Pickerington Public Library (OH) library employees seek to be represented by the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

 Pickerington Public Library  (Pickerington, OH)  library board will have 21 days to decide whether to recognize the union or to force an election through SERB.

Library employees on 8/10/ 2023 asked their library board and director to voluntarily recognize their union efforts. Copies of signed union cards from more than 70% of the library's staff were delivered to management, while the originals were filed with the State Employee Relations Board (SERB) to request voluntary recognition of the union.

Employees advocating for the union say they want to ensure that they have a "strong and supportive work environment that will make (the library) a place that everyone wants to work for,” Grace Walker, a youth services librarian, said in a prepared statement.

“We’re asking our library’s administration to respect the decision we collectively made and recognize our union,” Walker said.

In addition to the public libraries in Worthington & Grandview Heights, staff at five other Ohio organizations and schools also recently formed unions in affiliation with the OFT: Equitas Health; the School of Bright Promise, a school for pre-K to adult students with developmental disabilities in Steubenville; Summit Academy in Lorain; Menlo Park Academy in Cleveland, and KIPP Columbus.

On Aug. 30, the OFT will host a webinar, “Defending Intellectual Freedom: Library Workers on the Front Line,” with American Library Association president Emily Drabinski. The webinar will address organizing workers and protecting libraries and their profession.