BULLETIN: Important developments in wake of Rally to Save UW Laundry
As you recall, the University of Washington has announced the proposed closure and contracting out of the UW Consolidated Laundry – and displacement of 120 workers. These workers rallied on the main UW campus Wednesday (March 28) as they take their fight to the community, campus and corridors of power.
Here’s a great mainstream media news story on the rally from the Seattle Weekly:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/workers-protest-uw-laundry-closure/
But on Thursday, less than 24 hours after WFSE/AFSCME Council 28’s Laundry Worker Solidarity rally and right before this weekend’s Easter and Passover holidays, UW Medicine issued 60-day layoff notices to 15 unionized employees at the Consolidated Laundry.
WFSE continues fighting these proposed layoffs, as well as searching for all available ways to prevent a reduction in force at the Consolidated Laundry.
WFSE believes the Consolidated Laundry’s workers provide a vital public service that enables UW Medicine to keep Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital, UW Medical Center and the UW Neighborhood Clinics open and operational.
In response to WFSE's request that University President Ana Mari Cauce meet with UW Medicine Laundry Workers on site at the Consolidated Laundry, Margaret Shepherd, the president's chief strategy officer, emailed the union that President Cauce “would like to meet with them, and she endeavors to do so at the laundry facility.”
The Laundry Workers will be continuing their efforts to engage with the UW Administration, community members and elected officials to keep the Consolidated Laundry open and to oppose the proposed layoffs.
