Latinos face discrimination

In 2001, the EEOC found UW-Madison guilty of discrimination when they fired 26 Latino Custodians for non matching Social Security numbers. University administrators checked Social Security numbers, but only for Latinos hired in FP+M within the previous year.

As a result of pressure from supporters of immigrant rights, the university agreed not conduct any such searches in the future and to pay a small cash settlement, $25,000 to the eight workers who actually filed the complaint. They donated one third of the money they received to the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice to found a Workers' Rights Center, that continues to provide assistance to low wage non-union workers.

Latino workers continue to suffer discrimination at the UW. The picture above was taken at the Local 171 picnic in 2006. Rick Bundy, the person in the picture, wore a shirt with an anti-immigrant slogan and then picked a fight with some immigrant workers who wee there with their families. At the time, Bundy was represented by Local 171. Since then, he has been hired as a supervisor, despite his known hatred of Latino immigrants.