Hillsboro, OR Library Workers Want a Union

 Library workers in Hillsboro, OR reported to the City Council on April 20th that a majority of employees had signed union authorization cards to form a union and organize with AFSCME Council 75, the Hillsboro News Times reports.

Employees are hopeful that the city with voluntarily recognize their union and point to the city's stated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as a reason to allow library staff to have a voice in their work place. It is unclear if the city will voluntarily recognize the union, however.

Sun: Maryland State Lawmakers advance bill allowing library workers to unionize

 The Baltimore Sun reports that Baltimore Senators have voted to advance a bill to the full Maryland State Senate that would allow 600 county library employees to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

Concordia University Library employees vote in favor of strike mandate

Montreal, QC - Members of the Concordia University Library Employees Union (CSN)(CULEU), represented by the Fédération des employées et employés de services publics (FEESP-CSN), voted November 29th in favor of a strike mandate after 18 months of negotiations. CULEU's President has stated that Concordia's "insistence on severely restricting advancement possibilities for new employees" has been a sticking point since the beginning of the year. This has compounded frustrations as the university is refusing to even discuss another topic until this issue is settled.

The 17th bargaining session was scheduled to begin today, Dec. 6th, and will be attended by a conciliator from the Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (MTESS). The union is hopeful that the conciliator's presence will move talks forward.

Along with the mandate, CULEU has also set up a strike fund to support workers should a work stoppage be called.