Post: D.C. Public Library Workers raising concerns about coronavirus safety

Towards the end of last week, the Washington Post reported that, despite the assurances of the library system head, library workers in the Washington D.C. public library system are raising what they say are serious concerns with safety around the spread of the coronavirus.

Employees in the system, which opened much more aggressively and earlier than many other public libraries across the country, say that the libraries are keeping them in the dark about potential cases and exposures, have failed to implement sufficient cleaning protocols, and are struggling with mask requirements. While many neighboring systems are limited to curbside access only, D.C. has opened up the inside of 14 locations across the city.

San Diego County Workers Approve New Contract

A strike was avoided when a tentative agreement was reached between Service Employees International Union Local 221 and county officials.  Union members, including librarians, voted to approve the contract.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/us-politics/sd-me-union-votes-20170914-story.html

Michigan Librarian Describes Union Busting

Westland, Mich. — Workers World newspaper recently interviewed one of the public employee librarians who won a fight for union representation in Westland, Mich., a suburb of beleaguered Detroit...

article by Randi Nord

http://www.workers.org/2017/07/17/michigan-librarians-win-struggle-vs-union-busting/#.WYZSpTbeKRs

Libraries impacted by pending strike in Sunnyvale CA

Members of the Sunnyvale Employees Association, which includes public library workers, who have not received a raise in five years, prepare to strike on May 1st.  The Sunnyvale Public Library posted an announcement on its website informing library users that hours will be curtailed.  City managers have filed an injunction against the union.

http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Departments/SunnyvalePublicLibrary.aspx

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/29/sunnyvale-city-employees-to-strike-monday-citing-5-years-without-pay-raise/

Not just books and maker spaces, library provides meeting space for local unions' contract negotiations

The Boston Globe reports on the variety of activities happening in public libraries in and around Boston.  About the Brockton Public Library, the article says,  "A recent weekly calendar showed rooms booked by local union branches for daylong contract negotiations and meetings by groups such as the NAACP."

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/south/2017/04/21/local-libraries-are-now-gathering-places-and-not-just-for-books/8axsjqCyJHyn4g7R0Ezf9N/story.html

Sandwich Public Library Reopens on Sundays Following Long Unionization Process

Following a unionization effort begun in 2010, Sunday openings have finally returned to the Sandwich [MA] Public Library -- the last remaining sticking point in contract negotiations for the Sandwich Public Library Staff Association, a member of Local 4928 Massachusetts Library Staff Association, American Federation of Teachers.

http://www.capenews.net/sandwich/opinion/a-smooth-road-to-unionization-for-library-workers/article_020e711d-c7e9-5204-8cfa-2698b4ee49e9.html

10-year Contract Delayed in Decatur by City Council

In February, the board of Decatur Public Library approved a 10-year contract reached with its AFSCME local, but final approval has been delayed by City Council members who question the unusual length of the agreement.

http://herald-review.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-council-delays-library-employee-contract-decision/article_51ce4d58-6de5-57ce-85f7-34e539801761.html

How Much Are Toronto’s Librarians Worth?

Union president Maureen O'Reilly says the time has come for the city to treat its library workers properly.

by Tannara Yelland  

http://torontoist.com/2016/03/library-workers-union-calls-out-precarious-work-austerity-budgets/

Tentative Agreement Reached for Mississauga Library Workers

A tentative agreement has been reached between CUPE Local 1989, the union representing library workers in Mississauga, and the city. Details of the agreement won't be available until it is ratified. The workers have been on strike since July 4.

CUPE Shows Support for Striking Library Workers in Ontario

Striking library workers in Ontario received support from the provincial and national levels of the Canadian Union of Public Employees this week. CUPE officials attended a rally in support of workers at the Essex County Library system, who are members of CUPE Local 2974, as well as a solidarity barbecue for workers at Mississauga Library System, members of CUPE Local 1989. The president of CUPE Local 1989 said: 

"Knowing we have such tremendous support from our community allies and from CUPE Ontario and CUPE National is nothing short of amazing for us."

Essex library workers have been on strike since June 25. Workers from Mississauga began striking on July 4.

Plymouth Library Workers Protest Glass Ceiling

Library workers at Plymouth Public Library have been handing out pamphlets and wearing buttons that read "End the Glass Ceiling: Library Staff are Town Employees Too". The pamphlets additionally state the following:

“As a predominantly female group, we believe we are being discriminated against on the basis of gender through the town’s refusal to provide wages and benefits that are provided by it to predominantly male and mixed gender employee groups.”

The union has pointed out that positions at the library that require a university education pay less than positions elsewhere with the city that require a high school diploma only. Contract negotiations between the union and city administration are ongoing.

Greenwich Library Workers Stage 48-Hour Strike

The planned cancellation of a mobile book service has prompted Greenwich library workers to strike for 48 hours this week. Over the last year, the mobile book service delivered 33,000 books to area children at schools and child-care centers. A Unite official said:

Literacy is a fundamental human right and anything that erodes that life chance should be strongly opposed. Good reading skills are the key to decent employment in adulthood – so the blinkered actions of the council need to be condemned.

Mississauga Library Workers on Strike

Library workers in Mississauga, ON are on strike, closing all 18 library branches. The workers are represented by CUPE Local 1989.

Strike Vote in Mississauga

Library workers in Mississauga have voted in favor of strike action and may be on the picket lines July 4. The workers, members of CUPE Local 1989, have cited low wages and the precarious nature of many library positions as issues needing to be addressed in the collective agreement currently under negotiation.

Essex County Library Workers on Strike

Workers at Essex County Library in Ontario have been on strike since Saturday, June 25. At issue for the workers are proposed changes to policies related to short-term disability and sick leave. The library system has 14 library branches and 58 workers who are represented by CUPE Local 2974. According to the union unit chair:

"Management and the county created a phantom issue to push workers out on the picket line – sick time is not a problem at our workplace and the employer and the county know this and have acknowledged it."

New Contract for Sudbury Library Workers

Library workers in Sudbury, Ontario are among the city's inside and outside workers who have ratified a new three-year contract after bringing in a provincial conciliator. The workers are represented by CUPE Local 4705.

Plans to Close 54 Newfoundland Libraries Suspended

Dale Kirby, education minister of Newfoundland and Labrador, has announced that the planned closure of 54 library branches in that province has been suspended until an external review is completed. According to Kirby, public concern over the plans to close rural library branches and lay off library employees has prompted the suspension. CUPE Local 2329, the union representing Newfoundland's public library workers, has held information pickets, ran TV ads, and encouraged members of the community to make their opposition to the planned closures heard.

Information Pickets at Newfoundland Libraries

Library workers in Newfoundland held information pickets across the province yesterday in order to make their communities aware of upcoming planned location closures. Fifty-four libraries in Newfoundland are set to close over the next two years, resulting in the loss of sixty jobs. The library workers are represented by CUPE Local 2329.

Barnet Library Workers Strike in Protest of Plans for Unstaffed Libraries

Barnet Council library workers are on strike once again in continued protest of planned changes to library services and staff hours. The council is facing serious budget cuts, and in response has plans to keep libraries open to the public without library staff present. They hope to accomplish this by staffing the libraries with volunteers and installing self-service equipment as well as security cameras. Children under the age of 15 years will be unable to make use of these unstaffed locations unless accompanied by an adult. Barnet Council hopes these measures will save  £2.85 million.

Six of Barnet's library branches were closed this week as a result of the strike. Barnet library workers are represented by UNISON.

Unity Break Held at Berkeley Public Library

Members of SEIU 1021 participated in a "unity break" to protest issues with the management of Berkeley Public Library. Workers and administration have disagreed on the process of weeding the library's collection for some time. The former director of the library resigned after it became public that an exponentially larger number of items had been removed from the library's collection than had been announced. It has been alleged that a current library worker is being terminated in retaliation of disclosing the accurate number of items removed from the collection. A union spokesperson said:

One of the core tenets of librarianship is intellectual freedom. That the people who brought that to light are being punished instead of rewarded is shameful.