek,
President Local 1488

Real Huskies love Custodians

Why not print this for your office door?

Legionella at UW prompts state investigation. -KOMO News

Legionella at UW prompts state investigation
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Legionella-at-UW-prompts-state-investigation-290298471.html?mobile=y&clmob=y&c=n

THE DAILY: UW custodians call for improved working conditions -UW Daily

UW custodians call for improved working conditions UW Daily

January 27, 2015  by Danielle Palmer-Friedman

"Parolin said USAS uses the term “sweatshop” as a broad term for any workplace that mistreats its employees.
'We think that this issue with our custodial staff definitely qualifies as a sweatshop issue,' she said during an interview Monday. In order to uphold the great name and reputation of the UW, she said, we need to treat our staff correctly".

UW Custodians Rally to Fill Department Vacancies

Campus Groups and Local Unions support Custodians

UW Custodian's Make Demands

Rally In Solidarity with UW Custodians

UW custodians to rally against alleged abuse -International Examiner

UW custodians to rally against alleged abuse
http://www.iexaminer.org/2015/01/uw-custodians-to-rally-against-alleged-abuse/

Why Does the UW Not Maintain It's Buildings?

Why would the University of Washington spend hundreds of millions of dollars building new buildings and renovating old ones only to skimp on keeping them clean and well maintained. The answer can be found in this instructive quote by Noam Chomsky: "That's the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don't work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital.

A KUOW article from May, 2014 about Fred Meyer's janitorial service gives a good idea of what a contracted out UW Custodial Department would look like:
"Since 2004, Fred Meyer's janitors have signed their names to documents stating that they're independent contractors. They're not paid hourly. A local janitorial services company pays them a lump sum of around $1,000 every two weeks to work seven nights a week, 364 days a year. Were those janitors actual employees instead of contractors, fair labor laws would entitle them to a minimum wage and overtime pay. They are currently not paid overtime".

UW Custodial Services has been threatening to contract out for decades, but has not managed to generate the political momentum to pull it off. The plan would be for the departmental managers to continue working for the UW, with only the custodians -- who do the actual work -- being contracted out, and their wages and benefits consequently slashed.

Because of periodic outbursts of resistance from within the custodial ranks, UW management has been forced to take a gradual approach.  Upswings in activism, characterized by things like Red Square rallies and marches on the Board of Regents, have repeatedly gained traction and support from the larger UW community and beyond. A quick Google search will show the evidence. The end goal of privatization remains an elusive goal for  UW management.  But intensification and speed up of the UW's largely immigrant and refugee workforce has been achieved. This has been accomplished through threats, bullying and a continual shell game of rearranging tasks, custodial runs and work areas.

The desire to overcome worker resistance explains Custodial Services / Building Services hard core weeding out program. Management feels that every time they fire or drive out another outspoken member or "rogue-shop-steward" the workers who are left will be that much easier to push around and exploit. It hasn't always work out perfectly for them. The reputation of Custodial Services has suffered repeated damage over the years. Occasionally they back off, but the provocation, pushing, bullying an bluffing always comes back in the next wave of aggressive discipline.