Jefferson County Public Library workers made Colorado history last week by becoming the first group to organize a union under the state’s new collective bargaining law for county employees. The workers voted to form a union with AFSCME Council 18. The 350 library workers won their union election on March 7 with 81% voting yes. Workers are seeking to address low wages and workplace safety. Read more from AFL-CIO here
Union Library Workers
News About Union Activity in Libraries, Archives, and the Information Sector.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
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!
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.
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.