UW-Madison custodians received notice Monday that they can revert back to an old third shift starting time of 5 p.m., effective Nov. 23.
In early October, custodians picketed in protest against a 6 p.m. starting time implemented in August - a change they said would cause driving hazards and sleep deprivation because it pushed the end of their shift back an hour.
Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor, said university officials met with members of the third shift staff to listen to their concerns.
Their feedback led us to believe that the disruption to their personal lives outweighed any benefits we were receiving with a later starting time,"" Fish said in a statement.
In its original decision to push back the shift's start time, the university claimed most students and faculty are not cleared out of classrooms and buildings by 5 p.m. and are an obstacle for janitors to clean around.
Although the university and custodians have struggled in the past, Fish said he is looking forward to creating more efficient relationships to improve facility management around campus.
""We'd like this to be the beginning of a productive dialogue with our staff on how we can all be more efficient in caring for all of our facilities,"" Fish said. ""We value their experience and opinions and will create avenues for them to share their ideas.""'""
As a result of past budgetary restrictions that reduced the number of campus custodians, the university aims to be more productive in all three shifts.
