Fight against night shift continues at UF

Fight against night shift continues at UF
May/June 2000

Custodial workers at the University of Florida are still seeking a meeting with interim President Charles Young to ask him to reverse the decision to put 80% of the custodial staff on the 11p.m.-7a.m. graveyard shift. Young has been receiving calls for the last two weeks asking him to scrap the plan. Please call his office at 392-1311 or email him at ceyoung@ufl.edu

Eric Piotrowski just got his Masters Degree in education. "When I walked across the stage to get my Masters, I handed a card to Dr. Young. As he felt the card in my hand as he shook it, Dr. Young asked "What's this?" "Please stop the night shift for the custodians," I said. He rolled his eyes. "Oh," he replied with a tired sigh. The card said: "Dr. Young, I strongly urge you to abandon the current plan to move 80% of Building Services staff to the graveyard shift (11 pm - 7 am) in the name of 'transparency.' As you know, this change will disrupt child care and transportation arrangements, jeopardize second jobs which many custodial workers are forced to take, and put strain on marriages and families. Furthermore, the Center for Disease Control reccommends against permanent night shifts,citing serious threats to physical and psychological health... We students do not wish to see UF custodial workers become 'transparent.' We appreciate the hard work they do, and we support their efforts to work with dignity and under terms that are best for their health and well-being." More information can be found at www.afn.org/~share/afscme3340.htm