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- Description
- Table of Contents
- About the authors
Speaking directly to library workers, this book demonstrates the power and fulfillment that comes from actively participating in shaping both the conditions under which they labor and the conditions that govern the library itself.
Interest in unions and the real, day-to-day benefits they secure for employees is on the rise—including among library workers, who are beginning to realize that on their own they have little leverage. But with a union they have the power of numbers, and their working conditions are decided by a collectively negotiated agreement rather than by the malleable judgement of an individual administrator or library board. This handbook will equip readers with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary for organizing and maintaining a union at their library. Peppered throughout by illuminating stories from successful library union leaders and members, this book
- discusses why library workers need unions and explores some of the benefits that a collective bargaining agreement can assure, such as job security, increased salaries, codification of the rules for overtime pay and time off, and protection from harassment by patrons;
- explains why a contract won't limit employees' autonomy;
- walks readers through how to launch a union drive, including the basics of talking with co-workers, combating apathy and fear, and running a campaign;
- offers an overview of the steps involved in building a new union, from forming an organizing committee to getting recognition and setting up a governance structure;
- sketches out the key issues relating to contracts, the details of bargaining and negotiation, and arbitration;
- lays out approaches and strategies for dealing with supervisors and administrators in the context of your union work, including effective communication between labor and management, contract enforcement, and handling bad behavior such as unfair labor practices and retaliation;
- gives advice on pursuing changes in your workplace in a right-to-work state;
- explores the constructive roles that bosses can play to support the union efforts of the workers who organize them; and
- provides an Action Plan at the end of each chapter with suggested readings, questions for reflection, and activities designed to help deepen your knowledge, broaden your network, and practice important skills.
Examination copies are available for instructors who are interested in adopting this title for course use.
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 What is a union and why do I need one?
Chapter 2 How do we start?
Chapter 3 Winning a union
Chapter 4 What makes library workers different?
Chapter 5 Campaigns
Chapter 6 Contracts
Chapter 7 Dealing with the boss
Chapter 8 Our vision for the future
Chapter 9 Bonus: if you’re reading this and you’re the boss
Works Cited
Index
Angelo Moreno
Angelo Moreno has been a library worker since the summer of 2012, when he started as a page at his childhood library. In 2020, he and his co-workers organized a union at the East Lansing Public Library and successfully won wage increases and increased job protections for predominantly part-time, low-wage, precarious staff. He has served as union chair and bargaining committee member.
Kelly McElroy
Kelly McElroy is the Student Engagement and Community Outreach Librarian at Oregon State University Libraries and Press. She received her MLIS and Master of Archival Studies from the University of British Columbia. She organizes with her communities as a coordinator of the annual Zine Pavilion at ALA Annual, a moderator of the #critlib chats on Twitter, and a founding member of her local chapter of Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ).
Meredith Kahn
Meredith Kahn began working in libraries as a first-year college student, and today they are a librarian at the University of Michigan and an elected leader in a union of librarians, archivists, and curators. They were a founding member of their union’s organizing committee, and a member of the bargaining team for their union’s first contract.
Emily Drabinski
Emily Drabinski is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College. She served in multiple union roles including as a member of the executive committee, secretary, and president of the Long Island University Faculty Federation. In 2016, she was locked out by her employer in the first lockout in the history of U.S. higher education. Drabinski was president of the American Library Association in 2023-2024.