Bring Back Salvador Castillo!

Interim President Ana Mari Cauce, Salvador Castillo has been a hard-working UW employee for over 20 years. During that time, he has tirelessly advocated for his mostly immigrant coworkers, fighting the daily harassment, incredible overwork, and bullying that UW custodians are subjected to. Salvador has also worked with many student and community groups, always with the same objective: to level the playing field for all and bring fairness and social justice to the UW. The UW’s response? On May 26th, the UW fired Salvador. He was targeted for his vocal support of his coworkers, but the excuses were a long list of petty offenses, including:

·      Blowing too many leaves away from building entrances.

·      An orange (outside contractor's) bucket found near his cleaning supplies.

·      Suspected excessive unwrapping of toilet paper.

There were also times where Salvador’s work was subjected to surprise inspection and found wanting—but in Building Services, where custodians clean over 10,000,000 square feet daily, as well as cover for absent coworkers 2-3 times a week, NOBODY CAN  FINISH THE WORK. With an impossible workload, anyone who speaks up can be disciplined out of their job for imperfections, just like Salvador. This attempt to silence Salvador must fail. Salvador must be reinstated with full back pay and benefits.