Contra Costa librarians strike (1968)

AS posted at the Reuther Library Image Gallery.

Librarian members of AFSCME Local 1675, Contra Costa & Solano County, California, picket in August, 1968.


[thanks to Jessica Storrs who alerted us to the twitter-feed from AFSCME’s archivist at Wayne State University, Johanna Russ].AFSCME Archivist.

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Jessica Storrs is Research Librarian.
Department of Research & Collective Bargaining Services
AFSCME

Who Benefits? Unionization and Academic Libraries and Librarians

"Who Benefits? Unionization and Academic Libraries and Librarians."
Rachel Applegate.
The Library Quarterly, Volume 79 Number 4 (October 2009): 443–63.

Advocates of unions frequently argue that unionization results in benefits for libraries in general and for librarians. Previous data to support this position have been scattered, incomplete, and inconclusive. This study analyzes data on 1,904 academic libraries, 334 unionized, to explore whether there is a relationship between a librarian‐union presence and several quantitative values: student‐librarian ratios, percentage of institutional budget devoted to libraries, average spending on salaries per librarian, percentage of library budget devoted to librarians, percentage of library staff who are librarians, and percentage of library budget devoted to staff salaries. Across institution degree levels (associates, baccalaureate, masters, doctoral, and Association of Research Libraries members), results show that compared to librarians at either private or nonunionized public colleges and universities, librarians at unionized public institutions are somewhat better off. Librarians at public institutions are generally better paid but have worse working conditions—higher student‐to‐librarian ratios and fewer resources for collections. All institutions except associates‐level institutions receive roughly the same percentage of institutional budgets.

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--KdlPMc

Durham teacher keeps seat on union executive

Durham teacher keeps seat on union executive

Taken from newsdurhamregion.com on August 25th, 2009

DURHAM -- The president of a local elementary teachers' federation was re-elected to a spot on its provincial executive.

Rachel Gencey, a Durham District School Board teacher and president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario Durham Local, was re-elected at the group's recent annual meeting. She has sat on the executive since 2004.

There, she told more than 500 delegates attending she believes teacher empowerment is the path to improved working conditions that will provide a work-life balance for elementary teachers, according to an ETFO press release.

"The continued disparity in working conditions between elementary and secondary panels must be our rallying point," she said. "Creative and bold steps, coupled with the determination and solidarity of our members, will close the gap."

In 15 years of teaching, Ms. Gencey has been an occasional teacher, a teacher librarian, a classroom teacher and a core French teacher. She has served on her local executive as professional development chairwoman, grievance officer, chief negotiator, vice-president and president.

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario represents more than 73,000 public elementary school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teachers' federation in Canada.

-SMD

Obama's "Race to the Top" Slammed By NEA

The nation's largest teachers union sharply attacked President Obama's most significant school improvement initiative on Friday evening, saying that it puts too much emphasis on a "narrow agenda" centered on charter schools and echoes the Bush administration's "top-down approach" to reform.
The National Education Association's criticism of Obama's $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" initiative charged that "Race to the Top" contradicted administration pledges to give states more flexibility in how they improve schools.
NEA.

Rockford To Cut 20% of Workers; Union Will Review.

The Rockford Public Library would close the Lewis Lemon Branch, lay off two dozen staffers and six management-level employees, and reduce hours at all libraries, under a reorganization proposal unanimously approved Monday....The union representing 86 librarians, librarian assistants, librarian interns, clerks and maintenance workers has 10 days to review the proposal and offer alternative solutions.

AFSCME 3350 President Karla Janssen:
"The children in Rockford will be affected dramatically. I feel safe saying that."

But the collective bargaining unit has 10 days to change that. Today's brainstorm session was closed to the public, but Janssen said all ideas are on the table, including reducing hours and generating revenue. And she's optimistic the group isn't wasting its time

"Hopefully we can minimize the effect. Whether we can save my job or not, I don't know, but certainly we want to minimize the effect to all of our members." See videdo interview here.

Board of trustees President John Brien said any ideas the union suggests will be considered, with a final vote during a special meeting this month. He said the service reductions and layoffs are tough, but necessary, decisions.
Union executives met Tuesday to brainstorm and they have two more meetings set this week. They're asking administrators for financial data, using their own research skills, and hoping to find a way not to lose any jobs.

What’s being cut are dedicated workers, many of whom have worked for the Rockford Public Library for more than a decade, union representative Jay Ferraro said.
The union represents 86 librarians, librarian assistants, clerks and maintenance workers. Nearly a quarter of the library staff would be lost because of the proposed cuts.Programs for children and adults are certain to suffer.

Union members will meet Friday night to talk about the potential cuts and continue to work on a counter proposal. Ferraro said union members are unhappy with the proposal to lay off library workers but have been kept in the dark for months about what cuts were going to be made and now at least have something to consider.

Community members have protested the cuts.

What's Labor's Role in Immigration Reform? David Bacon interview

What's Labor's Role in Immigration Reform?


So how do activists get unions to do the right thing on immigration?

DB: We have to look for a rational immigration policy that reflects what’s actually happening to us. In LA at Overhill Farms 254 people are fired and then replaced with part-time employees with no benefits. It makes no sense for us to have a policy that allows employers to do this and then to go to Congress and lobby for a bill that says we want a “secure and effective worker authorization mechanism.” We are lobbying for the same thing that’s being used against us!

We need a reality check and an immigration position that helps us, not our employers, and we have to look for the things that bring us together.

Tiffany Ten Eyck, a veteran of the successful Taco Bell Boycott campaign, is Promotions Coordinator for Labor Notes, where this piece originally appeared.

Rockford Public Library system-American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 3350

Karla Janssen-White , president of AFSCME Local 3350, which represents about 80 library workers. "We're concerned about our jobs."

Aug. 12- Rockford Public Library patrons and workers are unlikely to learn details of how the library will slice more than $700,000 from its $8.9 million budget until the Library Board votes on a proposal to submit to the union representing library workers.

Library officials have kept specifics from the public for weeks. A vote on a proposal to the library union could come as soon as Monday night.

Karla Janssen-White, president of the local library union, said library officials have invited union leaders to meet with them to discuss the budget cut proposal immediately after the Monday night’s Library Board meeting.

Janssen-White said the library union — the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 3350 — has 10 days after receipt of the proposal to respond with suggestions.

The Union Difference-2008

The Union Difference

· In 2008, workers in education, training, and library occupations had the highest unionization rates for any occupation group. Nearly 39% of workers in this occupation group were members of a union.[39]

· In 2008, 25.8% of librarians were union members; 30.2% were represented by unions.


· Among library technicians, 19.4% were union members in 2008, and 20.8% were represented by unions.[40]

· Twenty-seven percent of other education, training, and library workers were union members in 2008, and 31.1% were represented by unions.

· Union librarians earned an average of 29% more than non-union librarians in 2008.[Bureau of National Affairs, Union Membership and Earnings Data Book, 2009 Edition, Washington, DC.] Union library technicians earned an average of 40% more than non-union librarian technicians in 2008.

· Union other education, training, and library workers earned an average of 12% more than non-union workers.[42]

· Through the NY Public Library Guild, Local 1930, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) library workers won an eight percent pay increase, in addition to the two four percent raises negotiated for citywide employees, after a three year campaign and negotiating with city officials.[43]

· The Orange County, Florida, Library System organized and affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Management spent $100,000 to defeat the union. Workers got the first pay raise in nine years as a result of bargaining, as well as an extra floating holiday and a grievance procedure that mandates binding arbitration.[44]

· Across all regions, librarians benefit from unionization. For example, the smallest gain was in the North Atlantic and Great Lakes and Plains regions where union librarians earned nearly 19% more than their fellow non-union librarians. The greatest gains were in the West and Southwest where there was a nearly 27% gain from unionization.[45]

· Across all types of work in the library profession a union advantage existed, from associate librarians who earned more than 27% more than their non-union counterparts, to library techs who earned more than 25% more than their non-union colleagues.[46]

· Almost no matter what type of institution a librarian works at there is a union advantage, be it a gain of over 62% in very small public libraries to over four percent for librarians at four-year colleges, the one employment situation that did not show a marked union advantage.[47]

NY Library Association Affiliates with New York State United Teachers

"We feel partnering with NYSUT will increase our ability to advocate for the interests of our members, protect against potential cuts, and further our legislative agenda," said Josh Cohen, NYLA President.

The state Library Association has entered an agreement with the much larger and hugely more influential New York State United Teachers union in which NYSUT will lobby on its behalf.

“NYSUT will work closely with NYLA to advance legislation supporting the mission of libraries both public and private, and will work collaboratively with NYLA to organize librarians to obtain greater funding and win better pay and benefits,” according to a release from the teachers union.
This isn’t the first time a smaller group has hired NYSUT to lobby on its behalf. The state Psychological Association signed up for NYSUT’s lobbying services in 1999 and they realized a lot of gains from affiliating with the teachers union, which is one of the state’s major political donors and which has a lot of influence in the Legislature, as noted here.

Indianapolis News Guild Local 34070 [includes librarians]

Indianapolis News Guild Local 34070 [includes libraians] reached a tentative agreement with Star Media Group that includes a 10 percent pay cut effective Aug. 30.

The agreement, if ratified, would apply to about 185 workers covered by the Indianapolis News Guild Local 34070, which includes reporters, photographers, librarians, copy editors, clerks and maintenance workers.

The two-year agreement is subject to a ratification vote Aug. 25, the guild said Friday. (Star report)

Working Class Studies Award to _Illegal People_ by David Bacon.

The Working Class Studies Association has awarded the CLR James Award for Best Book to

David Bacon, Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants. Beacon.

Springfield,IL -Layoffs at Lincoln Library-AFSCME 31 Speaks Out

“Metaphorically, the 10 layoffs are equivalent to taking a meat cleaver and amputating an arm or a leg of the library’s workforce, crippling our ability to provide basic service to the public,” said Bob Moore, an employee at Lincoln Library for 22 years. “Services will definitely suffer dramatically,” said Moore, who is not one of the 10 employees facing layoff.

Union representatives told Springfield aldermen and the mayor this week that 10 workers scheduled to be laid off at Lincoln Library are “not fat hiding in the budget.”
The city has told nine union employees and one non-union library worker that their last day at the library will be Aug. 6.
The council took several budget votes this week that saved the jobs of 67 police officers and firefighters who also had received layoff notices, but not those of the library employees.
Seven of the 10 employees are library assistants, one is a security guard and two are librarians, according to a list provided by the city. Eight work full-time, and two work part-time. Most are paid less than $40,000 a year....

Jeff Bigelow, regional director for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, told aldermen it’s not a question about whether library services are important, but what will be done to save them.
“How can we come up with the money to save library services?
“We know that cutting back on the library, laying off nine more library workers is the wrong way,” Bigelow said.
AFSCME and other unions have provided dozens of suggestions they said would either generate revenue or save the city money. Davlin said a committee made up of union representatives and city management will meet to review those ideas and work on long-term budget fixes.
Roger Griffith, staff representative with AFSCME Council 31, said employees in the public works department are taking more than three unpaid furlough days in hopes of saving the jobs of their fellow co-workers.
“We’re still working with the administration to get those questions addressed as to whether that’s going to save the jobs or not,” he said.
Griffith said members of AFSCME Local 3738, which represents library employees, among others, have agreed to voluntarily take unpaid furlough days that will return more than $100,000 to the city’s coffers.