University restores second-shift starting time for custodians

Recognizing the personal needs of its second-shift custodians and inviting them to share their ideas for how the university can more efficiently care for its buildings, campus officials today (Oct. 20) restored the starting times for about 145 workers to 5 p.m.

The university implemented a 6 p.m. starting time for second-shift custodians in late August, a move that was criticized by some custodians and their union.

“We met with a number our front-line staff and listened to their concerns,” says Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor for facilities. “Their feedback led us to believe that the disruption to their personal lives outweighed any benefits we were receiving with a later starting time.”

At the same time, officials are seeking workers’ ideas on how the university can continue providing top-quality service in its buildings with scarce resources.

“We’d like this to be the beginning of a productive dialogue with our staff on how we can all be more efficient in caring for all of our facilities,” Fish says. “We value their experience and opinions and will create avenues for them to share their ideas.”

That dialogue is important, Fish says, because budgetary pressures have forced the university to reduce the number of custodians campuswide in recent years, as the campus has grown in size.

“We’re all committed to finding better ways to do more with less,” he says. “We plan to work with our supervisors and staff to generate ideas to be more productive in all three shifts.”

The new starting time for second-shift custodians will return to 5 p.m. effective on Nov. 23. Custodians in two campus buildings — Grainger Hall and the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research — will remain at 6 p.m., because custodians in those buildings were hired with the expectation of a 6 p.m. start.