U of Wash custodians lead the fight

[Hannah Bell]

By Steve Leigh | June 1, 2009

SEATTLE--Hundreds of workers and students confronted the University of Washington (UW) Board of Regents May 28 over the administration's plan to impose budget cuts.

The proposed budget would void a pay raise scheduled for July 1 for thousands of employees, lay off several 100 workers, force custodians to work different shifts, shut down writing centers, close branch libraries and cut hours in the main libraries while stopping subscriptions to 2,000 journals, raise undergraduate resident tuition by 14 percent for the next two years, increase class sizes and cut enrollment and cut half the funding of the nationally renowned Women's Center.

The UW administration is proposing to do all this while leaving its $1.7 billion endowment virtually untouched and preserving the salaries of top administrators who make hundreds of thousands a year. The president alone makes nearly $1 million annually.

The day started with 150 custodians and supporters rallying and marching on management offices...The custodians marched back to the UW campus and rallied with other workers and students before marching into the Board of Regents' public hearing. This hearing was almost unprecedented in UW history. Well over 200 people--mostly campus workers and students told the regents that they opposed the administration's proposed budget cuts...

http://socialistworker.org/2009/06/01/uw-custodians-lead-the-fight

[hfojvt]

1. let's hope they have an impact

that plan sounds harsh. Nice to see my fellow janitors on the front lines.