Upon arriving to work on the 4th of July weekend, Reggie Counce received a shock when his supervisor told him to go home without warning or explanation. Counce had been a loyal employee of the UW-Madison for the past seven years, including five as a limited-term employee.
Having received surgery on both hands due to work-related injuries, Counce worked as a late-night custodian for Memorial Union with a few minor lifting restrictions. University officials later told Counce that UW-Madison would no longer accommodate his work restrictions.
When labor union stewards demanded to know why Counce was terminated, they were stonewalled at every turn. University officials even had the audacity to deny that he was ever fired. Frustrated and angry, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing UW-Madison of committing a discriminatory act based on physical disability and racial identification.
Counce faced mounting bills and no source of income, so Memorial Union members and students started to organize a massive pressure campaign threatening to expose UW-Madison for its unjust labor practices. As a testament to the collective power held by the community, Counce received a letter from the Chancellor's Office the very next day.
UW-Madison administrators finally put in writing that Counce was actually on medical leave, and that he could immediately return to work with relaxed weight-lifting restrictions. Not surprisingly, there was no mention of back pay for the weeks Counce was on medical leave, nor did he receive an apology or, at the very least, an adequate explanation for his ordeal.
Workers face discrimination all too often at this university and all we have heard is silence from Chancellor John Wiley concerning this troubling new trend. Last semester dozens of unionized Latino custodians were singled out and fired in a racial profiling move by UW-Madison. Through targeting Latino-sounding surnames, workers were sent termination letters based on alleged invalid Social Security numbers.
In Counce's case the administration's unscrupulous actions speak volumes to the larger issue of how UW-Madison deals with the public that they have been hired to serve. Wiley should make a public apology to Counce, compensate him for the weeks he was not allowed to work and send a letter to all UW-Madison supervisors stating that workplace discrimination at the UW will not be tolerated.
