Furloughs for Fresno State Librarians in the Works

Four employee unions at California State University, Fresno have voted to approve a tentative agreement that could lead to two-day-a-month furloughs for non-faculty employees.

The vote at Fresno State was 231 in favor of ratification and 42 against, says Nancy Kobata, the Fresno Chapter 309 president.

Fresno State staffers are members of four statewide bargaining units of the California State University Employees Union, SEIU Local 2579, which represent administrative staff, librarians, plant operations workers, office workers, technicians and other employees.

Union members throughout the 23-campus CSU system are voting on the furlough agreement which was negotiated in response to a $584 million gap between state support and the cost of educating students at the nation’s biggest state university system during 2009-10.

If the agreement is approved by members statewide, campus-specific furlough plans would be adopted for Fresno State and each of the other 22 CSU campuses.

The estimated 10 percent salary savings from furloughs would be added to increased revenue from higher student fees, enrollment limits, hiring and salary freezes, class-section decreases and operational, building and maintenance cutbacks to close the gap.

There Is Power in a Union - 2008-2009.

"There Is Power in a Union - 2008-2009" is a chronology of articles and events about librarians and unions Progressive Librarian no. 32 (Winter/Spring 2009) p. 55-67.
In 2008 the only reporting and analysis of librarians and unions indexed in Library Literature & Information Science Full Text was published in the Progressive Librarian.
Progressive Librarian #30 (Winter 2007/20080 focused on Library Workers in Unions with "So Promising of Success": The Role of Local 88 in the Development of the Chicago Public Library, 1937-1952, by Joyce M. Latham; "An Indomitable Spirit: The Eight Hundred of CUPE 391," by Anita Galanopoulos; and "There is Power in a Union-2007." Progressive Librarian #31 (summer 2008) included "The Union Difference for Library Workers, Salary Survey 2006;" "Library Workers: Facts and Figures;" and "Professional Women: Vital Statistics."
The lack of attention to union issues in the general library press continues to be a concern that should be addressed by those who believe that library workers and their conditions of worklife contribute to better library service. As posted at American Rights at Work,

"Unions are an essential part of a strong democracy and play a crucial role in America's public and community life. Not only do they give workers a voice on the job and help negotiate fair benefits and wages for their members, but they also use their political and economic resources to raise the floor for everyone who works for a living."

The full text of " There Is Power in a Union - 2008-2009" can be read using the index Library literature & information science full text from WIlsonline. An audio version is available there as well.

LaborFest 2009

Lincoln Cushing--
The History of Public Funding and the Arts
and Coit Tower Walk and 75th Anniversary of the Murals.

LaborFest 2009.

This year is the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco General Strike and the West Coast maritime workers strike. The ‘34 strike and maritime strike was an important point in strengthening organized labor and bringing hundreds of thousands of workers into our unions. In commemoration of this significant historical anniversary for San Francisco and Northern California labor, LaborFest will be having many special events including an art exhibition, presentations, a labor jeopardy contest as well as a labor film festival that will include videos of the San Francisco general strike. LaborFest this year will also be honoring the workers who made the strike, the role of the San Francisco Labor Council and the workers who have built the Bay Area including building the San Francisco Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge and the newly constructed Al Zampa Bridge which is the first major bridge named after an iron worker. Labor faces great challenges today as it did 75 years ago and the need to learn about our history, and how we won victories in the past is vital for today.

Clermont County, OH to Cut 24 Employees

Clermont County Public Library trustees voted Wednesday, July 1, to lay off 24 employees, suspend a multi-million dollar branch in Union Township and cut operating hours to eight per day, six days per week.

SOUTH HADLEY Librarians join Council 93 of AFSCME

SOUTH HADLEY - Nonunionized town employees have voted overwhelmingly 26 to 9 to join Council 93 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, according to the Division of Labor Relations employee who counted the ballots.

Youth Services Librarian Marguerite A. Clancy, one of the workers who helped the organizing effort, said the vote sends "a very clear message" to the town that the workers want a union. The election capped 2½ years of effort by organizers to form a union.

"We are fed up with how we have been treated," Clancy said, citing as an example the fact that nonunionized employees do not get cost of living raises, while town employees in collective bargaining units do.

Mediation pursued in NCCC labor feud

Working without a labor contract for almost three years will go a long way to strain a relationship....

Over the last six weeks, the union has taken a vote of no confidence against college President James P. Klyczek and has accused him of violating state law in a dispute over health insurance coverage.

Both sides started meeting with a mediator about a new contract at the end of last month, and another formal hearing may occur as early as August on the health insurance issue....The Faculty Association, which consists of teaching faculty, counselors, librarians, technical assistants and non-ranking professionals, will have 164 members at the start of the fall semester, according to the organization.

Some of the issues on the table since negotiations for a new contract began in March 2005 include class sizes, health insurance and control over potential staff cuts that are caused by financial distress at the college.

Community of Industrial Relations Librarians-63rd Annual Meeting

Community of Industrial Relations Librarians
63rd Annual Meeting

Saturday, June 13th, 2009, 1-5pm
Location: Communication Workers of America Headquarters,
501 3rd Street NW, Washington, DC

Agenda

Community of Industrial Relations Librarians