Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Collective Bargaining, Labor Relations, and Labor Unions Guide

Maintained by the Industrial and Labor Relations Research Team, this guide compiles publicly available resources essential for understanding and participating in the collective bargaining process. It includes collective bargaining agreement databases from the public and private sectors of the United States and other countries, in addition to statistical resources on labor unions, compensation, and benefits. The guide also gives suggestions for background research resources and current periodicals on labor relations, and has a comprehensive listing of labor-related government agencies, labor unions, and labor policy organizations.

Published by Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University Library. Access for free here

Smith College Library Workers Announce Unionization with OPEIU!

 Staff cite inadequate compensation, insufficient training, unclear decision making processes, not enough full-time exempt positions, lack of worker agency, job creep, and limited growth opportunities  as issues that surresed their organization efforts. Read more for OPEIU here. 

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Baltimore County Library Workers Fight to Expand Collective Bargaining Rights

IAM Maryland public library workers recently joined a coalition led by the Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO affiliates/labor unions, state legislators, and workers statewide. The coalition is rallying behind a trio of bills designed to expand collective bargaining rights for workers that could reshape the landscape of collective bargaining in Maryland:

  • HB 609/SB 591(Library Workers Empowerment Act) would allow employees of Maryland’s public libraries to form and join unions and participate in collective bargaining.
  • HB 260/SB 192(State Personnel – Collective Bargaining – Supervisory Employees) would allow over 4,000 supervisors employed by the State to collectively bargain.
  • HB 493/SB #TBD(State Personnel – Collective Bargaining – Faculty, Part-Time Faculty, Postdoctoral Associates, and Graduate Assistants) would grant collective bargaining rights to faculty, part-time faculty, and graduate assistants at institutions within the University System of Maryland, Morgan State University, and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Read more from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers here

Friday, January 26, 2024

Upper Arlington Public Library Votes to Become Unionized

 More than two-thirds of library workers at the Upper Arlington Public Library have signed union cards, the first step toward formal organization with the Ohio Federation of Teachers union. Read more from the Columbus Dispatch here. 

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Cal State System Strike Begins and Ends in 1 day

Another massive higher education strike began Monday, with workers across the 23-campus California State University system walking off the job in pursuit of better pay, more mental health counselors for students, semester-long paid parental leave and other concessions. Read more from Inside Higher Ed here 

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Florida's Biggest Teachers Union, Which Includes School Library Staff, in Danger of Losing Contract

 After failing to get enough paying members, Florida's biggest teacher's union may lose it's contract read more from WLRN here.

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Victory! Daniel Boone Regional Library board approves union contract without exception

 

The Daniel Boone Regional Library Board of Trustees approved its original labor agreement for its union employees over video conference Tuesday during a closed session meeting. Read more from KOMU here.