As students file out of the Physics-Astronomy Building at 4:30 p.m. after their last class of the day, the place starts to look and sound empty.

But even though notebooks and laptops are closed for the day, James Stephen Wilson is just beginning his work, rummaging through the custodians’ closet for his cleaning cart.

Dressed in a long blue wool coat with a red-and-white knit scarf tucked into his belt — an outfit easily mistaken for a vintage war uniform — the building’s last remaining swing-shift custodian’s evening ends at 1 a.m.

“I’ve been working here since Dec. 23, 1985, so I’m very familiar with the history of the various departments here,” Wilson said.

A simple 15-minute walk with Wilson shows how much attention he pays during his work. He has a story for every room, and seems to understand all of the things that the students work on in each one. He claims that no one has taught him all of the information he knows; he has just gathered it throughout decades of cleaning the same places.

Prior to the Physics-Astronomy Building, Wilson was assigned to Henderson Hall and Condon Hall. His area now consists of the entire basement of the building, and he takes strong pride in the quality and importance of his work and the calculated way he plans out the night.

“I start in the basement in my closet and make sure that I have all of my equipment to do the bathrooms later in the night, because traffic is slower at that time,” he begins, describing his plan like a general marking his territory, complementing his work attire. “I am very detailed and meticulous; I am not a person that moves fast through their area.”

Wilson’s first job is taking garbage out of the labs. He says he has them on rotation so that he can keep track of which labs can actually have the garbage taken out of them; some of the rooms, due to sensitive research, cannot be disturbed. Similarly, the machine shop, which houses much of the building’s expensive equipment, is where Wilson says he does the majority of his work, as he has to pay close attention.

One of Wilson’s last jobs of the evening is locking the doors; he was adamant in explaining that he is the one maintaining the safety of the building throughout the night so the students’ workplace isn’t disturbed. He says he is now one of the two to three people who are putting the university to bed at night, and there are about seven periods throughout the night that he locks doors.

Since March 25 of last spring, Wilson has been working his shifts alone. As custodial management attempted to counter budget cuts, most former swing-shift custodians were transferred to the day shift instead, creating more workspace for the same allotted time for many custodians.

“The shift change was very acrimonious and damaging to the department and the clients,” Wilson said. “I used to work in part of the A building (Physics-Astronomy Auditorium); it was divided between me and another custodian, with whom I collaborated quite deeply with for years. That now is a day-shifted area, and I believe one person is responsible for all of the lecture halls, classrooms, planetarium and stairwells.”

Salvador Castillo, the custodian whom Wilson used to partner with, is now working the day shift from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The two are good friends, and both are very dissatisfied with the shift changes — not just for themselves, but also for their coworkers.

“[The custodial team] always would get along with one another,” Castillo said. “We were a really nice team; we respected each other, took breaks together, and talked about a lot of things. We were always together, and now many of us work alone.”

Jason Alferness, building coordinator of the Physics-Astronomy Building Complex, has also had to deal with changes during the custodial management’s shift alterations. However, he is quick to note that there are also possible benefits, along with consequences, to the new system.

“[The shift change] undoubtedly has caused some serious difficulties for some of [the custodians] because they have worked this second shift for many years,” Alferness said in an e-mail. “[But, now] it is easier to contact individual custodians for needs during day hours … [and as] many people have concerns about H1N1 and public health, I consider high-quality cleaning and sanitizing very important.”

In light of these changes, Wilson remains thankful to have kept his shift.

“The night shift is when I work best, not under the foot of students,” Wilson said. “My job is important to ensure the safe and effective accomplishment of scientific discoveries, and to do that well, I need to be left alone.”

Castillo is also quick to praise his friend and coworker.

“He’s a real good worker, and he knows what he’s talking about,” he said. “He’s nice, peaceful and helpful, and he likes to do his work by himself.”

When asked why he continues to work as a custodian even with all of the new challenges, Wilson said: “It’s to maintain a livelihood. We all have expenses: I am an artist and a craftsman; I am a musician; I am a thinker; I am a reader. Janitors are people, and people have interests and aspirations. I could not make a living doing what I preferred, but I have expenses like everybody else does. I do this so I can have the living I choose to have.”

Reach Copy Chief Parisa Sadrzadeh at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.