Union Librarian

Bloomberg’s Budget to Decimate Queens Public Library

2011-06-11T20:13:00.002-06:00

Bloomberg’s Budget to Decimate Queens Public Library
With John Hyslop, Pres., Queens Library Guild, Local 1321 , DC 37 AFSCME.
Library workers are fighting Mayor Bloomberg's proposed $25.3 http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifmillion in budget cuts to the Queens Public Library. Since 2008, over 200 jobs have already been lost through attrition and layoffs. The current proposed 30% cut will result in library
hours being at their lowest level ever, less than in NYC’s budget crisis of the 1970s.
These cuts would slash library services; close branches 2-3 days a week; end free computer and Internet services; destroy the materials budget; and force 234 Library employees to be laid off. Local 1321 is sponsoring a demonstration outside the Central Library on Merrick Blvd.
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More info here.

Youngstown Librarians Ratify Contract

2011-06-11T05:47:00.001-06:00

Public Librarian Association of Youngstown, which is affiliated with Service Employees International Union District 1199.

The board of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County has ratified an agreement with its librarians that includes a pay freeze and reductions in vacation and sick time.

The pact is with the Public Librarian Association of Youngstown, which is affiliated with Service Employees International Union District 1199.

Dial 1-800-Unionism Is Not the Answer

2011-06-09T19:53:00.000-06:00

Dial 1-800-Unionism Is Not the Answer
by Steve Early

When the history of public sector de-unionization in the Midwest is written, its sad chroniclers will begin their story in Indiana. That's where Governor Mitch Daniels paved the way, six years ago, for more recent attacks on workers' rights in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan.

Daniels, a right-wing Republican, was elected in 2004. He got plenty of help from the Republican Governors Association, which that year received $500,000 from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as part of then-president Andy Stern's misbegotten but Obama-like embrace of bi-partisanship. (In his 2006 book, A Country That Works, Stern boasted about being the RGA's "largest contributor.")

Wichita Teachers Union: Plan to Replace High School Librarians will Shortchange Students.

2011-05-21T06:33:00.003-06:00

Wichita teachers union say a plan to replace high school librarians with unlicensed clerks will shortchange students.

The library jobs are among 278 positions being eliminated as the Wichita district grapples with a $30 million budget shortfall. Allison said he consulted with building principals and others to determine cuts that would have the least impact on classrooms.

"This particular cut affects all high school students — all of them, not just some," said Larry Smith, a history teacher at East High School and a member of the United Teachers of Wichita representative assembly.

Read more.

Nepotism Questioned at Detroit Public Library

2011-05-08T15:33:00.002-06:00

Nepotism rampant at Detroit libraries
1 in 6 staffers have relatives who work in strapped department

The union is concerned in general about wasteful library spending.

Countering the Siege-AFSCME

2011-04-13T08:36:00.002-05:00

NYTimes- Countering the Siege-AFSCME
Gerald W. McEntee, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, in his Washington office.
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: April 12, 2011

Perhaps more than any other American, Gerald W. McEntee has surfed the rising tide of public sector unions to success and power. As leader of the largest union of state and local government workers for three decades, he has amassed enormous political influence and a huge campaign war chest that he has not hesitated to use to advance his union’s interests.

Perhaps more than any other American, Gerald W. McEntee has surfed the rising tide of public sector unions to success and power. As leader of the largest union of state and local government workers for three decades, he has amassed enormous political influence and a huge campaign war chest that he has not hesitated to use to advance his union’s interests.

read more here.

Right to Oorganize Trade Unions is a Fundamental Human Right.

2011-04-12T07:17:00.001-05:00

"Collective Bargaining -- Essential to Democracy."
by Bruce T. Boccardy in MRZINE. April 11, 2011.

Collective bargaining was an integral component of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act. Prior to the law, employers could literally spy upon union members, interrogate, punish, blacklist, and terminate them without just cause. The Act clearly asserts the rights of collective bargaining in Section 7:

Employees shall have the right to self-organization; to form, join, or assist labor organizations; to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing; and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.

This language was affirmed by Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which identified the right to organize trade unions again as a fundamental human right.

Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Ohio Law is Attack on the American Dream

2011-04-10T11:16:00.003-05:00

April 10, 2011.
Opponents of new union law rally in Ohio's capital
Melissa Cropper, a librarian for Georgetown schools in southwestern Ohio, said killing the law "is about saving the middle class and protecting the rights of workers. Corporations are getting all the breaks, and they're trying to balance the budget on the backs of the workers.
Thousands of people seeking to repeal Ohio's new collective bargaining law rallied Saturday at the Statehouse, vowing to get a referendum on the next ballot and promising to remember the political fight over the measure when they choose which candidates to support in future elections.
Preachers and public workers took turns at the microphone on a stage in front of the Statehouse steps, depicting the bill signed recently by first-term Republican Gov. John Kasich as an attack on unions and the American dream.

CUPE BC and the AFL-CIO Support of Wisconsin Labour Unions.

2011-04-04T15:48:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, April 2, CUPE BC joined with other BC unions and the AFL-CIO to stage a rally in support of Wisconsin labour unions.
Read all about it here.

Organizing in the Face of the Class War

2011-04-04T07:34:00.001-05:00

Now’s the Time: Organizing in the Face of the Class War

Getting thousands to show up for rallies or write letters in the fever of the initial public sector skirmishes hasn’t been that hard. Over the last two months, people have been angry, and they wanted to take action. And while making the drive across the state to be part of a crowd of tens of thousands is a significant commitment of time and energy, it’s also exciting. As the videos showing witty signs and costumes remind us, protesting can be fun and even aerobic.

But now is the time for on the ground organizing, and the work ahead will be less dramatic and in many ways much harder than showing up for a protest or writing a letter. Going door-to-door to get signatures can be thought of as hand-to-hand combat where individuals have to be informed and ready to perform in a sometimes hostile environment. But it’s also essential to the political process, especially given the amount of money corporations and conservative business interests will be spending on political advertising to defeat repeal/recall initiatives.

Read more at Working Class Perspectives.

Ohio: The Endgame Approaches

2011-03-31T08:15:00.002-05:00

Ohio.3/31/2011.

Bill that would strip collective bargaining rights from public employees advances in Ohio’s legislature...The bill passed, 53-44, in the House Wednesday evening. The later Senate concurred, by a 17-16 vote, with 25 amendments that had been added by the House. The legal reasoning used in the bill essentially cites the premise used in NLRB v. Yeshiva University, which applies only to private college professors, and brings it to those working at public universities. The 1980 Supreme Court decision barred faculty members at private colleges from bargaining collectively on the grounds that they enjoyed managerial status because of their role in shared governance.

The American Union and the American Public Library

2011-03-29T10:39:00.001-05:00

"Collective Effort:
The American Union and the American Public Library"
Joyce M. Latham and Wyatt E. Ditzler

Library Trends 59, no. 1/2 (Summer/Fall 2010): 237-55.

Abstract

Unions are a significant element in the library work place, yet there is little discussion of their significance or impact. This article investigates the structures of the unions within the public library in the United States, highlighting the complexity of composition, variance of relationships to library administration, and the simplicity of mission of the union leadership. Results of a brief survey enabled researchers to engage four union officers on areas of significance to them. While concerns over salaries and funding continuity generate concern, discussion also engaged on the perceived value of the professional librarian within public libraries.

Organize or Die- Florida Universities-Includes Librarians

2011-03-23T06:27:00.001-05:00

“It’s a race against time,” said Tom Auxter, a professor of philosophy at the University of Florida and president of United Faculty of Florida, which represents faculty members [and librarians] at 22 public campuses and is affiliated with the Florida Education Association, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the AFL-CIO. If passed, the three bills would go into effect July 1.

“We’re firing up all the engines to get people signed up,” he said. “The lesson for unions is organize or die.”

More at Inside Higher Education.

Russell Library, Middletown, Conn wins John Sessions Memorial Award

2011-03-22T17:01:00.002-05:00

The Russell Library, Middletown, Conn., is the recipient of the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) 2011 John Sessions Memorial Award for their successful Business & Career Programs.

Through their Business and Career Programs, the Russell Library provides 10 to 12 workshops annually that aim to help individuals find jobs or change their careers. Programs include job searching, interview coaching, computer classes and stress reduction during job searching, among other topics. With this programming, the library has done significant outreach to union and community members by providing services of special interest to the labor community, as well as connecting with local organizations to publicize their services to job seekers.

The award committee selected the library as this year’s recipient for these notable efforts that are vital in today’s economic climate and for the value the programs hold for the local labor community.
Read more.

Ohio Collective Bargaining Discussion Led by Melissa Cropper, head of the Georgetown teacher's union and a librarian

2011-03-21T18:22:00.001-05:00

State Representative Danny Bubp visited two southern Ohio schools Monday to discuss the merits and concerns about pending state legislation commonly known as Senate Bill 5.

Between 150 to 200 individuals, including several teachers in Brown and Clermont counties, engaged in a town hall-styled discussion with Bubp at Georgetown High School on Monday evening. Bubp, who held a similar meeting attended by an estimated 175 individuals in West Union earlier that day, heard numerous concerns from local residents about the legalisation that, if approved, could eliminate most existing collective bargaining rights for unionized public employees.

Attendees raised several concerns about the bill, including questions about the "merit pay" provisions, concerns about losing the right to strike and dislike for the manner by which state officials have sought to pass the legislation

Bubp was joined by two staffers who researched specific questions about the language and provisions contained within the bill. Melissa Cropper, head of the Georgetown teacher's union and a librarian at Georgetown Exempted Village Schools, helped to organize and moderate the discussion.

John N. Berry III on Wisconsin

2011-03-15T21:02:00.001-05:00

"Solidarity in Wisconsin" by John N. Berry III at Library Journal.

Librarians must stand in solidarity with the embattled public employees of Wisconsin as they struggle to hold on to the collective bargaining rights they have earned and won over decades. It is not just simple self-interest that makes their struggle ours, although that would be reason enough to oppose the attack. It is also a matter of our values, our fundamental beliefs. From the early roots of the profession, librarians have been champions of the rights granted to all Americans by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, including “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government....”

ALISE Statement on Wisconsin PublicEmployees

2011-03-15T05:42:00.000-05:00

The Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) commends the action taken by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Library and Information Studies, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Faculty Senate, and others who have shown public support of those standing up for workers' rights. We applaud the support shown for our colleagues in Wisconsin as they seek to protect the right to collective bargaining.

Madison, WI-3.12. 2011: "Librarians! United! Will never be divided!"

2011-03-14T20:50:00.002-05:00

Sharon McQueen writes in Library Journal " Wisconsin Librarians' March Merges with Tractorcade" :
A third librarians' march took place on March 12 during what has been a month of daily protests at Wisconsin's State Capitol.
Participating:

Timothy Ericson, past president of the Society of American Archivists (SAA), flew to Wisconsin from Phoenix to participate in the rally for the Wisconsin 14 with his wife, Vallie, a former Wisconsin public school teacher.

American Library Association past president Michael Gorman drafted new lyrics for "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night," entitled "Scott Walker's Nightmare."

Five past presidents of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA): Alberto Herrera, Terry Danson, Jane Pearlmutter, Nancy McClements, and Paul Nelson.

Christine Jenkins, UW-Madison alumna and associate professor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Graduate School of Library and Information Science

;

Melissa Moll, UW-Madison student, School of Library & Information Studies (SLIS)

;

Mark Beatty, librarian of the Wisconsin Library Services (WiLS)

;

Allison Kaplan, faculty associate, UW-Madison, SLIS

;

retired librarian Jean Casper

;

John Elliott, cataloger at Edgewood College in Madison

;

Sheila Leary, director of the University of Wisconsin Press.

LSU Union Organizing

2011-03-14T06:59:00.001-05:00

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
The University's fledgling faculty union is rushing to gain members as outside political pressures add urgency to the group's formation.

"Recruiting is our No. 1 priority right now," said Michael Russo, associate librarian and co-chair of the union's membership committee.

Russo said the goal was to get every faculty member involved.

Wisconsin Library Association Endorses Statement in Support of Worker’s Rights to Collectively Bargain

2011-03-08T21:20:00.002-05:00

The Wisconsin Library Association Endorses ALA’s Statement in Support of Worker’s Rights to Collectively Bargain and drafted its own.

"Librarians add incredible value to society--" Audrey Barbakoff-Milwaukee Public Library Union Member

2011-03-08T07:08:00.005-05:00

"I’m Not Your Scapegoat," by Audrey Barbakoff.
American Libraries.
Mon, 03/07/2011 - 14:36

A unionized librarian refuses to play the dues-paying villain.

---What is not temporary is the effect of the governor’s favorite tactic in the service of this legislation: the vilification of public employees. It’s the old divide-and-conquer routine. By turning private employees against public ones, Walker can break up the largest constituency that might oppose his ideas. It’s a savvy political tactic, but it will cause permanent, irreparable damage for the most educated and hardworking public employees in Wisconsin and throughout the country---read more.

[photo by Sharon McQueen].

Wisconsin Librarians on the March

2011-03-07T22:28:00.002-05:00

LIBRARIANS ON THE MARCH! PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY!

Greetings Fellow Librarians, Library Staff, & Library Students!

Over 2 dozen of us marched on Saturday, Feb 26, 2011. 60-plus marched last Sunday (March 6, 2011). This Saturday we will increase our numbers and march again! Let's join the Farmer Labor Tractorcade!

WHAT: Librarian Protest March
WHEN: This Saturday, March 12, 2011. 11:30am
WHERE: Madison Public Library, Central Library steps. 201 W. Mifflin St. Madison, WI

We will gather at 11:30am on the MPL steps and march to the Wisconsin State Capitol where we will march around the square. Keep those clever library signs coming!

Madison's Mayor Dave Cieslewicz joined us this past weekend in support of libraries and library workers. All those who marched with us were treated to a free box lunch by LMN O'Pies:

http://www.lmnopies.com/

Take a look at the new American Libraries article by Milwaukee Public Library's Audrey Barbakoff:
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/my-mind/i-m-not-your-scapegoat

This is history in the making folks! JOIN US!

FYI:
Farmer Labor Tractorcade
Event Date: Saturday, March 12, 2011 - 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Event Website on FaceBook.
Taking place at: Wisconsin State Capitol
Madison, WI

Sponsored by Family Farm Defenders, Wisconsin Farmers Union and Land Stewardship
project.

Farmers from across the dairyland will bring tractors and solidarity to the WI capitol to fight for labor rights and a just state budget. Rural communities will be disproportionately hurt by the cuts to education and BadgerCare, and farmers in Wisconsin stand with state workers, and all working and middle class
families in the state.

All farmers and eaters welcome and encouraged to come!

Holt Labor Library Re-Opens

2011-03-04T07:35:00.004-05:00

Message from David Walters, director of the Holt Labor Library.

The Holt Labor Library has re-opened. Closed for a period of almost 2 years due to the capitalist financial crisis, funding for the library re-opening has been secured.

4444 Geary Blvd., Suite 207, San Francisco, CA 94118
415.387.5700
Hours are from 9AM through 4PM, Monday through Friday. Special arrangements outside of these times can be arranged upon request with the Director. Closed on major holidays and May Day.

The Holt Labor Library was established in 1992 to provide a working library for labor and progressive studies accessible to the general public. Our collections and services are geared to labor and community activists as well as to students, researchers and anyone else interested in our materials. Because a significant part of our collection consists of out-of-print and hard to find materials, items do not circulate. The holdings of the Holt Labor Library include:

* Many donations from the estates of ex-members of the SWP
* 4500 books - labor and socialist history, freedom struggles, Marxist theory (with emphasis on Trotskyism), and much more
* 3000 pamphlets, plus flyers and brochures, in our vertical files
* 80 current subscriptions to labor and left periodicals
* 350 videos & DVDs - including movies and documentaries
* 300 audio tapes & CDs of speeches and classes by socialist and labor activists
* Bulletins and papers documenting socialist history in the United
States
* Posters, political and trade-union buttons, and other ephemera
* Personal archives from the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, Anti-Vietnam War organizations, Teamsters for a Democratic Union, Committee to Aid the Monroe Defendants, and others.
* Historic socialist and labor newspapers

David Walters
david [ at]hll.org
Director,
Holt Labor Library
4444 Geary Blvd., Suite 207, San Francisco, CA 94118 415.387.5700
holtlaborlibrary.org
hll.org
holtlibrary.org

“Librarians fight for everyone’s rights”

2011-03-02T20:24:00.002-05:00

American Libraries report on
librarians turning out in Madison to support workers' rights.

front row, from left) Carrie Gostomski, Kim Pittman, Alison Gehred, Ellen Barksdale Jacks, and Richard Douglas Wambold.

“We’re the cornerstone of democracy. "-- LA Librarians’ Guild President, Roy Stone. "Yes on L

2011-03-02T06:18:00.003-05:00

Los Angeles votes on library funding next week.

Los Angeles city voters decide next week on Tuesday, March 8 whether to set aside more money for public libraries in the city’s charter. Last year, the mayor and City Council slashed spending on the library system to address a big budget deficit. That forced all 76 locations to close two days a week for the first time.

Librarians’ Guild President Roy Stone argues that people shouldn’t regard libraries as just another city department. “We’re the cornerstone of democracy. Without the free public library system, you don’t have that open exchange of information.

Librarians' Guild AFSCME Local 2626
Yes on L.

Wisconsin Librarians Protest Bill to End Collective Bargaining.

2011-02-28T20:51:00.003-05:00

Feb 28, 2011.
Sharon McQueen writes in Library Journal:
"Librarians joined teachers, nurses, off-duty police officers, firefighters, and others on February 26 to protest Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for most state workers...

Be sure to read the comments, too.

Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG) Stands in Solidarity with Public Employees

2011-02-27T21:06:00.002-05:00

Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG) Stands in Solidarity with Public Employees

February 27, 2011

The Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG) stands in solidarity with public employees in Wisconsin and in all other states across the nation where workers’ rights to collective bargaining are under attack by governors and legislatures determined to use budgetary exigencies as a pretext to try to decisively break the back of the public-sector unions as a key part of an ideological agenda which seeks to fundamentally remake America, taking the country back to a pre-New Deal, pre-Progressive era regime of unfettered, rapacious corporate rule.

The attack on the public employees unions is only part of a broader assault on all aspects of democratic society aimed to turn the clock back on issues like women’s rights, civil rights, education and culture, environmental protection, social welfare and insurance, and the very existence of a public sector. Preventing this overturning of all the gains made through struggle and sacrifice in the previous century will require above all, the mobilization of a broad people’s movement of a kind heralded by the sustained demonstration in Madison and spreading across the country as people begin to awaken to what is at stake.

Progressive Librarian's Guild

President Roberta Stevens on proposed collective bargaining legislation

2011-02-25T18:00:00.001-05:00

02/24/2011
American Library Association President Roberta Stevens on proposed collective bargaining legislation

CHICAGO - As thousands protest proposed collective bargaining legislation in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, American Library Association (ALA) President Roberta Stevens released the following statement in support of those standing up for workers’ rights.

“While governments are facing financial challenges, addressing deficits should not serve as an opportunity to strip away the hard-won right of workers to collectively bargain,” said Stevens.

“As library visits continue to soar, with job seekers and families turning to our libraries to gain new skills and free access to education resources, the value of library service and staff should be recognized and protected.

“The ALA supports library employees in seeking equitable compensation and recognizes the principle of collective bargaining as an important element of successful labor-management relations. We affirm the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers, without fear of reprisal. These are basic workers’ rights that we defend for thousands of academic, public and school library professionals.”

The American Library Association is the voice of America's libraries and the millions of people who depend on them. With more than 63,000 members, the ALA is the oldest and largest library association in the world and represents all types of libraries and librarians.

Library of Congress employees join DC rally for collective bargaining rights

2011-02-24T08:11:00.003-05:00

Library of Congress employees join DC rally for collective bargaining rights
Library of Congress Guild (AFSCME 2910) supports collective bargaining rights of America's public employees. Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO Rally, Feb. 23, 2011, Washington, DC.
Click here ...

[sent by Jessica Storrs:

Great photo show of Saul Schniderman at the Library of Congress. Thanks you to the members of Local 2910 for coming to support public employees at the DC rally yesterday.
(note the link below includes sound so turn it down if you’re at the reference desk!!)If anyone else has news/photos to share – please do so!

Solidarity.

Jessica Storrs
Research Librarian

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO

2011-02-18T21:07:00.002-05:00

Updates here on Wisconsin Union Actions.

Wisconsin Librarians Should not be Sacrificed

2011-02-18T19:51:00.002-05:00

Praise for Wisconsin Workers’ Protests at AFL-CIO blog.

California Federation of Teachers: Raging Librarians

Also SEIU blog:
Collective bargaining and a vibrant middle class go hand-in-hand #default
By Kate Thomas

Need proof? Look to Wisconsin, where more than 100,000 teachers, nurses, librarians and other public workers' courageous efforts in a critical battle to safeguard collective bargaining rights

Downturn Continues to Lower Union Membership

2011-01-24T07:53:00.002-05:00

Downturn Continues to Lower Union Membership
by Ben Zipperer

The labor market recession continued to exact a toll on union membership, which fell sharply in 2010. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unionized share of the U.S. workforce dropped to 11.9 percent last year from 12.3 percent in 2009. The private sector unionization rate fell to 6.9 percent in 2010, from 7.2 percent in 2009.

While union membership and overall employment decreased in 2009 at about the same rate, unions continued to lose members in 2010 even as employment losses slowed. Union rolls shrank by about 600,000 members. Most major industry groups saw falling employment and union membership. [Thanks, DW].

Join Unite Here Local 30 on the Picket line at the Manchester Grand Hyatt

2011-01-06T17:44:00.002-05:00

Join Unite Here Local 30 on the Picket line at the Manchester Grand Hyatt on Friday, Jan 7th from 3:00-5:00pm and Saturday, January 8th from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. The Manchester Grand Hyatt is located at 1 Market Place San Diego, CA 92101.

Manchester's Hyatt has brought the LGBT community and the hotel workers’ union, UNITE HERE, together to fight for equality for gay and lesbian couples and justice for the workers at his Hyatt hotel. Doug Manchester has a history working against both:

• Equality for lesbian and gay couples. Doug Manchester gave $125,000 to anti-gay campaigners in January of 2008—an early infusion of cash that paid for the signature-gathering to get Proposition 8 on the ballot. Proposition 8 was a California ballot initiative that discriminated against LGBT couples. While Hyatt may officially disavow Manchester's contributions to Proposition 8 as a personal choice, the fact remains that their multi-million dollar LGBT marketing efforts must be seen as little more than hypocrisy when the revenue this marketing attracts is then funneled into efforts that take away the rights of those very people. Headlining the list of endorsers and supporters of the boycott are Equality California (EQCA), Californians Against Hate, the Courage Campaign, and the San Diego County Labor Council. The boycott has cost Doug Manchester $7 million and shown that there are consequences for those who attack the rights of minority groups, advocate discrimination and oppose the rights of workers. For more than a year, Manchester has refused to meet with those leading the boycott.

• Justice for San Diego hotel workers. Manchester's Hyatt allegedly forces housekeepers to clean more rooms than housekeepers at other Hyatt hotels, including the other Hyatt hotel in San Diego. In 2006, housekeepers began lunch hour protests against working conditions in the hotel, saying that their daily room quota had been increased from 17 to 30 rooms per shift! We have no reason to believe that Manchester has made any workload reductions to address these protests. Across the hotel industry, increasing workloads have put a greater strain on housekeepers; work speedups have led to increasing injury rates. According to the Department of Labor, injury rates for hotel workers are 40% higher than the service sector average. Numerous studies have shown that unreasonable workloads are a serious occupational health issue and flat out unacceptable.

Join us this weekend to tell Doug Manchester that these anti-worker and anti-gay practices are unacceptable!

Friday, January 7th from 3:00-5:00pm and Saturday, January 8th from 11:30 am-1:30 pm.

For more information on the Manchester Grand Hyatt Boycott

visit: http://www.sleepwiththerightpeople.org and see you on the picket line!

Thank you,

Jennifer

Co-Chair, AFL-CIO/ALA Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups

-------

Jennifer Dorning

Researcher and Representative

Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO

Labor Resolution Frequently Asked Questions

2011-01-03T17:43:00.001-05:00

Two labor resolutions will be presented at the Midwinter meeting in San Diego. Frequently Asked Question sheets for the resolutions are posted at ALA Connect at the Union Library Workers community site.

Camden Library Staff to be Laid Off

2010-12-30T09:28:00.004-05:00

All 20 staffers at Camden's two remaining public libraries will be laid off effective Feb. 11, officials said Wednesday, although the county plans to take over one of the branches and allow employees to reapply for their jobs.

The layoffs, prompted by budget cuts, mean that the main branch on Federal Street in downtown Camden will close and that the city will cease providing library services for the first time in 105 years.

2010: A year-end roundup-American Rights at Work

2010-12-28T09:49:00.002-05:00

The American Rights at Work blog team is about to close up shop for the holidays. But before we do, here’s a roundup of some of our favorite posts from 2010, from most to least recent. Happy Holidays!

Pages at Madison Public Library (WI) form union in AFSCME

2010-12-17T13:35:00.004-05:00

Madison Wisconsin. Madison Public Library pages have formed a new local as part of AFSCME.

(Thanks AS)

Hotels: Do Not Patronize List; Labor Clauses

2010-12-11T09:46:00.004-05:00

Midwinter 2011, draft resolutions for ALA Council as posted to ALA Council List by Resolutions Chair, Larry Romans.

==============
Draft Resolution : Hotel 1: Do Not Patronize List
========

WHEREAS, In 2009, approximately 24.9% of librarians were union members, approximately 23.7% of library technicians were union members, and approximately 19% of other education, training, and library workers were union members (Bureau of National Affairs, op. cit., Table 8a);
WHEREAS, The American Library Association (ALA), in principal, recognizes the right of library employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers (ALA Policy 54.11, “Collective Bargaining”);
WHEREAS, The ALA’s essential set of core values for its librarian members include working for “The Public Good” and “Social Responsibility” (ALA Policy 40.1, “Core Values of Librarianship”);
WHEREAS, There is considerable public good and social responsibility in the fair treatment of workers and their families.
WHEREAS, Workers at union establishments, including union hotels, are far more likely than their non-union counterparts to be paid a living wage, to receive employer-paid family medical benefits, and to enjoy freedom from work-related illness and injuries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, Union Members Summary, 2009; National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2009, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2009. Bulletin 2731);
WHEREAS, The sites of labor disputes and picket lines are likely to be disruptive for many ALA members, which could prevent those members from participating in conventions and exhibitions, major meetings, and other organizational activities;
WHEREAS, The First Amendment protects the right of an association and its members to support a union’s request for a boycott;
WHEREAS, Many library employees believe very strongly in the right of workers to organize, picket, and strike and consequently need advance notice of labor disputes so that they do not plan to attend ALA events at a hotel that is on a “Do Not Patronize” list; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the ALA, to the extent known, will inform attendees of conferences and exhibitions if a hotel is on the “Do Not Patronize” list of the local labor body during an ALA event, or is the object of a boycott because of the unfair labor practices of the hotel.
Sponsor: SRRT (The official movers and seconders have not been named)
Co-sponsors: AFL-CIO/ALA Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups
Endorsed in principle:
Final version, __/__/____.

Larry Romans,
Head, Government Information and Media Services;
Political Science and Communication Studies Bibliographer.
Vanderbilt University Libraries,
American Library Association

=
Open for discussion:

Draft Resolution : Hotel 2: Labor Clauses
December 10, 2010.

> RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF LABOR CLAUSES IN HOTEL CONTRACTS ENTERED
> INTO BY THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
>
> WHEREAS, In 2009, approximately 24.9% of librarians were
> union members, approximately 23.7% of library technicians were union
> members, and approximately 19% of other education, training, and
> library workers were union members (Bureau of National Affairs, op.
> cit., Table 8a);
>
> WHEREAS, The American Library Association's (ALA)
> recognizes the right of library employees to organize and bargain
> collectively with their employers (ALA Policy 54.11, "Collective
> Bargaining");
>
> WHEREAS, The ALA's essential set of core values for its
> librarian members include working for "The Public Good" and "Social
> Responsibility" (ALA Policy 40.1, "Core Values of Librarianship");
>
> WHEREAS, There is considerable public good and social
> responsibility in the fair treatment of workers and their families.
>
> WHEREAS, Workers at union establishments, including union hotels,
> are far more likely than their non-union counterparts to be paid a
> living wage, to receive employer-paid family medical benefits, and to
> enjoy freedom from work-related illness and injuries (Bureau of Labor
> Statistics, Department of Labor, Union Members Summary, 2009;
> National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States,
> March 2009, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor
> Statistics, September 2009. Bulletin 2731);
>
> WHEREAS, Non-union hotels are more likely to be the site of
> labor disputes and picket lines, which is likely to be disruptive for
> many ALA members, and which could prevent those members from
> participating in conventions and exhibitions, major meetings, and
> other organizational activities;
>
> WHEREAS, The First Amendment protects the right of an
> association and its members to support a union's request for a
> boycott;
>
> WHEREAS, Many library employees strongly support the right
> of workers to organize, and are themselves union members who would
> vastly prefer to patronize union hotels; now, therefore, be it
>
> RESOLVED, That the ALA:
>
> 1. Will inquire as to the union status of hotels at the time of
> booking and the expiration date of any collective bargaining
> agreements at the hotel, and require that the hotel provide updates
> regarding the start of any future collective bargaining discussions;
>
> 2. To the extent feasible, will make every effort to use as main
> convention hotels only those in which a majority of the hourly
> workforce is represented by one or more labor unions; and
>
>
> 3. To the extent feasible, will insert a clause in its
> contracts with hotels asserting the right to cancel its contract to
> use a hotel if that hotel is placed on the "Do Not Patronize" list by
> the local labor body, or is the site of a boycott, because of unfair
> labor practices, called by an organization which represents, or is
> seeking to represent, the hotel's employees.
>
> Sponsor: SRRT (The official movers and seconders have not been named)
>
> Co-sponsors: AFL-CIO/ALA Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups
>
> Endorsed in principle:
>
> Final version, __/__/____.
>
>
> Larry Romans,
> Head, Government Information and Media Services;
> Political Science and Communication Studies Bibliographer.
> Vanderbilt University Libraries,
> Nashville, TN 37203-2427.
> larry.romans@vanderbilt.edu;
> (615) 322-2838.
> American Library Association Council

Background:
From: Jim Kuhn [mailto:JKuhn@FOLGER.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 8:23 AM
To: SRRTAC-L; ifrt-b@ala.org; ala-ifc@ala.org
Cc: Jennifer Dorning; Mary Parker
Subject: [srrtac-l] FW: Draft ALA Labor Resolutions

Hello IF & SRRT colleagues:

You may remember efforts last conference to get sponsorships and support for a "Resolution in support of labor clauses." This resolution was co-sponsored by SRRT and the ALA/AFL-CIO Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups, and endorsed in principle by IFRT and IFC. In the end it was not taken to Council, in the hopes that a longer lead time would allow for more deliberation and a better resolution.

I have worked in recent weeks with Jennifer Dorning, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Labor Relations (of which I am a former member). See below. Attached you'll find the current versions of new resolutions, which have already had some input from members of the Joint Committee. I am forwarding this to SRRT, IFC, and IFRT to get it on our Midwinter agendas, and to start some discussion about improvements, additions, etc. to the language in the attached.

Although I won't be able to attend SRRT meetings, I'll plan to speak to the issue at IFC and IFRT; and Joint Committee co-chair Jennifer Dorning will be able to attend SRRT. Meanwhile though, we should discuss this electronically. Please send suggestions for changes to me and Jennifer -- or by reply all to the list, of course. Perhaps GLBTRT should be brought in as well? Can someone bring them in? Although I am a member I am not on their listserv.

Thanks in advance for your help and input.

best,

Jim Kuhn

From: Jennifer Dorning [mailto:Jdorning@dpeaflcio.org]
Sent: Friday, October 08, 2010 12:07 PM
To: Mary Parker; bblake707@gmail.com; jcobb@nlc.edu; fuchsc@stjohns.edu; jjefferson@crs.loc.gov; leavitt9@msu.edu; mcdonaldd@utpa.edu; cmerbler@uamail.albany.edu; roy.steve@epamail.epa.gov; duncan-stewart@uiowa.edu; jstorrs@afscme.org; yovnello@rowan.edu
Cc: Jim Kuhn
Subject: Draft ALA Labor Resolutions

Dear AFL-CIO/ALA Joint Committee Members:

Attached are two draft ALA resolutions that were written by Jim Kuhn and myself. The first is a resolution in support of disclosing labor disputes at hotels contracted by the ALA. The second is a resolution in support of labor clauses in hotel contracts entered into by the ALA.

As you may recall from this year’s annual, a similar resolution was drafted and co-sponsored by the AFL-CIO/ALA Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups and the Social Responsibilities Round Table. This resolution was also endorsed in principal by the Intellectual Freedom Round Table and the Intellectual Freedom Committee. Unfortunately, this resolution was not successful.

Jim Kuhn and I worked together to redrafted the resolution that was put forth at this year’s annual. Changes were made to the June 2010 resolution with the issues and concerns that were raised at annual in mind.

I would first like to get feedback from the Joint Committee as to the language of the resolutions. Are there any thoughts or suggestions for changes, additions, or improvements?

Thank you for your time and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Dorning

Co-Chair

---------

Jennifer Dorning

Researcher and Representative

Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO

815 16th Street, NW

7th Floor

Washington, DC 20006

Email: jdorning@dpeaflcio.org

Phone: 202-638-0320 x114

www.dpeaflcio.org

Rising Number of Librarians Covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements

2010-12-10T20:01:00.001-05:00

Rising Number of Librarians Covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements.

The percentage of libraries that report that all librarians and other professional staff are covered increased from 16.4 percent in 1997 to 21 percent in 2005, then to 25.1 percent in 2010. The percentage of libraries reporting that all support staff are covered decreased from 20.3 percent in 1997 to 17 percent in 2005 then to 14.4 percent in 2010. (Table 3)

Library Worklife. December 2010.

Work and Transformation: Documenting Working Americans.-Archie Green Fellowships

2010-12-01T17:59:00.001-05:00

Symposium Co-Sponsored by the American Folklife Center and the
Institute for Museum and Library Services
December 6-7, 2010
Thomas Jefferson Building, Room 119
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540

The American Folklife Center is pleased to announce a two-day free public symposium, Work and Transformation: Documenting Working Americans. The symposium will be held at the Library of Congress on December 6 and 7, 2010. It will feature presentations by the 2010 recipients of the AFC Archie Green Fellowships, who are researching and documenting the culture and traditions of American workers in New York, Idaho, and Louisiana. Panels will also include representatives of community-based documentation projects supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS); they will discuss the role of America's libraries and museums as vibrant centers for the documentation of oral history and the development of 21st century skills. Speakers will also include social and economic policymakers, who will explore the value of using personal narratives about work to address broader social issues.

This symposium is being developed in response to an historic moment: the United States is experiencing critical changes in work and workplace culture, as far-ranging as those of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout America, people are being challenged to reshape their relationship to work, their workplace skills and identity, and their place in occupational communities and civil society. AFC and the IMLS have joined forces to plan for an oral history initiative that will capture a portrait of America's workforce in transition, and document the value of work and of workers. Work and Transformation: Documenting Working Americans will be an integral part of this effort.

Freedom of Association: Trade Union Rights Worldwide

2010-11-27T09:58:00.002-05:00

The International Centre for Trade Union Rights. World maps on freedom of association and other core labour standards are useful for getting a clear picture of how ILO Conventions are ratified and respected (or not) around the world.

See links to maps here.

Teachers union chief pushes for libraries in Philadelphia schools

2010-11-24T22:17:00.003-05:00

"it's a matter of prioritizing what is most important. It's very unfortunate that libraries and librarians have been cut. How can you not provide that service for your kids?"

Nearly half of all city public schools have no libraries, a fact that has long galled Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan.

Tuesday, at a news conference at University City High School, Jordan called for the district to ensure that each of the district's 258 schools was equipped with a library.

Check the 'facts' on Englewood workers -A New Jersey Union Librarian Speaks Out

2010-11-18T17:00:00.003-05:00

Ann Sparanese, a union librarian in Englewood, New Jersey writes:

"It looks like class war to me, and I, for one, will not surrender without firing back."

Read Ann's powerful letter

Indianapolis Lays Offs

2010-11-15T08:42:00.000-05:00

Marion County - The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library system has taken another hit. Thursday, the library announced it had laid off 37 employees.

The layoffs are the latest in measures aimed at closing a $4 million shortfall caused by declining property tax dollars. Last month, the library system slashed its hours, closing most branches an extra day each week....
We all knew this was coming, but honestly, I think they could have handled this better," said Michael Torres, AFSCME Local 3395.

AFSCME represents roughly 315 of the library's 793 employees.

Torres said employees were told of the job cuts Friday. Nine were managers or supervisors and 28 public service staff. Torres said most averaged $9-$18 an hour.

Bibliopocalypse in Buffalo & Erie County Library.

2010-11-07T22:30:00.000-05:00

Buffalo & Erie County Library.

Library supporters protested the county's plans to cut $4 million from the Buffalo & Erie County Library.

"We're here to make some noise!" rallied Timothy Galvin, president of the union that represents county librarians.

Industrial Worker - Issue #1730, November 2010

2010-11-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Industrial Worker - Issue #1730, November 2010.

Library workers at Brown authorize strike over Health care Increases. 11.5.2010.

2010-11-04T20:21:00.002-05:00

Library workers at Brown are still fighting for a fair contract from the university. After over six weeks of negotiations, the university is STILL refusing to back down from its unfair proposal to drastically increase workers' health care contributions. This proposal would make health care unaffordable for many members of the Brown community.

Workers, students, faculty, staff, alums, parents, and community members are coming together to say NO to this attack on workers' rights! We are RALLYING outside of University Hall on Friday (11/5/2010) at 2pm because we are committed to fair treatment and we will not back down.

Ultimately, this debate comes down to questions of community, and valuing the crucial role library workers play in the daily functioning of the school. To support those of our community members currently facing attacks on their access to affordable health care, we will once again be rallying, this time outside of University Hall on the Brown U. Main Green on Friday, (TOMORROW) November 5 at 2pm. This will be an escalation from our last rally–the university has made it clear that it won’t back down, and neither will students, faculty, and all members of the Brown and Providence community committed to economic justice and fair treatment.

"Our Profession’s Values….and Why They Matter"- Massachusetts Library Association and the Hyatt 100

2010-11-01T12:25:00.003-05:00

Our Profession’s Values….and Why They Matter

Our profession’s dedication to upholding intellectual freedom and to ensuring that all citizens have equal access to library services and information are philosophical ideals that define us. Libraries welcome all, and offer educational and cultural resources equally to all. Library programs and services often support and promote social justice. Our literacy programs empower immigrants through language instruction, homeless persons seek refuge in our buildings, and libraries frequently serve as daycare centers for children whose caregivers aren’t accessible. These are just a few examples of how librarians support society’s most vulnerable citizens.

As proponents of social justice, we are often required to translate our professional ideals into action. Recently, the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) was challenged to uphold our professional values when we learned that Hyatt Regency Cambridge, which we had contracted with for our 2011 and 2013 annual conferences, was one of the Boston Hyatt hotels that had fired its housekeeping staff. These fired workers, now known as the “Hyatt 100”, were let go so that cleaning services could be cheaply outsourced. Prior to selecting the Hyatt Regency Cambridge for its conference venue, MLA was unaware that it was one of the Boston Hyatt hotels that had fired its housekeeping staff. We subsequently learned about it from the Hyatt 100 and Unite Here, the union now representing them, who contacted MLA Executive Board requesting that we cancel our conference agreement with Hyatt.

The firings of long-time, loyal housekeepers by Boston area Hyatt hotels received a lot of media attention. These actions were denounced by the Boston news media, Mayor Thomas Menino, Governor Deval Patrick, and many other elected officials. In addition, American Library Association (ALA) contacted Hyatt Regency Boston general manager Phil Stamm in order to express dissatisfaction with Hyatt’s abrupt firing of its housekeeping staff.

MLA Executive Board determined that it was essential to take a stand for the Hyatt 100 by communicating our professional values to Hyatt management and requesting to be relinquished from our contractual obligations. An objective and constructive debate that allowed both “sides of the issue” to be objectively examined, resulted in Hyatt Regency Cambridge General Manager Stacey Nichols agreeing to release MLA from its 2011 contractual obligations without penalty, in return for holding us to our 2013 conference contract. Hopefully, this complex labor dispute will be favorably resolved prior to our 2013 conference. We are grateful that General Manager Stacey Nichols was willing to work with MLA to identify a compromise solution to an extremely complex situation. In fact, during our dialogue Ms. Nichols quipped that she would really like to have librarians advocating for her!

As we advocate for libraries, it is often difficult to articulate and crystallize into manageable sound bytes all of the pertinent information that defines us and why we believe that library services and programs are essential to a strong democracy. It is even more challenging to find opportunities for public discourse regarding the values integral to our profession, and why they matter. We encourage all Massachusetts librarians to become active members of MLA. Working together through sections and committees, we can more effectively advance our profession and be strong advocates for the Commonwealth’s libraries and the people who rely on them.

Jackie Rafferty, President
Massachusetts Library Association

Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library Reduces Hours 26%

2010-10-12T08:53:00.000-05:00

The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (IMCPL), an LJ 4-star library, reduced its public service hours 26 percent (from 1,324 to 980 hours) effective October 3, and it has plans to eliminate 35 to 40 jobs before the end of the year.
Michael Torres, the local chair of AFSCME Council 62, Local 3395, which has represented 320 out of 424 benefit-eligible staff since 2007, told LJ that morale at the library was low.

"The entire process lacks transparency," he said. "Staff have been in limbo since the announcement and still do not know who is going to be let go." Torres is a paraprofessional reference assistant and has worked at the library for 13 years.

Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) Announces Guide to Union Friendly Hotels

2010-09-30T16:24:00.003-06:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

Date: September 30, 2010
CONTACT: Mike Marlin, SRRT Coordinator[mmarlin13@gmail.com]

Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) Announces Guide to Union Friendly Hotels

In light of recent labor disputes at hotels, the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association (SRRT) today published an article in its September 2010 newsletter informing SRRT members about hotels and their current labor status in San Diego. The article encourages SRRT members to support unions and research hotels prior to making reservations for ALA conferences. UNITE HERE is an organization that represents workers in many industries, including hospitality/hotels. A Union Hotel Guide is available on their website.

According to the Hotel Guide, at this time, one 2011 Midwinter conference hotel is listed as “please patronize”: Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Two 2011 Midwinter conference hotels are also listed as under boycott: Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego and Westin San Diego at Emerald Plaza. The other conference hotels on the ALA 2011 Midwinter Meeting Hotel Rate Sheet and Hotel Map do not appear in the Union Hotel Guide. Please note that a boycott status may change at any time, as labor disputes are always under negotiation.

SRRT hopes that the knowledge of the Unite Here Guide is useful for SRRT members as well as all ALA members who travel to library conferences and for other business and recreational purposes.

For more information about SRRT, please visit the website of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT.

Resolution in Support of Labor Clauses in All Hotel Meeting Room Contracting by the American Library Association

2010-09-30T05:48:00.000-06:00

Resolution in Support of Labor Clauses in All Hotel Meeting Room Contracting by the American Library Association
Adopted by SRRT Action Council, June 26, 2010

Whereas, “The American Library Association shall have no affiliation with, memberships in, or formal relationships with organizations which violate ALA principles and commitments to human rights and social justice as set forth in ALA's policies, procedures, and position statements and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (ALA Policy 9.5);

Whereas, labor disputes at American Library Association (ALA)-contracted hotels have occurred in recent years and are becoming more numerous, prompting repeated calls for cancellation of meeting room contracts and for hotel boycotts in the event of labor disputes;

Whereas, ALA has an established policy, 54.11 Library Personnel Practices, Collective Bargaining, which affirms the right of eligible library employees to organize and bargain collectively;

Whereas, numerous professional and trade associations have respected various hotel boycotts in recent years, including the California Trial Lawyers Association, which joined the 2008 Manchester Hyatt boycott;

Whereas, Section 6 of the Clayton Act (15 USC 17, one of the two main federal antitrust statutes) declares that “the labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce” and as a result, case law has uniformly rejected antitrust claims against business decisions to support working people, and therefore while a trade association cannot itself organize a boycott for its own commercial purposes, a trade association's support of a union's request for a boycott in service of social justice goals is activity protected by the First Amendment and exempted from antitrust liability (Richards v. Nielsen Freight Lines, 602 F.Supp. 1224, 1245 (C.D.Cal. 1985), aff'd, 810 F.2d 898 (CA 9 1987));

Whereas, in NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware, 458 U.S. 886, 889-91, 102 S.Ct. 3409, 73 L.Ed.2d 1215 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that boycotting a business over its employment practices is not actionable under state or federal law due to the First Amendment; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, that the American Library Association (ALA):

1. Will inform conference attendees prior to events as to the existence of labor disputes at hotels with ALA-reserved meeting rooms; and
2. Will research and negotiate labor clauses in all future hotel contracts based on existing models of protective contract language, to require hotels to disclose to the Association any labor disputes, and to enable the Association to cancel meeting room contracts without penalty in the event of such a labor dispute.

Moved by Al Kagan. Seconded by Tiffani Conner.

"His education was the Govan library" -Jimmy Reid

2010-08-20T22:38:00.002-06:00

UNION legend Jimmy Reid "came home" to his beloved Govan yesterday.

Thousands lined the streets as his funeral cortege passed the shipyards where he led the famous 1971 work-in.

And Sir Alex Ferguson told almost 1000 mourners who crammed into a service to celebrate his life: "The Govan boy has come home - home to this historic place. This was his theatre - an outstanding man."

Jimmy died last week aged 78 following a short illness.

His widow Joan and daughters Eileen, Shona and Julie were joined by friends and family, as well as leading figures from politics, arts and entertainment at the humanist service at Govan Old Parish Church.

Among the mourners were former PM Gordon Brown, Labour leadership contender Ed Balls, Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, Solidarity leader Tommy Sheridan, writer William McIllvany, actress Elaine C Smith, entertainer Johnny Beattie and musician Aly Bain.

Sir Alex, who grew up alongside Jimmy in Govan, paid a glowing tribute at the service to a cherished personal friend.

He said: "He was older than me but we used to play together.

"Our education was football, his education was the Govan library. He was never out of there - he had such a great intellect."

Queens Library Guild Votes Against Concessions

2010-08-07T06:28:00.002-06:00

Members of the union representing Queens Library workers have overwhelmingly rejected a plan to cut their benefits to save the jobs of 46 fellow employees facing layoffs in August.
The Queens Library Guild voted 297 to 50 against a package of concessions proposed by the library administration.

Undocumented workers need legal rights

2010-07-01T17:57:00.003-06:00

In his widely-circulated June 18, 2010 speech to the City Club of Cleveland, Richard Trumka says our economic strategy must ensure all of us will “have a fair shake.” Richard Trumka:

In a global economy in the 21st century, the United States cannot afford to have millions of hard-working people without legal protections, shut off from economic gain—and that means we must face head-on our own contradictions, hypocrisy and history on immigration,

--
Richard L. Trumka is president of the AFL-CIO and former president of the United Mine Workers of America.

National Labor Relations Board decisions were illegal, Supreme Court rules

2010-06-18T19:59:00.001-06:00

National Labor Relations Board decisions were illegal,
Supreme Court rules

Hundreds of recent federal rulings in disputes between
unions and employers could be reopened after the Supreme
Court said on Thursday that it was illegal for the
National Labor Relations Board to decide the cases with
only two sitting members.

The case before the court turns on an attempt by the
NLRB to operate with only two of its five seats filled
because of gridlock over presidential nominees, and it
highlights the way political divisions in Congress
interfere with basic government functions.

Labor Rights are Human Rights

2010-06-18T09:47:00.000-06:00

Monday, June 28, 2010 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Labor Rights are Human Rights.

RUSA ALA Washington Convention Center -206 Human Resources and Staff Development.

Labor rights are at the heart of the struggle for human rights. The freedom to associate, to organize and to have equal opportunities in the workplace are under attack around the world. This program will discuss labor rights, including the role of unions in promoting democracy and economic prosperity, and the attack on workers’ rights as part of an international phenomenon. The importance of unions to the
salary and status of women will be a special focus of this program.

Speakers: Bama Athreya, International Labor Rights Forum, Executive Director; Carol Rosenblatt, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Executive Director

Brooklyn, Queens and NYPL Face LayOffs.

2010-05-21T17:37:00.001-06:00

Eileen Muller, President President, Local 1482 Brooklyn Public Library reports that Local 1482 (Brooklyn Public Library) is facing a 'lay-off notice ' of 106 to 363 staffers, Queens Public Library has already sent out 400 lay-off notices to Local 1321 members and Local 1930, New York City Public Library numbers could be as high as 600, that's almost 1,000 library workers in the NYC library systems. The union, DC37 and all three library locals are working hard with city council to try to improve the library budgets.

LA Librarians Stand in Solidarity

2010-05-16T09:33:00.001-06:00

Librarians in the audience stood in silent solidarity.

Los Angeles is facing a deficit of close to $500 million; on Friday the City Council held a special meeting to present the report of the budget and finance committee.

Finally, at 11 a.m., 10 union representatives were allowed to speak. Each was given two minutes -- all others who had signed up would have just one minute. First, firefighters pleaded their case. Then Roy Stone, president of the library guild, did the same for libraries, noting that 40,000 people had signed a Save the Library petition (full disclosure: I've signed it) as librarians in the audience stood in silent solidarity.

Economy Track: An Interactive Look at the U.S. Labor Market

2010-05-15T05:17:00.001-06:00

From the Economic Policy Institute http://epi.org

"Economy Track: An Interactive Look at the U.S. Labor Market"
Launched in October 2009, Economy Track provides the tools to track the recession and unemployment crisis, with the option of focusing specifically on trends by state, race/ethnic group, gender, occupation, and education level. Bringing together up-to-date and historic data, this site also provides important context by comparing the current economic downturn to past recessions. All of the data and methodology underlying Economy Track’s graphs are downloadable and fully sourced, with some data available exclusively from this new Economic Policy Institute resource.

Boycott Hyatt-ALA Midwinter 2010-Action & Discussion

2010-05-11T05:25:00.002-06:00

Boston Hyatt & SRRT's Right to Assemble — Miguel Figueroa, Interim Director of OLOS, spoke to Action Council about the current SRRT list discussion regarding the employee dispute at the Boston Hyatt and SRRT's right to assemble...
Discussion ensued regarding the fact that ALA says what SRRT is not allowed to do, but the lawyers do not explain what SRRT should do to accomplish our goals. Action Council members asked for a list of things that can be done. Al Kagan produced the 2001 SRRT Resolution on ALA and the Marriott Boycott which called for SRRT to participate in the Marriott Boycott. ALA Council did not pass that resolution, but SRRT and ALA Council members picketed and there was no talk of restraint of trade. In this case of the Boston Hyatt, however, SRRT was prevented from taking any boycott action at the Action Council meetings by the ALA Executive Board.

Again, the One Voice policy was disputed as nonexistent. A request was made to produce the policy or stop referring to it.

Library workers avoid layoffs in Hamden CT

2010-05-10T21:00:00.003-06:00

HAMDEN Public Library — Library employees have ratified an agreement that includes furlough days, but eliminates the need to lay off any workers at the three libraries.

Larry Dorman, a spokesman for Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said Friday that a majority of the library system’s 38 employees unanimously approved the agreement Thursday.

Read more.

Defense of Librarians filed by Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers

2010-05-06T20:48:00.002-06:00

A group of school librarians contends that Pittsburgh Public Schools is making serious cuts in its library and information literacy programs, and implementing staff reductions in other areas, that ultimately will undermine the district's principle of excellence for all students.

"Research has shown a direct positive correlation between school libraries, learning and test scores. The fact that nine Pittsburgh Public Schools have no teacher-librarians to teach information literacy demonstrates both inequitable opportunities for students ... and a cause for concern for [school district] stakeholders," states a 29-page memorandum compiled by the librarians.

Read more.

Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.

Mary Kay Henry, SEIU- A Powerful woman in progressive politics.

2010-05-06T18:44:00.001-06:00

Mary Kay Henry, upset winner in the race to take over the SEIU, is about to become one of the most powerful women in progressive politics.

Cincinnati and Hamilton County librarians Vote to Decertify Union

2010-04-20T20:45:00.001-06:00

Union was established in 2006 after library cuts
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 4/12/2010

* Reversal of 2006 vote
* Seniority and "bumping" an issue
* Only librarians involved

After librarians of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County faced staff reductions in 2005, they agreed in early 2006 to join the Service Employees International Union, District 1199 (SEIU), by a vote of 74–65.

Last week, however, they decertified the union by a 66–50 vote. The move came after a staffer filed a Decertification Petition with the State Employment Relations Board, with signatures from more than half of the members of the bargaining unit.

The library has steadily opposed unionization in part because of its reliance on seniority as a basis for promotion and retention—a challenge for an institution facing change and cutbacks. In a press release last week, library director Kim Fender said the seniority and bumping system could cause five or six job reassignments. SEIU has not responded to LJ's request for comment.

Emotions high over Fla. teacher pay, tenure bill

2010-04-06T03:42:00.005-06:00

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- From street corners to cyberspace, a battle of words and images is raging over legislation that would link Florida teacher pay to student test scores and erode job security for new hires.

Teachers and their unions have been circulating petitions against the measure, making picket signs and holding rallies and demonstrations. They've flooded the Florida House with e-mails and so many calls that extra lines were put in and additional staffers assigned to answer the phones. Read more.

Details top contacting legislators: here.

Unions Will Figure in Boston Public Library Plans to CLose Branches

2010-04-05T14:04:00.002-06:00

Days before the Boston Public Library’s board of trustees is expected to vote on whether to close branches or pare back hours, the head of the library system spoke with a group of community reporters at the main branch in Copley Square.

The library system is facing a $3.6 million budget gap, according to BPL President Amy Ryan.

Q: It seems like the main focus is on closing libraries. I’m trying to get percentages: 60, 40 you’re weighing closing libraries?

A: We’re looking carefully at the reducing of the hours. That is one of the options that the board asked us to fill out. So we are looking at if we keep the seven largest libraries open, where it’s busy, where they have the computers and the programs, what it would mean to the remaining libraries. And that would mean and we’re laying out the numbers now, a reduction of 50 to 85 percent in open hours. That could mean that libraries are open from one, two or three days. That is also dependent on union bargaining too, because of the location of the workplace. That means the staff might have to work up to three places per week. So that option is still before the trustees.
READ MORE.

Librarians Saved in LA Unified Agreement.

2010-03-30T21:25:00.001-05:00

The agreement reached over the weekend by Los Angeles school administrators and union leaders to trim the school calendar by about a week this year and next was the best choice from a range of terrible options.

Not that it's something to cheer about. The quantity of instructional time, not just the quality, is an important factor in student achievement. But L.A. Unified is running out of acceptable ways to cut costs. The new agreement allows it to retain close to 2,000 teachers as well as many counselors, nurses and librarians who were slated for layoffs.

Roosevelt University library receives John Sessions Memorial Award

2010-03-11T20:18:00.004-05:00

Roosevelt University library receives John Sessions Memorial Award.
The Murray-Green Library at Roosevelt University, Chicago, is the recipient of the 2010 John Sessions Memorial Award, an honor presented by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) and named for John Sessions, former American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) co-chair of the AFL-CIO/ALA Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups.

This annual award recognizes a library or library system that has made a significant effort to work with the labor community and has consequently brought recognition of the history and contribution of the labor movement to the development of the United States. Through its development of resources such as the “Oral History Project in Labor History,” the Murray-Green Library has made an ongoing commitment to preserve and increase the public’s accessibility to labor history. In particular, the “Oral History Project” contains a multitude of interviews and transcripts with Chicago-area labor movement participants conducted by Elizabeth Balanoff in the 1970s. The interview transcripts were recently digitized by Roosevelt University Librarians Michael Gabriel and David Green thanks to a grant from the Illinois State Library. William Green, former leader of the American Federation of Labor (ALF), and Philip Murray, leader of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, are both namesakes of the library and served on the university’s original Board of Advisers.

The award plaque will be presented at the RUSA Awards Ceremony and Reception, scheduled for 3:30-5:30 p.m., Monday, June 28, as a part of ALA’s Annual Conference events. The exact location of this event will be announced on the RUSA website and at the RUSA Blog in late spring. A complete listing of RUSA events at this summer’s Annual Conference can be found at the RUSA website.

[Roosevelt University named its library after two men who began their working lives as coal miners before becoming rival presidents of the most powerful labor federations in America. William Green led the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and Philip Murray headed the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) to the peak of their respective power. Both men died within weeks of each other in November 1952, three years before their organizations merged in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO. William Green, the older of the two, was born in 1870 in the mining community of Coshocton, Ohio (about 60 miles northeast of Columbus), to British immigrant parents, neither of whom could read nor write. After completing the 8th Grade, Green followed his father into the coal mines and joined the Progressive Miners’ Union. His fellow workers elected him to a series of local union offices because of his energy, dedication, and education. According to his biographer, Green was one of the few men in his union “who was able to record minutes of a meeting, compose a formal letter, or frame a resolution for [union] conventions.” He dug coal for 19 years before becoming president of the Ohio District of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) in 1906. As a popular union official, he was elected to two terms in the Ohio State Senate, where he drafted and helped pass a series of Progressive Era legislation, including a Workers’ Compensation law in 1913 that became a model for other states.
In 1913 the UMWA recognized Green for his leadership by naming him national secretary-treasurer and appointing him to represent the miners on the Executive Council of the AFL. Initially, he was the Council’s strongest advocate of “industrial unionism” and advocated legislation (like minimum wage laws) that would benefit all workers, not just union members. Both of these positions reflected the UMWA’s approach to unionism, but represented minority views among “craft unionists” in the AFL. In 1924 Green was elected AFL president, a position he would hold for nearly three decades. During the New Deal years of the 1930s, Green broke with the miners and with his friend Philip Murray when the AFL refused to allow industrial unionism in the mass production industries (steel, auto, and others) and by opposing initial New Deal labor legislation like the Social Security Act. Philip Murray was born in Scotland in 1886 of Irish immigrant parents and began mining at the age of ten. At sixteen, Murray migrated with his father to Western Pennsylvania, where the two of them earned enough money working in the local coal mines to bring his stepmother and twelve siblings to the U.S. Murray’s father had been a union activist in Scotland, and Philip became involved in union activities from age seven; his UMWA local in Horning, Pennsylvania elected him president as a teenager. The United Mine Workers grew dramatically during the first two decades of the 20th Century, and Phil Murray helped make this growth possible by serving on the union’s national Executive Board beginning in 1912. As a 33-year-old in 1920, Murray became the second-ranking officer in the largest union in North America. The top officer, John L. Lewis, considered Murray his “right-hand man” for the next twenty years.]

Save the Los Angeles Public Library!

2010-03-03T17:15:00.001-05:00

Los Angeles Public Library is facing massive budget cuts!

* The Mayor's office has proposed and 11% reduction in staff-- more than any other department.
* ONLY the LIBRARY and Recreation & Parks are marked for additional staff cuts by the hundreds over the next 5 years.
* The City Council voted to layoff more than 4,000 city workers. This is just the beginning

What This Means:

* Reduced hours
* Reduced services
* Closed branches

What This Really Means:

* Fewer books
* Limited Internet access
* Fewer DVDs, CD,s, Books on CD
* Fewer story hours, teen activities, literacy education activities, after-school activities, computer instruction classes, adult programs
* Limited assistance for students, job seekers, writers, artists, researchers, entrepreneurs, teachers, recreational readers, armchair learners, and others.

Contact the Mayor and your City Council Member Today and Let them Know that:

* You don't want the library to be cut
* You want your library open
* You want programs and service at your library
* This is your city, your library and you should be able to access materials and information
=
Librarians' Guild AFSCME Local 2626

United Teacher of Los Angeles protests School Board approval of RIFs

2010-03-03T07:01:00.003-05:00

United Teacher of Los Angeles protests School Board approval of RIFs This round of layoffs would increase class sizes (including 29 to 1 in K‐3), increase student‐counselor ratios to 1,000 to 1, and drastically reduce the number of school nurses and librarians. Cuts this deep will severely limit our ability to meet students’ most basic needs.
UTLA will not stand by and allow our students’ educational program to be dismantled.

The Southland’s largest school district, like many others in the region, is moving forward with teacher layoffs.
About half of those notices will go to managers who hold teaching credentials. Most of the rest will go to elementary school teachers, nurses, librarians and counselors.

United Teachers of Los Angeles protests School Board approval of RIFs

Elissa C. Cadillic, President AFSCME Council 93 Local 1526, Responds to Includes Unfair Attacks on Union Workers

2010-02-26T07:52:00.003-05:00

THE FEB. 19 editorial “In crisis, Boston libraries need better board, more private funds,’’ regarding the Boston Public Library’s funding crisis, contained some good suggestions. Unfortunately, it also included an unfair attack on union workers who were portrayed as obstructionists for insisting on sound procedures for using volunteers.

The members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1526 agree with trustee president Jeffrey Rudman’s call for the current board vacancy to be filled by a member of the Legislature or a philanthropist. We also agree with the Globe’s assertion that trustees must do all they can to increase funding before making drastic cuts.

However, we object to the allegation of union inflexibility on volunteerism, especially since AFSCME supports the use of volunteers for initiatives such as English-language courses, tax preparation assistance, and after-school programs. Some of our recommendations included common-sense measures such as criminal background checks for volunteers - a requirement for new employees.

We do not support the misguided notion that volunteers can replace the important, modest-wage jobs our members do to keep the library running smoothly.

Finally, readers should know that AFSCME members - 90 percent of whom live in Boston - continue to do their fair share to help close the budget gap, including agreeing to a wage freeze and significant increases in their health insurance costs.

Elissa C. Cadillic
President AFSCME Council 93 Local 1526
AFSCME Local 1526 represents approximately 270 library assistants, custodians, and clerical and maintenance workers in the Boston Public Library system.

Firing of Central Falls, R.I., Teachers ‘Illegal, Unjust, Disgraceful’

2010-02-26T00:16:00.002-05:00

Firing of Central Falls, R.I., Teachers ‘Illegal, Unjust, Disgraceful’ but

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan “applauded” state and local education officials for “showing courage and doing the right thing for kids.”

In the middle of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, more than 90 dedicated professional educators find themselves put out into the street. On Feb. 23, the Central Falls, R.I., school trustees fired the entire teaching staff of Central Falls High School, supposedly because of declining test scores at the school, which is located in Rhode Island’s smallest and poorest city.

In all, 93 persons were put in the street—74 classroom teachers, plus reading specialists, guidance counselors, physical education teachers, the school psychologist, the principal and three assistant principals. Negotiations over ways to improve the school between teachers and the school superintendent broke down when school officials insisted that teachers add new duties, some without any extra pay at all.

In a rally before the trustees meeting, some 500 union members and community supporters called on the board to reconsider its decision. Rhode Island AFL-CIO President George Nee told the crowd:

This is immoral, illegal, unjust, irresponsible, disgraceful and disrespectful. What is happening here tonight is the wrong thing and we’re not going to put up with it.

McMaster University Academic Librarian Association formed.

2010-02-25T18:11:00.003-05:00

"The librarians at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) have broken off from the faculty association to form their own union. On February 10, they filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board for certification, followed by a majority vote last week in favor of the certification. The new association is called the McMaster University Academic Librarian Association (MUALA)."

Momentum for the vote seems to have stemmed at least in part from two controversial layoffs of librarians in the Spring of 2009. In particular, one librarian's position was "declared redundant a week before the beginning of her approved [research] leave," according to a letter from three members of the faculty association, including its president, John Berlinsky.

The letter condemns the university's action, and calls "the nature of the termination to be outrageous and the decision itself ill-considered." (A Facebook group includes the letter, as well as other links.)

[Thanks to BGS].

Inside Organizing and Outside Representation

2010-02-22T22:33:00.002-05:00

Inside Organizing and Outside Representation
By Carl Finamore at PORTSIDE.

Organizing workers into a union usually brings out the best in labor. Organizers are truly motivated, committed, work long hours and genuinely believe in helping workers.

But not everything is always as good as it appears. We know from watching pumped-up 30-second movie trailers that the full 90-minute release might not actually measure up to its hype. We are sometimes disappointed. It's the same with us in the union movement.

We have to work on closing the gap between how we project ourselves so favorably while organizing and how we sometimes actually perform so routinely while representing....

--read more here.

The Unions of the States

2010-02-08T08:24:00.002-05:00

Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)

THE UNION OF THE STATES
February 2010, John Schmitt

Executive Summary

This report reviews unionization rates, the size and
composition of the unionized workforce, and the wage and
benefit advantage for union workers in each of the fifty
states and the District of Columbia, using the most
recent data available and focusing on the period
2003-2009. Pooling data from the monthly Current
Population Survey (CPS) over that period yields a sample
size large enough to look at the experience of even the
smallest states.

Unionization rates vary substantially across the states,
from below 5 percent of the overall workforce in South
Carolina and North Carolina, to over 25 percent in New
York and Hawaii. The unionization rate in the state
right in the middle with respect to unionization is 12.6
percent (the rate in Missouri and Vermont). The absolute
number of union workers in each state also varied
greatly in 2009, from just 20,000 in Wyoming to about
2.6 million in California.

Across all the states, however, unionization is strongly
associated with increases in overall compensation,
measured here by hourly wages and health and pension
benefit coverage. In the typical state, unionization is
associated with about a 15 percent increase in hourly
wages (roughly $2.50 per hour), a 19-percentage-point
increase in the likelihood of having employer-provided
health insurance, and a 24-percentage-point increase in
the likelihood of having employer-sponsored retirement
plans.

See report in pdf here.

UAW Local 2282 Amalgamated / Moline Library Unit AGreement

2010-02-05T21:30:00.002-05:00

The City of Moline and the Moline Library Board of Trustees have announced that a wage concession agreement for cost-saving measures has been reached with the UAW Local 2282 Amalgamated. In a Letter of Understanding signed by the parties, the UAW Local 2282 Amalgamated has agreed to the following concessions:

Four (4) unpaid furlough days to be taken by 2011. Two of such days must be taken in 2010

Defer 1.0 % of a scheduled 3.0 % salary increase until 2011

Reduce annual anniversary increases from 2.25% to 2.0% for the years 2010 and 2011

The wage concessions will save the City of Moline $45,000 over a 20 month period, including a permanent savings of nearly $6,000.

The UAW, the Library Board of Trustees and the City worked together to assist in balancing the 2010 and 2011 fiscal year budgets. "I am very appreciative of the willingness of the UAW to work with the City, said Lew Steinbrecher, City Administrator. "I believe this is a good partnership between labor and management to address the financial difficulties the City is experiencing."

UAW Local 2282 Moline Library unit chairperson Clara Kangas said, "The union worked with the Library Board and the City to reach a solution that will help the City during its financial difficulties without losing employees or any library services to the public."

The UAW Local 2282 Amalgamated represents 23 employees who are employed at the Moline Public Library. The current labor contract expires in 2011.

Maryland: The LIBRARYUNION Initiative

2010-02-04T17:29:00.002-05:00

In a move to gain collective bargaining rights for all library workers across Maryland, Local 1994, with the help of Delegate Tom Hucker, is introducing legislation in the 2010 state legislative session that will legislate such rights.

The primary sponsor of the bill is Del. Tom Hucker.
Read the bill here.

Cut all librarians before any cop?

2010-02-02T07:24:00.000-05:00

To deal with a $242 million budget deficit, Phoenix is planning a series of cuts to all types of city services
. Transportation. Senior centers. Libraries. As well as police and firefighters.

Already the police are fighting back. The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association has sponsored a television spot showing a frightened woman in a darkened house calling 911.

"We'll get out there eventually," the dispatcher tells her. Adding, "We're already down 450 officers, and the city wants to lay off more."

A narrator then urges viewers to call city officials and tell them not to reduce public-safety jobs.

"The bottom line is . . . I love the librarian, but I need the police officer," said PLEA President Mark Spencer. "That's why I'm dialing 911. That ad clearly communicates our issues, and that's why we put that on. That's what it is going to come down to."

Lorain Public Library & SEIU Agree to Cuts to Save Jobs

2010-01-29T07:06:00.002-05:00

L to R: Linda Meredith (SEIU representative to Levy Committee), Joanne Eldridge (Director, LPLS), Toni Whitney (Asst. Director, LPLS), and Kevin Corcoran (Levy Chair).

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — In a unanimous vote Thursday evening, the Lorain Public Library System board approved an agreement with the Service Employees International Union Local 1199 that will cut 20 employees.

The 20 jobs cut will come from an early retirement incentive, voluntary and involuntary layoffs. This is a decrease from the 32 jobs cut proposed earlier by the system and rejected by the union.

To help reduce the number of jobs lost, the union agreed to a wage freeze through March 31, 2011, and the discontinuation of health care bonuses for part-time employees.

One of the key parts of the agreement, said SEIU Local 1199 president Linda Meredith, was that for each early retirement or voluntary layoff, it meant one less person would be laid off. The early retirement incentive includes those taking it getting 100 percent payment for unused sick time, up to 800 hours. Still, she said, “There are no winners here.”

Meredith borrowed from Wednesday night’s State of the Union address, saying the library system faced a “deficit of trust” on the part of the communities they serve.

“One-third of the people who help them will be gone,” she said. “The public is the biggest loser here.”

As soon as the board came out of executive session at the North Ridgeville branch library, voted on the agreement and adjourned, Meredith, a children’s librarian at the Lorain branch, submitted a letter declaring her intention to take the early retirement incentive. She said she was doing it in the hopes of saving someone else’s full-time position.

“It’s hard,” Meredith said with tears in her eyes while the board was in executive session. “I’ve got 22 years here. It’s a bittersweet parting.”

Solidarity News at Radio Labour

2010-01-22T07:11:00.001-05:00

RadioLabour presents "Solidarity News" - a 20 minute audiocast of international union news every Monday. The audiocast is presented by labour educator Marc Bélanger.

College for Working Families

2010-01-15T09:07:00.002-05:00

The Princeton Review has set its next goal: to help create the largest online college ever. And it thinks it can do it in five years.

The company announced yesterday that it is entering into a joint venture with the National Labor College -- an accredited institution that offers blended-learning programs to 200 students, most of whom are adults -- to establish what would be called the College for Working Families. The college would offer courses tailored to the needs of union members and their families, beginning this fall.

Part of the role of the college is to bolster union membership. Unionized students pay less, but even non-unionized members can get a substantial discount if they agree to join Working America, an affiliate of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. that aims to form alliances between union and non-union employees. Working America membership is only $5, but students who go through the college are more likely to join a union after graduation if they haven’t already, Scheuerman says. In essence, the Labor College is drawing students from unions, and helping bring new members in as well, he says.

NLC History.

Boston Hyatt: We won’t stop fighting until we get them back.

2010-01-09T14:52:00.002-05:00

"When they fired me and almost 100 others on Aug. 31, they gave me a few weeks pay and a trash bag to clear out my locker."

Bring Back the Hyatt 100.
Corporina Belis, Hyatt Regency Boston

"It makes me sad because I worked with them for 20 years and they threw me out the door. We're asking you to support us so we can get our jobs back."
-Thien Moore, Hyatt Regency Boston

"I worked for 21 years. They gave me a trash bag to clean out my locker. I am fighting for justice. I want everyone to know what happened so it doesn't happen again."
-Aracelly Arango, Hyatt Regency Boston

"It's a shame what happened with Hyatt. It all came down to the dollar. They didn't care about us."
-Lucine Williams, Hyatt Regency Boston.

"I feel really sad about what happened. We didn't deserve to be thrown out the door like trash. We deserved respect."
-Mayra Carmona, Hyatt Regency Boston

On August 31, Hyatt fired its longtime housekeeping staff at its three Boston-area hotels. Many of the fired housekeepers worked for their hotels for over 20 years. Many were required to train their replacements before being fired. Their replacements are being paid minimum wage.

We won’t stop fighting until we get them back.

Mitch Freedman Remembers the ALA SF Boycott of Marriott June 18, 2001.

2010-01-07T23:29:00.006-05:00

Mitch Freedman was ALA President-2003-2004.

Beginning January 4, 2009 the ALA Social Responsibilities RoundTable debated weather to honor the 2010 Boycott of Hyatt Hotels during the MidWinter conference in Boston. See SRRT archives.
.

As part of the discussion Mitch Freedman wrote the SRRT discussants about the boycott in 2001. Mitch Freedman was ALA President-2003-2004.

Hi, All,

At least some of the details re SF Marriott that Al requests are relatively simple.

There was a boycott--not a strike--of the SF Marriott by Local 2 HERE (Hotel Employees Restaurant Employees), San Francisco.

The boycott had been endorsed by the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors, and a host of public officials as well as anyone remotely progressive in the Bay Area, if not the State of California.

Here the details are no longer quite as precise.

A number of us wanted ALA to join the boycott. As early as the prior Fall, there were pressures applied to ALA to pull all of its events out of the Marriott. There was a vote by the Executive Board (Midwinter or Spring before annual?) to continue with the Marriott.
The boycott was supported by numerous ALA members and all kinds of folks from SF, tourists, hotel staff, and people from the Bay Area.

See SRRT Resolution:

RESOLVED that SRRT calls for an immediate resolution by Marriott of all
outstanding issues and full recognition of the rights of all its workers
and calls upon ALA to make it clear that bad labor practices in any unit
of a chain will influence conference location decision choices with
respect to hotels in the whole chain.
Moved by Mark Rosenzweig
Seconded by Al Kagan
Passed Unanimously by Action Council II June 18, 2001
ALA 2001. "Resolutions passed at Annual." SRRT Newsletter, 136, 2.

Many people cancelled reservations at the Marriott and had to find other places to stay, no simple problem.

It was a wonderful action. The local had incredible energy and their attitude and spirit were exceptional. Pots and pans, drums, etc. were all used to let the public know something was happening there.

A personal note: a significant effort was made to get ALA to move it's Executive Board meetings to the SFPL. Susan Hildreth, director at the time, offered the range of facilities that ALA seemed to require. ALA rejected the offer because in its judgment what SFPL offered was not adequate in terms of facilities and access. It also was expressed that it was too late to make all of the logistical and other arrangements required for such a change.

fyi I did not attend the Inaugural Banquet at the SF Marriott at which I was to be inaugurated as President-Elect.
Patricia Glass Schuman was the Lippincott Award winner at the time of
the SF Marriott boycott. Michael Gorman was the recipient of the Melvil Dewey Medal.
Both of them preferred the picket line to attending the Awards ceremony and being handed their respective checks. Pat Schuman, Michael Gorman, and I all spoke that evening OUTSIDE the Marriott. We urged people to boycott the Inaugural Banquet. If memory serves me right, I believe Mark Rosenzweig (and one or two others) actually went into the hotel--I think, to the banquet--with protest signs and eventually left.

I urge any who wish to exercise your free speech and assembly rights to
do so. The use of the ALA name always has been a contentious issue--especially if it is used in regard to something embarrassing or in opposition to an Association action or policy.

If you'll forgive one more trip down memory lane, there was an ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia (don't remember the year, but it may have been the one at which Liz Futas or Marvin Scilken died... yes, they were two of the three librarians that died at each of three successive ALA midwinters in Philadelphia) that moved me to organize a protest.
At the time the efforts to put Mumia Abu Jamal to death-- he was convicted already--were quite intense. After having listened to repeated Mumia-related broadcasts on WBAI (Amy Goodman and others) and read and viewed related material, I felt that it would be inexcusable to go to Philly without doing something to stop the injustice.

To make this dragged out story shorter, a bunch of us stood outside the Sheraton (?), picketed, handed out leaflets, and posed for the innumerable photos taken by the Philadelphia police, who were very much on hand. (A local Quaker anti-capital punishment group said that things would go much more smoothly if we notified the cops in advance.)

It was a bitter cold day. ALA's administration said/did nothing whatsoever--one way or another--regarding the picket. The stakes were different and higher in SF. For one thing the hotel was the site of the picket but not the reason for it. Unlike the situation with the Marriott and Hyatt.

Running on like this, perhaps, is a function of old age &/or retirement, so I'll end and repeat what I said above. You and anyone else should feel absolutely free to exercise your rights of free speech and assembly at the Hyatt or anywhere else.

Warmest regards to you all.
mitch

Mitch Freedman's papers are available at the ALA archives.

(Incidentally, you can see additional photos of the boycott at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15374048@N06/sets/72157603171821385/.)

See article: ALA Breaks Attendance Records Despite Marriott Boycott.American Libraries 32 no7 68-82 Ag 2001.

=
On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 11:15 AM, Al Kagan wrote:
Let me just remind everyone that there is precedent for picketing an
ALA hotel. Mitch Freedman walked the picket line when he was becoming
ALA President, and refused to go to a VIP event inside that hotel. Many
events scheduled in that hotel were boycotted, and I think SRRT even
cancelled an event there. Someone with a better memory might provide
the details.

ALA AND THE San Francisco MARRIOT BOYCOTT- 2001

2010-01-07T01:41:00.002-05:00

ON ALA AND THE MARRIOT BOYCOTT

WHEREAS, the American Library Association selected the San Francisco Marriott Hotel as its convention headquarters hotel for its annual conference held in San Francisco in June 2001; and

WHEREAS, the San Francisco Marriott Hotel had agreed it would not interfere with workers' right to unionize when it was given permission by the City to build on its land in 1980: and

WHEREAS, since 1996, when Local 2 was selected by a majority of Marriott employees to represent them, over 120 negotiating session have been held and still there is no labor agreement in place; and

WHEREAS, in September 2000, Local 2 called for a boycott of the San Francisco Marriott Hotel, which is supported by the Mayor, most of the Board of supervisors and other elected officials as well as many community and religious leaders; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that SRRT supports the cause of the restaurant workers of Local 2 and the organized boycotters of the San Francisco Marriott Hotel and that it decries ALA's indifference to the boycott in its choice of conference hotel and subsequent conference arrangements.

RESOLVED, that SRRT calls on the American Library Association to formally express its regret for having made the San Francisco Marriott the central conference hotel without taking heed of the well- publicized and widely-supported boycott of the Marriott Hotel organized by the San Francisco labor movement and other supporters.

RESOLVED, that SRRT calls on ALA to alter its policy to provide for re-evaluation of contracts in light of labor conflicts, strikes and boycotts which arise, and which may form the basis for cancellation of arrangements.

RESOLVED that SRRT urges ALA to alter its policy to exclude holding
conferences in non-union hotels (i.e.ones where the majority of workers are unorganized) and to preclude locating any future conferences in so-called "right-to-work" states where workers rights to collective bargaining are not recognized.

RESOLVED that SRRT calls for an immediate resolution by Marriott of all outstanding issues and full recognition of the rights of all its workers and calls upon ALA to make it clear that bad labor practices in any unit of a chain will influence conference location decision choices with respect to hotels in the whole chain.

Moved by Mark Rosenzweig
Seconded by Al Kagan
Passed Unanimously by Action Council II June 18, 2001
ALA 2001. "Resolutions passed at Annual." SRRT Newsletter, 136, 2.

See also post with summary by former ALA President, Mitch Freedman.

====
FYI, re 2001 Marriott Boycott. From Library Juice/ 4:23 - June 27, 2001

5. Andrea Grimes' report from the frontlines of the Marriott Boycott

23 June 2001

Dear Friends,

This is a report from the frontlines of the ALA Conference/Marriott Boycott.
Part of this report first appeared in lisnews.com. Please see that site for
protest button and sticker. This report was compiled by the Local 790
Librarians' Caucus Liaison, Andrea Grimes.

Friday, June 15: THE CONFERENCE BEGINS

6:00 Day One of Local 2's Siege: protest/picket line begins, at SF
Marriott Hotel. Local 2 has scheduled two all-day actions at the Marriott,
for Friday and Saturday, June 15-16, from 6:00am-10:00pm. ALL LIBRARY
WORKERS AND CONFERENCE ATTENDEES INVITED TO JOIN WITH LOCAL 2 IN PROTESTING
THE MARRIOTT AND ALA. (This is the fifth siege within six months.)

Here's the text of the message that went out earlier this week:

ALA/MARRIOTT PROTESTS: SPREAD THE WORD

All librarians, library workers, conference attendees, and
everyone else who supports Local 2 are invited to join San
Francisco Bay Area library workers in three days of protests at
the San Francisco Marriott. >These actions are scheduled for the
following days: SIEGE V: TWO ALL-DAY PROTESTS: Friday and Saturday,
June 15 & 16, 6:00am - 10:00pm

SPECIAL ACTION: ALA AWARDS RECEPTION/INAUGURAL BANQUET: Tuesday,
June 19, 4:30pm - 7:30pm>THE INAUGURAL BANQUET ACTION IS A VERY
SPECIAL PROTEST AGAINST THE ACTIONS OF ALA LEADERSHIP, WHO HAVE
IGNORED THE PLEAS OF MEMBERS AND MARRIOTT WORKERS TO MOVE ALA
EVENTS OUT OF THE MARRIOTT.

Don't let Marriott and ALA think it's just business as usual.
Let's stand up for the Marriott workers, and all workers, who
struggle for a better life. We can do it! Come and join us on
these days of protest.

For more information on the SF Marriott labor troubles, see Local
2's boycott website at www.sfmarriottboycott.org>

9:00 Caucus liaison receives forwarded letter from Mitch Freedman,
ALA President-Elect, in which he gives his full support of the boycott
against Marriott, and protests directed against Marriott and ALA.

Mitch Freedman writes:

"I am writing this message to those 4,300+ people that voted for
me, as well as all other ALA members. I will not be attending the
ALA Inaugural Banquet, at which I was scheduled to be inaugurated
as President-Elect, 2001-2002. I will not be attending
the 3rd Executive Board meeting, the one I should attend as ALA
President-Elect.

"Although I was going to attend the ALA Awards presentations so
that I could be there for the presentation of the Lippincott Award
to one of my dearest friends, Patricia Glass Schuman, I will
not. Ms. Schuman is honoring the boycott and will not attend the
Awards ceremony, as are the recipient of the Equality Award, and
its donor, Scarecrow Press, who also will not attend. I have
been told by others scheduled to be inaugurated or receive awards that
they will not attend those events.

"I chose not to attend all three of these events, plus other
meetings to which I was invited or would have liked to attend,
because they are all being held in the Marriott Hotel.

"I am supporting the Hotel Employees and Restaurant
Employees (HERE), Local 2, call for a boycott of the Marriott
Hotel. For the following reasons, I made this decision:

"1. I chose to support the boycott request made by the San
Francisco Public Library Commission (the host library for
the convention), the mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown,
and 9 of the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors. This
extraordinary confluence of support by public officials of the labor
side in this kind of dispute is unprecedented in my memory..."

The full text of Mitch Freedman's letter may be read on
lisnews.com:

9:20-14:30(approximate time) Local 790 Caucus members begin
leafletting incoming librarians at Moscone Center(outside
Registration). Stickers, reading "LIBRARIANS SUPPORT HOTEL
WORKERS! BOYCOTT MARRIOTT" are given to librarians. During this
time, some caucus members join the picket line at the Marriott.
Overall reception from librarians is very supportive.

16:30 Caucus members leaflet at Moscone Registration area.

17:00 ALA Staff, assisted by Moscone Security, force Caucus
members off the Moscone Center entrance way(sidewalk outside
Registration), and onto the "Free Speech Island," the outer
sidewalk away from Registration(citing Private Property ordinance).
Protests by Caucus members to ALA staff that this is city
property, that the Mayor of San Francisco has called this
boycott, fall on deaf ears. ALA itself seems to be deaf to the
principles of free speech!! The second irony of the conference
(the first being this year's theme: LIBRARIES: CORNERSTONE OF
DEMOCRACY).

17:00-18:30 Caucus members continue to leaflet and pass out
boycott stickers to librarians registering for conference, this
time on "Free Speech Island."

18:35-19:35 Caucus members join the picket line, along with West
Virginia librarian, Yvonne Farley, this year's Intellectual
Freedom Award winner, and other librarians.

"Don't check in-Check out!"

"San Francisco should beware:
Marriott Hotel is unfair!"

"Marriott Hotel-look around
San Francisco's a union town!"

(Local 2 chants)

22:00 Local 2 picket line stops for the evening. To be resumed
Saturday, June 16, at 6:00AM.

Later that evening: Local 790 Librarians' Caucus members receive
word that some ALA leaders have visited the editorial offices of
the San Francisco Chronicle. As yet, no newspaper reports from
that paper about the labor unrest at the Marriott.

That same evening, caucus members receive word that ALA conference
staff attempted to prevent Mayor Brown from speaking out in support
of the hotel workers. The Mayor is scheduled to speak at the Opening
General Session Saturday (Moscone Center).

Saturday, June 16

6:00-22:00 Day Two of Local 2's siege continues, at the Marriott.

This email message went out to library workers, conference
attendees, and supporters of the hotel workers:

PLEASE JOIN US IN ANOTHER DAY OF PROTEST. MANY OF YOUR COLLEAGUES
WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE PICKET LINE AFTER WORK TONIGHT, SO YOU'LL
HAVE THE SOLIDARITY OF LIBRARY WORKERS AND HOTEL WORKERS
PROTESTING TOGHETHER.

For more information on the Marriott struggle see Library Juice
at In particular, vol 4, 6/6 & 6/14.

P.S. JOIN LIBRARIANS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, ALONG WITH LOCAL
2 HOTEL WORKERS, FOR A VERY SPECIAL ACTION, JUST FOR ALA
LEADERSHIP, WHEN WE PROTEST ALA'S DISREGARD FOR WORKERS' RIGHTS,
ON THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING OF TUESDAY, JUNE 19. THIS IS THE
EVENING OF THE ALA AWARDS RECEPTION AND INAUGURAL BANQUET.
THE PROTEST IS SCHEDULED FOR 4:30PM -7:30PM, AT THE MARRIOTT.

THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO TELL ALL THOSE BIGSHOTS AT ALA THAT THEY
MADE A SERIOUS MISTAKE IN HEADQUARTERING AT THE MARRIOTT. THEIR
'LET THEM EAT CAKE' ATTITUDE IS ALREADY HAVING SERIOUS
REPERCUSSIONS!

ALA conference continues.

All through the day and into the evening: librarians from San
Francisco Bay Area and all over the U.S. join the picket line.

"Stop the threats, stop the lies
It's our right to organize!"

"Talking Union is our right!
We are here and ready to fight!"

"Marriott Hotel, rolling in the dough
Union bashing's got to go!"

(Local 2 chants)

No newspaper reports on the labor situation.

Sunday, June 17

ALA conference continues.

Protest flyer is made; goes out on email, calling on all library
workers and supporters of hotel workers to attend rally Tuesday,
June 19, 4:30 - 7:30PM

WE NEED YOU AT THE RALLY!
TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 4:30PM - 7:30PM

Please join President-Elect Mitch Freedman and library luminaries
for a very special action, at the San Francisco Marriott. This
protest, organized by librarians with the support of Local 2, is
in support of the hotel workers. We stand by Local 2 hotel
workers until they win a contract that guarantees fair working
conditions, family friendly benefits, and a real voice on the
job!

Despite pleas from ALA leaders, members, and Local 2, ALA refused
to move many events and meetings out of the Marriott. ALA refused
to accept free space at the San Francisco Public Library for the
last Executive Board meeting; and refused the President-Elect's
offer of an alternative (and less expensive) venue for the
Inaugural Banquet.

P R O T E S T A G A I N S T A L A A N D M A R R I O T T

WHAT: ALA Awards Reception/Inaugural Banquet
WHERE: San Francisco Marriott, 4th Street, (between Market and
Mission Streets)
WHEN: Tuesday, June 19, 4:30pm - 7:30pm

Here's a partial list of librarians, library groups, community
and religious leaders, who support the boycott against the SF Marriott:

Mitch Freedman, ALA President-Elect
Local 790 Librarians' Caucus
Progressive Librarians Guild
Elaine Harger, ALA Council, SRRT Action Council*
Virginia B. Moore, Martin Luther King Task Force, SRRT*
Sanford Berman
Social Responsibilities Round Table, Action Council Members:
Fred Stoss*, Al Kagan (SRRT Rept to ALA Council)*, Nel Ward*
Mark C. Rosenzweig, ALA Councilor-at-Large; SRRT Action Council*
University Council, American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT)
Susan Hildreth, City Librarian, San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library Commission
Yvonne Farley, Librarian, Kanawha County Library, Virginia
(winner, ALA Intellectual Freedom Award)
Patricia Glass-Schuman (winner, Lippincott Award)
Michael Gorman, Director, Fresno State University Library
(winner, Highsmith Award)
Reverend Jesse Jackson, President, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
Coretta Scott King, The King Center
Honorable Willie L. Brown, Mayor of San Francisco
Honorable Susan Leal, SF City Treasurer
Nine of eleven San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Honorable Jerry Brown, Mayor of Oakland
Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Member, US Congress
Honorable Barbara Lee, Member, US Congress
Honorable John Burton, President Pro-Temporare of CA State Senate
Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder, United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO
Arturo Rodriguez, United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO
Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, CA Labor Federation
Reverend Cecil Williams, Glide United Methodist Chruch, SF
Walter Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer, SF Labor Council
Josie Mooney, Executive Director, SEIU Local 790; President SF Labor Council
Shirley Breyer Black, Consultant, SEIU Local 790
Father Bill O'Donnell, St. Joseph the Worker Church
Father Peter Sammon, St. Theresa's Catholic Church
Susan Sachen, Western Regional Director, AFL-CIO Organizing Institute
A. Philip Randolph Institute
Senior Action Network
Northern CA Coalition for Immigrant Rights
SF Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
Harvey Milk Democratic Club
Chinese Progressive Association
Nihomachi Legal Outreach
Labor Project for Working Families
Instituto Familia de la Raza

*Affiliation listed for identification purposes only and not for
organizational endorsement purposes.

18:30 Nicholson Baker lecture at the Weston St. Francis. Mr.
Baker is introduced by Progressive Librarians' Guild member,
Melissa Riley, and President-Elect Mitch Freedman. In a side note
to audience, Mitch Freedman reiterates his support of the hotel
workers, and explains why he is unable to attend ALA Awards
Reception /Inauguration Banquet and last Executive Board meeting.
He also tells audience that serious attempts were made by the
President-Elect and SFPL City Librarian, Susan Hildreth to help
ALA move these events out of the Marriott. ALA has never fully
explained its reasoning for refusing these requests. The
Inauguration was offered a less expensive venue, and the
Executive Board was offered free space at the San Francisco
Public Library.

No newspaper reports on the labor situation.

Monday, June 18

ALA conference continues.

Local 790 Librarians' Caucus are alerted to ALA cheet sheet,
which was put together for leadership. This cheet sheet covers a
number of issues, where talking points for reporters' questions
are outlined. Two talking points are of particular interest: ALA
administration attempts to discredit Nicholson Baker; the other
talking point tries to reduce the Marriott labor troubles to a
minor annoyance, not worthy of serious attention.

No newspaper reports on the labor situation.

Tuesday, June 19

ALA conference continues.

9:00-10:00 ALA President Nancy Kranich appears as guest of
Michael Krasny on his radio show, Forum. KQED 88.5 FM. First
caller of the morning expresses dismay at ALA's use of Marriott
as conference headquarters. Kranich says "we're deeply concerned,
but we've had the contract since 1997, and it would have been too
expensive to move elsewhere." On Nicholson Baker (I'm
paraphrasing, but this the essence): "The technology is different
than fifty years ago...Librarians have always been interested
in access, so give them a break....Anybody knows that if you
take a newspaper to the beach it will fall apart." Yawn.

16:00 Special protest organized by librarians and Local 2 begins
at Marriott's front door. Close to one hundred protestors
chanting, shouting, banging drums, lots of whistles, waving
signs: "NO CONTRACT NO PEACE;" "LIBRARIANS SUPPORT HOTEL
WORKERS/BOYCOTT MARRIOTT." SF Police presence for the first time
at conference.

17:45 (approximate time) Speeches of support for the hotel
workers, by Michael Gorman, Patricia Glass Schuman, Doris Seale,
and Mitch Freedman.

18:00 Protest continues.

"Ain't no power like the power of the people and
the power of the people won't stop, SAY WHAT!"

"Escucha, Escucha
Estamos en la lucha!"

"Union-YES!
Marriott-NO!
Union bashing's got to go!

"Marriott Hotel-You're no good!
Sign a contract like you should!"

(Local 2 chants)

18:15 (approximate time) Seven protestors enter the Marriott
carrying protest signs (mostly hidden from view of Marriott
management). After being directed to the wrong floor, the
protestors find their way to the sub-basement, where they are
helpfully directed by a party-goer to the banquet hall. On the
way, one of Marriott's managers spots protesters and follows them
to the salon where Marie Antoinette's friends are congratulating
themselves and whooping it up. Now confronted by seven mute
protestors holding signs (LIBRARIANS SUPPORT HOTEL WORKERS!
BOYCOTT MARRIOTT!) in full view of these ALA "leaders,"
Marriott's managers hit the panic button, and call on Local 2's
lead organizer to reason with protestors, to get them out of the
building. Protestors refuse to leave, and (now six) continue to
stand outside of salon. Protestors silently spoil what would have
been a perfect evening, being a reminder to ALA "leaders" of ALA's
shame in contracting with the Marriott. Protestors have made
Marriott management so nervous, that a server tells them ALL of
Marriott management is down there keeping an eye on things,
guarding the party people, and generally scurrying back and
forth, using their cell phones, constantly in touch with guards
and other managers. Marriott management shuts doors to party (it
must be getting a bit hot inside; some revelers step outside the
room...for air?). Protestors continue to stand outside salon.
The same server tells protesters that party people will leave
salon to go into the banquet salon around the corner and down the
hall. ALA VIPs file out of salon (Awards Reception), met by
sign-holding protestors: party people look embarrassed and
uncomfortable, sometimes blank-faced, as they are escorted by
Marriott security into the next banquet salon. Protestors change
locations as party people go in and out of a series of doors, to
final banquet salon. Marriott management lock party people into
this last salon...for protection? Hundreds of people have now
been locked away from six protestors! Protestors leave, but not
before they flash protest signs to ALA staff, while riding up
escalator to the lobby, and out to a boisterous crowd of
librarians and Local 2 supporters, all of whom are chanting loudly.

Among the celebrated partygoers inside the Marriott:

Nancy Kranich, President of ALA, 2000-2001
John W. Berry, 2001-2002
William Gordon, Executive Director, ALA
Barbara Ford, Past President, ALA
Karen Schneider, Director of Technology, Shenendehowa PL, Clifton Park, NY
Kenneth Dowlin, Former Director, San Francisco Public Library
Blanche Wools, Dean, San Jose University Library School and Don Fadden,
formerly Director, Friends of the Scranton Public Library

No newspaper reports on the labor situation.

Wednesday, June 20

No newspaper reports on the labor situation.

Thursday, June 21

No newspaper reports on the labor situation.

Friday, June 22

This article appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Riding out
the lean times: tourism industry brainstorms on ways to fill San
Francisco's suddenly quiet hotels."

"San Francisco has thousands of empty hotel rooms..."

See the story online at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/06/22/BU175169.DTL

Otherwise, no newspaper reports on the labor situation.

For more documents of the Marriott struggle see these sites:

Library Juice
LISNEWS

Our grateful appreciation for the help of members of the
Progressive Librarians Guild; Social Responsibilities Round
Table; the real ALA leaders; Local 790 members; and librarians
from everywhere, who worked in solidarity with the Marriott Hotel
workers of Local 2. Special thanks to the following people:

Mark Rosenzweig
Elaine Harger
Fred Stoss
Sandy Berman
Judy Birket
Al Kagan
Virginia B. Moore
Nel Ward
Mitch Freedman
Rory Litwin
Jenna Freedman
Patricia Glass Schuman
Michael Gorman
Doris Seale
Susan Hildreth
Yvonne Farley
Cathy Bremer
Ruth Maginnis
Melissa Riley
Shannon Shepard
Donna Mandel
Sam Trosow
Roberta Frye
Tom Carey
Greg Kelly
Ellen Shatter
Jason Honig
Pam Osborn
Monika Antonelli
Herb and Mary Biblow
Zoia Horn
Susan Hayden
Rhonda Neugebauer
Charles Willett
Chuck D'Adamo
Rachelle Resnick
Adelaide Chen
Dave Glaser

ALA-YOU STARTED A FIRE YOU CAN'T PUT OUT!

Cambridge Mayor on Hyatt Hotel Boycott

2010-01-05T21:37:00.004-05:00

When the housekeepers at the three Hyatt hotels in the Boston area were asked to train some new workers, they said they were told the trainees would be filling in during vacations.

On Aug. 31, staffers learned the full story: None of them would be making the beds and cleaning the showers any longer. All of them were losing their jobs. The trainees, it turns out, were employees of a Georgia company, Hospitality Staffing Solutions, who were replacing them that day.
==

The American Library Association Midwinter will be in Boston. The Hyatt is a conference hotel. The Progressive Librarians Guild has called for a boycott of the Hyatt

BOYCOTT HYATT PETITION IS here.

12.23.2009.
Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons sent a letter to the president of Hyatt Hotels Corp. yesterday, reiterating her dismay over the dismissal of 98 local housekeepers and stating that the City of Cambridge would no longer do business at the Hyatt unless the workers were reinstated.

"This is the season for charity and neighborliness," she wrote to president Mark Hoplamazian, "and it is not too late for the Hyatt Corporation to do the right thing."

The three local Hyatts - in Cambridge, downtown Boston, and at Logan International Airport
- fired their entire housekeeping staffs Aug. 31 and immediately replaced them with outsourced workers who made half as much money.

Numerous local organizations have boycotted and picketed the hotels, including groups of rabbis, politicians, lawyers, and school children. Hyatt responded to the outcry by offering to hire back the housekeepers through its outsourcing firm, United Service Cos., with their old wage rate guaranteed until the end of next year and health care benefits extended through March. Only six of the workers have accepted the offer.

Hyatt responded to the mayor's letter in a statement: "A boycott will only further threaten the jobs of our associates working in Hyatt properties during the worst economic period in decades."

The Cambridge and Boston city councils have both passed resolutions condemning Hyatt's actions, and Governor Deval Patrick has threatened a state boycott if the housekeepers aren't rehired.

Young people need good jobs now

2010-01-02T19:58:00.000-05:00

Young People Need Good Jobs Now

By Liz Shuler and Donna DeWitt
The Sun News
Myrtle Beach, SC
December 18, 2009

As the new year rolls in, a four-letter word is on
everyone's lips: jobs.

With the unemployment rate at red-alert levels, the
White House held a jobs summit, the president gave a
major address and Congress is preparing legislation to
create jobs. But not many are looking at the particular
problems facing young workers. Not only have they been
hurt disproportionately by the economic crisis, they
could very well be the first generation in recent
history to be worse off than their parents. Joblessness
among young workers is even higher than the national
average. They need jobs -- good jobs -- and they need
them now.

--read more

Seamus Scanlon-Center for Worker Education

2010-01-01T22:57:00.002-05:00

"Wonder of wonders, we got Seamus. He started that library in an empty room, all by
himself."

Seamus Scanlon-Center for Worker Education.

The Center was begun 27 years ago by the Teamsters Union and City College to give working adults the opportunity to earn a college degree through night classes. Today, the school still offers only night classes to its students, 80 percent of whom are black and Hispanic women in their early thirties.

I LOVE MY LIBRARIAN 2009 AWARD--nomination letters. (pdf).

The Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies was established at Queens College over twenty years ago with the support of the late Chancellor Joseph S. Murphy. The Institute includes The Center for Worker Education and The Center for Community, Labor and Policy Studies.

The Center for Worker Education provides undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to working adults and union members who want to improve their skills, upgrade their qualifications, advance their careers, and deepen their understanding of the world. Recently, the Institute has been elevating these activities to a University-wide level and providing unions and their members with a single entry point into CUNY's 1,200 academic programs, 19 campuses, and diverse educational resources. Partnerships with the CUNY's School of Professional Studies, City Tech, and the College of Staten Island have enabled the Institute to create new programs that meet the academic and career advancement needs of working adults and union members.

The Center for Labor, Community and Policy Studies conducts strategic research, organizes public forums and conferences, publishes a national journal, and offers an array of leadership development programs. It sponsors local forums and national conferences, publishes a nationally acclaimed journal, The New Labor Forum and a widely used anthology on the labor movement (A New Labor Movement for the New Century, Gregory Mantsios, Ed., New York: Garland Publishers, 1998).

In Wisconsin Labor History in Schools Bill Becomes Law!

2009-12-16T22:37:00.002-05:00

Labor History in Schools Bill Becomes Law!

Gov. Doyle puts signature on the bill; calls for labor history to be state standard.
Governor Jim Doyle made it official Thursday, Dec. 10: He signed into law AB 172, the Labor History in the Schools bill, culminating 12 years of efforts by key legislators, workers, unions and others to pass legislation to assure the teaching of labor history and collective bargaining.

More than 50 persons crowded into the governor’s conference room as he used four pens to sign the historic bill that will make the teaching of labor history and collective bargaining part of the state’s standards for public schools in Wisconsin.

“Once again Wisconsin leads the way in progressive labor legislation,” commented Steve Cupery, president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society. “As far as we can tell, Wisconsin is the first state to have enacted such a law. We expect others will follow our example.”

John Wagnitz, on the staff of Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), said that the senator’s office has been getting inquiries from around the nation about the bill. Sen. Hansen and Rep. Andy Jorgensen (D-Fort Atkinson) co-authored the bill. It passed both houses of the legislature, with most Democrats in support, along with a few Republican members. Much of the work in developing the current bill was done in the Assembly’s Committee on Labor, chaired by Rep. (and former school board member) Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee).

In signing the bill, Gov. Doyle cited the importance of elections to achieving legislative goals. He recalled the lengthy effort to pass the bill, with it often passing one house of the legislature, and being stranded in the other.

He said for the first time in the last dozen years both houses of the Legislature, and the governor’s office, were in control of Democrats, nearly all of whom support legislation calling for teaching of labor history and collective bargaining in the schools.

"I'm happy to sign this bill so that Wisconsin students understand how important the labor movement was in creating some of the most basic workplace rights that Wisconsin families enjoy today," Governor Doyle said.

The Wisconsin Labor History Society has made the teaching of labor history in the schools one of its key objectives since its founding in 1981. As early as 1985, the WLHS worked with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bert Grover to involve labor history in state instruction plans.

The long battle to pass legislation that urged the teaching of Labor History in the Schools began with a dedicated effort in the 1997-98 Legislative session when the first bill was introduced. (See Legislative History Below)

To implement the new law, the WLHS will assist teachers, school districts, parents and students to access materials that provides information about union history and collective bargaining.

WLHS has established a curriculum committee, chaired by Jim Lorence, emeritus professor of history at UW-Marathon County, to work on providing additional materials to assist teachers and students to fulfill the purpose of the new law.

“We look forward to working with DPI on developing their materials for our public schools,” Cupery said.

The annual conference of the WLHS which will be held April 17, 2010, in Milwaukee will focus on providing both community and teacher support for implementing the new law. Membership in the WLHS will go toward supporting these efforts. For more information, go to http://www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org.

Also instrumental in attending hearings, offering testimony, making legislative contacts and doing other activities in support of the bill through the 12 years were:

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, David Newby, president; Phil Neuenfeldt, secretary-treasurer; Joanne Ricca, legislative representative;

Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC)

Many of the state’s unions and members.

What is Distinctive about the Library of Congress In Both its Collections and its Means of Access to Them,--Thomas Mann, 11/2009.

2009-11-28T09:09:00.003-05:00

What is Distinctive about the Library of Congress In Both its Collections and its Means of Access to Them, And The Reasons LC Needs to Maintain Classified Shelving of Books Onsite, And A Way to Deal Effectively with the Problem of “Books on the Floor”--November 6, 2009.

[pdf file here.]

by Thomas Mann

Prepared for AFSCME 2910 The Library of Congress Professional Guild representing over 1,600 professional employees.

www.guild2910.org

Rockford Library Union Cuts Finalized

2009-11-19T22:52:00.001-05:00

Rockford Library Union Cuts Finalized.
With a Rockford library board vote and a signature, a lengthy debate between the library union and administration comes to an end.

"We have an agreement with our bargaining unit," says Library Executive Director Frank Novak.

Library Union President Karla Janssen, "I think it was the best decision that we could make given the circumstances."

It's a one-year deal with some key changes that save the library close to 600-thousand dollars. It freezes 2010 wages, eliminates overtime for working Sundays and allows the library not to fill vacancies when employees decide to leave.

But administrators are still planning to lay off between 14 and 16 union workers.

"We're not happy that there's going to be layoffs, but given the economic times, we tried to minimize it as much as possible and I think that we've come to the best decision we could," says Janssen.

In another union concession, those layoffs will be based primarily on job performance, instead of seniority.

"That was a big, big, big change," says Janssen.

Novak adds, "We want to give our taxpayers the biggest bang for their buck and make sure we have the best team possible here at the library."

The change also helps the administration cut people from various classifications, instead of wiping out all librarian assistants as originally proposed.

The board of trustees has yet to vote on cuts to non-union employees. Right now they're considering laying off 14 non-bargaining workers, including management.

The board must also decide whether to start charging small fees for things like DVD's and when to cut out morning hours of operation. Those decisions must be made by the end of the year.

"I think it's going to be a bigger change than maybe what the public understands right now because of the hours change and there will be some big changes," says Janssen.

The library's director says he wants to use a scalpel, not a chain saw to make cuts and he's hoping to maintain as many community outreach program as possible.

The administration is also offering an early retirement package and that could change the number of layoffs. Final decisions are expected at the board's next meeting in mid-December.

GEO STRIKE [ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ] COMMITTEE VOTES TO OFFICIALLY SUSPEND STRIKE

2009-11-18T21:09:00.002-05:00

MAJOR VICTORY FOR LABOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: GEO STRIKE COMMITTEE VOTES TO OFFICIALLY SUSPEND STRIKE

TEACHING AND GRADUATE ASSISTANTS AT UIUC RETURNING TO WORK PENDING CONTRACT RATIFICATION VOTE

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (November 17): On Tuesday, November 17, at 7:00 pm, the Strike Committee of the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO), AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), officially and unanimously voted to suspend the two day strike that brought major portions of the University campus to a standstill. During a General Membership Meeting which began at 5:30 pm, the GEO bargaining team facilitated a discussion of the tentative agreements that it had signed during this morning’s negotiation session with the administration bargaining team. Afterwards, in a simple up or down vote, the 450 members present unanimously recommended to the strike committee that it accept the agreement and suspend the strike. The strike committee met immediately afterwards and took its decision.

With the strike suspended, GEO members are back at work, effective immediately. Teaching assistants will conduct their class sections tomorrow, and graduate assistants will carry out their duties at facilities across campus, including libraries, health and recreation centers, theaters, and specialized academic units.

The GEO coordinating committee will meet tomorrow to determine the schedule for a strike ratification vote to take place over the course of two days. Should the GEO general membership ratify the contract, it will then be submitted to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees for their signatures. That would officially conclude the current round of negotiations.

The GEO’s tentative agreement achieved gains across all four “pillars” of its original contract platform. In addition to winning protection for tuition waivers through the strike, the GEO secured an additional two weeks of unpaid parental leave, increases to the University’s contribution to health care premiums (reaching 75% in the third and final year of the contract), and raises on the minimum salary, totaling ten percent over three years. The GEO also forced the administration to drop their regressive contract proposals, including furloughs, “in-kind” payment, a recision of grievances related to discrimination, and a “scope of the agreement” clause that would have prevented the GEO from re-opening bargaining in the event of a change to employment conditions for graduate employees at UIUC.

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, stated in a letter of support for the UIUC GEO strike that “the AFT has long held that universities should provide tuition waivers as a condition of employment for graduate employees.” Increased security for tuition waivers is vital to the mission of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a public, land-grant institution. Tuition waivers are also central to the UIUC’s ability to remain competitive with other Big 10 and Research 1 institutions in that they are necessary to attract the highest level of graduate employee and student talent. On November 17, the Collective Bargaining Congress Executive Committee of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) stated that “a decision to eliminate tuition waivers in selected fields or for out of state students would…undermine the ability of the university to attract high quality graduate students in a wide range of fields.” The tentative agreement works to maintain UIUC’s competitiveness by giving the GEO increased ability to resist the apparent goal of the UIUC administration to erode tuition waivers at UIUC. As AAUP President and UIUC Professor of English Cary Nelson stated on November 16, given that the administration had already eliminated them for research assistants in the sciences, there was good reason to fear administration interest in cherry picking humanities or social science sub-disciplines for similar treatment.”

The tentative agreement between the GEO and Board of Trustees bargaining teams represents a major victory for labor in the state of Illinois and the United States. The timing of the GEO victory is especially sweet given that it falls during the “Education is NOT for $A￡€!” Global Week of Action, which is being organized from Germany and includes demonstrations and teach-ins across Europe, in Africa, and in the United States in support of public higher education. The GEO especially stands in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the Graduate Employees’ Organization at the University of Illinois Chicago campus, whose negotiations with the Board of Trustees continue. The UIUC GEO also stands in solidarity with higher education labor unions in California, who will be engaging in a three day strike to resist major tuition hike for both undergraduate and graduate students. The GEO stands with higher education labor unions across the nation opposing the ongoing corporatization and privatization of our public higher education system. Public higher education must be accessible to all, regardless of economic standing.

The GEO is a labor union representing all teaching and graduate assistants (TAs and GAs) on the UIUC campus. With over 2600 GEO members, and over 2600 graduate employees represented in the bargaining unit, the GEO is one of the largest higher education union locals in the United States. The GEO strike is the first strike by a recognized union local at UIUC in over 10 years. Over 1,000 GEO members participated in the strike.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Peter Campbell, GEO Communications Officer, odell.campbell@gmail.com, 253-222-5861, or the GEO office at geo@uigeo.org, 217-344-8283, 1001 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL, 61820. Information about the GEO can also be found on our website at www.uigeo.org.

America Needs Jobs Now

2009-11-17T07:37:00.002-05:00

--Nov.17. The AFL-CIO is calling on Congress and the Obama administration to take five steps now to care for the jobless and put America back to work.

1. Extend the lifeline for jobless workers.

2. Rebuild America’s schools, roads and energy systems.
3. Increase aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services.
4. Fund jobs in our communities. While workers go without jobs, important work is left undone in our communities.
5. Put TARP funds to work for Main Street.The bank bailout helped Wall Street, not Main Street.
America’s jobs situation would be even more dire without the economic stimulus program President Obama and Congress enacted, which has saved or created 1 million jobs. But the depth of this crisis demands that we do more—and that we do it now, before more people lose their jobs, their homes, their health care and their hope.

Vancouver Public Library: Managers to escape the knife in public library cuts

2009-11-15T18:01:00.002-05:00

City of Vancouver eyes job cuts to balance 2010 budget: Parks, fire and library workers expected to get pink slips.

With Vancouver Public Library management first to drop the axe this morning in the City of Vancouver’s 2010 budget cuts, CUPE 391 president Alex Youngberg is wondering why administration is suffering barely a scratch in all the bloodletting.

“From what we were told, these cuts were supposed to be across the board,” said Youngberg, on learning that 24 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions were being eliminated.
“If only one of these is a manager, that’s a pretty bad ratio. We need more direct public services to accommodate our growing, diverse population—not more policy makers. If the VPL wants real savings, they should look at eliminating five managerial positions. That would lower the loss to direct public services to about eight positions rather than the 24 they’re targeting.”

This morning, the VPL released its 2010 budget recommendations to the library board. Among them, the VPL is calling for the closure of the Riley Park Branch and reduced operating hours at up to 14 branches. Central Library public services staffing budgets would be cut by $419,000. Another recommendation would see the VPL slash the Technical Services budget by $360,000 and the Collections budget by $180,000.

There are 32 management positions and three pending exempt positions at the VPL, an increase of 17 over the past two years. All of these positions are administrative and none provides public service.

“There is one manager for every 10 full-time members,” said Youngberg. “Why are they cutting hours and public services but keeping the policy wonks? These positions didn’t have job descriptions when they were filled, so there wasn’t an expressed requirement for them. But the people in them instantly became the library management team. These are drastic cuts to public services when people need these services most.”

Toronto Public Library Workers Union (TPLWU) ratify new collective agreement

2009-11-13T14:25:00.001-05:00

Toronto Public Library Workers Union (TPLWU) ratify new collective agreement.

TORONTO, Ont. – The Toronto Public Library Workers Union (TPLWU) CUPE 4948 has ratified their first collective agreement.

“We negotiated a settlement that addressed all of our main issues: full-time jobs, fairness to part-time workers, the quality of public library services and career development opportunities; and, health and safety concerns around violence in the workplace,” said Maureen O’Reilly, chair of the bargaining committee.

“In addition we were able to achieve historic gains in the area of pregnancy and parental leave and a more equitable share of benefits costs for our part-time workers. These gains are especially significant for a female dominated workplace with a bargaining unit of almost 50 per cent part-time workers.”

The 96 per cent ratification vote supports and recognizes those achievements.

"This agreement will provide a strong base for all public library workers across Ontario, and indeed Canada, to move forward with their concerns and get them addressed,” O’Reilly continued. “This will result in a better library service in all of our communities which is so vital for so many Canadians today."

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For further information, contact:

Maureen O’Reilly, Bargaining Chair, CUPE 4948: 647-206-7457

American Folklife Center Announces Fellowship to Honor Archie Green

2009-11-13T11:40:00.001-05:00

November 12, 2009
American Folklife Center Announces Fellowship to Honor Archie Green

A fellowship has been created at the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress to honor the memory of Archie Green (1917-2009), the pioneering folklorist who championed the establishment of the center. The Archie Green Fellowship will support new documentation and research into the culture and traditions of American workers and will create digital archival materials that will be preserved in the AFC’s archive and made available to researchers and the public.

The AFC will award up to three fellowships for the period February 2010 – February 2011 that will support original field research into culture and traditions of American workers and/or occupational groups found within the United States. The materials generated during the course of the fellowship will become part of the AFC’s Archie Green America Works Collection.

Applicants must submit proposals to be received by the AFC no later than November 30, 2009. The term of each fellowship will be limited to a period of one year and will be supported with funds up to $45,000.

U.S. citizens are eligible to submit applications for a fellowship to support their original research and documentation on occupational culture. Applicants may include individuals, organizations or groups. Occupational groups, labor unions or organizations may wish to involve folklife researchers for the purpose of undertaking fieldwork projects on their behalf.

For further information, please visit www.loc.gov/folklife/grants.html or call (202) 707-5510.

The Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, is the world's preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Many of the Library’s rich resources and treasures may also be accessed through the Library’s website, www.loc.gov, and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

The American Folklife Center was created by Congress in 1976 and placed at the Library of Congress to "preserve and present American Folklife" through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference service, live performance, exhibition, public programs and training. The center includes the American Folklife Center Archive of folk culture, which was established in 1928 and is now one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/folklife/.

Graduate Employees' Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Authorize Strike

2009-11-11T18:44:00.003-05:00

The Graduate Employees Organization, the union representing teaching assistants and graduate assistants. We are on the verge of calling a strike after months of unproductive bargaining sessions. Help us avoid strike and participate in the phone/email blast as described below. The more the merrier.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Miriam Larson
Date: Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Subject: [geo-stewards] FWD WIDELY: ACTION ALERT: Call and Email the UIUC
Administration To: SC

Greetings students, educators, parents and concerned citizens,

I am writing on behalf of the Graduate Employees' Organization, AFT/IFT
Local 6300, AFL-CIO at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
*Please support our effort to secure a living wage and tuition waivers for graduate employees at UIUC.* After months of negotiations and stalling by the University administration, the GEO has voted to authorize a strike as a last resort method of earning a fair contract. You can help GEO* *members and our allies hold the university administration to its stated commitment to excellence in undergraduate education *by making a phone call or sending a quick email*.
We encourage as many people as possible to call the Chair of the Board of
Trustees and the Interim Provost *before the Board of Trustees meeting in
Springfield on Thursday, November 12th.*

More information here.

President Camila Alire letter to Hyatt. 10.5.2009

2009-11-10T14:52:00.001-05:00

• The three Boston area Hyatts -- the Hyatt Regency Boston, the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, and the Hyatt Harborside at Logan International Airport -- fired their 98 staff housekeepers on Aug. 31, 2009 and replaced them with $8-an-hour employees of the Georgia-based Hospitality Staffing Solutions.

The American Library Association letter from Camila Alire to Phil Stamm of the Hyatt.

Letter in pdf as included at ALA Council discussion list archives. Go here.

Progressive Librarians Guild opposes the actions of the Hyatt Company

Toronto Public Library Agreement Heads Off Strike

2009-11-09T07:20:00.003-05:00

CUPE/Libraries

”We are going to have a number of part-time jobs that are going to be converted to full-time jobs over the life of Collective Agreement," said Bargaining committee chair, Maureen O'Reilly," we have a new three-year Collective Agreement which will now expire at Dec. 31, 2011 and we were able to get some significant improvement in benefits to our part-time workers.”

More full-time jobs and better parental leave are part of a tentative agreement between Toronto Public Library and its 2,400 unionized workers--Toronto Public Library Workers Union (TPLWU) CUPE 4948.
The settlement was reached Wednesday, heading off a strike or lockout that could have started Nov. 9.

Details of the agreement between the library and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4948 weren't released before a ratification vote, which will be held some time next week.

Bargaining committee chair Maureen O'Reilly said relying on part-time workers and automated checkouts compromises service for both library workers and patrons. Following the lead of the Good Jobs campaign this summer by the LCBO union, the library union's approach focused on job quality for the female-dominated workforce.

O'Reilly said that part-time workers often juggle multiple jobs while waiting the five or six years it takes to secure a full-time library position. "It's about the nature of the work at Toronto Public Library," she said.

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Wisconsin to Include Labor History in State Social Science Standards

2009-11-05T07:45:00.003-05:00

Most people don't remember how crucial labor was in pushing Depression-era politicians to codify the basic features of American working life we now take for granted. Either they don't know any labor history buffs, or they never learned about workers' struggles in school.

That could soon change in Wisconsin, if Democratic Governor Jim Doyle signs a bill requiring the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction to include the history of organized labor and the collective bargaining process in state social studies standards. Teachers draw on those standards as they prepare students for standardized tests.

Doyle has said he will sign the law. The measure passed the Wisconsin Senate on October 27, supported by all Democrats and three Republicans; it had already passed the state's assembly.

Photo: American Labor Museum in the Botto House National Landmark.

Librarians & Archivists Struggle -University of Western Ontario

2009-10-28T09:30:00.007-05:00

Librarians List Subject: CAUT 2009 Librarians Conference: resolution in support of University of Western Ontario Faculty Association UWOFA-LA.

To: Members of the CAUTLib list
From: F. Holyoke, Chair, CAUT Librarians Committee
Re: Librarians and Archivists at the University of Western Ontario

The participants of the 2009 Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) CAUT Librarians Conference extend their solidarity to the Librarians and Archivists at the University of Western Ontario.

The employer's attempt to de-professionalize the Librarians and Archivists at the University of Western Ontario, is an assault on the teaching and research activity that defines the university community. We call on the employer to commence serious and good faith negotiations to resolve disputes currently on the table, and to restore to Librarians and Archivists appropriate and meaningful terms and conditions of employment.

This resolution was passed unanimously by the 80 plus conference attendees from academic libraries in every province.

On the floor of the conference a number of delegates suggested additional parties to whom the resolution should be sent so the final list will be longer. A preliminary list of recipients appears below.

University Librarian
UWO BoG Chair
Canadian Library Association (CLA) President
CLA Executive Director
Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA)
Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) President
CARL Executive Director
cc: UWOFA President
UWOFA L&A Chief negotiator
CLA Executive members

Check the UWOFA website for additional information.

CAUT Librarians Committee

Francesca Holyoke (University of New Brunswick), Chair
Betty Jeffery (University of Prince Edward Island)
Michael Skelton (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Chris Adams (University of Saskatchewan)
Margaret Law (University of Alberta)
Suzanne L. O'Neill (Fanshawe College)
Meg Raven (Mount Saint Vincent University)
Sam Trosow (University of Western Ontario)