SOLIDARITY IS FOR LIBRARIANS: LESSONS FROM ORGANIZING

 

SOLIDARITY IS FOR LIBRARIANS: LESSONS FROM ORGANIZING

By Diana Castillo and Kelly McElroy

While unions have long existed for library workers in public, academic, and school workplaces, this is an unusual moment after decades of stagnant union membership. Several significant campaigns representing library workers occurred in 2021, including several that came out of shifts in institutional policy or state law making it easier to organize. Whether or not these positive trends continue, 2022 offers an opportunity to reflect on organized labor in libraries. .....

For librarians who already work in unionized positions, we hope this recent push towards unionization with new bargaining units may lead to a reevaluation of how their existing unions may or may not serve their current needs. As workers, we are the union, and democratic unions reflect the needs and vision of their members. We believe that there is room for both new and older unions to learn from each other, both in what has traditionally worked and what union norms should be challenged and changed. In this uncertain time, for both post-secondary education workers and librarians, working together is the best guarantee for continued success and ensuring that the field is a better place for those who come after us.

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