Kalamazoo Public Library aides, custodians unionize and demand higher wages, equitable treatment

KALAMAZOO, MI — On the heels of being furloughed in November 2020, part-time library and custodians employed by the Kalamazoo Public Library district began to unionize.

Among the reasons that inspired the unionization included watching salaried employees do their jobs when the library went curbside a second time, as they sat on the sidelines unpaid for over three months, as well as fighting for higher pay and equitable treatment of all employees.

“I think most people have no idea that this is what we’re getting paid and they think we are being taken care of and really, we are not,” said 22-year-old Mazalyn Raaymakers, president of the Union of KPL Aides and Hourly Custodians. “We believe that we need to have a voice in our workplace and so we have organized in order to have that voice.

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