Honnold Mudd Library (Claremont Colleges) staff voting on unionization

The Claremont Colleges Services Library Staff Federation is a proposed union of library workers at The Claremont Colleges Library seeking recognition by The Claremont Colleges Services Inc. (TCCS) for the purposes of collective bargaining and contract negotiation.

Staff at the 7Cs’ Honnold Mudd Library are deciding by secret ballot whether to form a union after 70 percent of approximately 39 eligible employees expressed interest. The California Federation of Teachers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board filed a petition to represent the staff, according to a Feb. 9 statement from The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS). Ballots were mailed to employees in the collective-bargaining unit on Monday and must be returned by March 21. TCCS Library Staff Federation said its reasons for seeking a union are common to other employers: fair pay, transparent human resources practices and the ability to influence workplace conditions. “Our key concerns center on our rights in an educational environment where issues of academic freedom and equitable employment can typically be complex — even more complex in an arrangement such as the Claremont consortium of colleges,” the union said on its website.