Will the vote on Tuesday, March 10, affect Library collective bargaining?
Yes, the outcome of the vote will determine who bargains on your behalf.
“YES”… A vote for a new library local means the Library Division Executive members who have already prepared your library bargaining proposals will continue to represent you.
“NO”… A vote to remain in Local 416 means a new union committee of outside workers (and one or more hand-picked library supporters) will step in and take over library bargaining.
If we vote “YES”, will bargaining start right away for library workers?
Yes, the Library Division Executive is ready to begin collective bargaining as soon as the vote is over. We have completed your bargaining proposals, based upon the large number of surveys that were returned to us by Library Division members.
Did the Library Division Executive always bargain for us in the past?
Yes, the Library Division Executive has bargained for library workers ever since the formation of Local 416. We have also negotiated pay equity and wage harmonization, worth many millions of dollars for library workers. Not one of the outside workers on the current union executive has ever bargained for even a single day on behalf of library workers.
Is it still important for the Library Division Executive to negotiate for library workers?
Yes, because the members of the Library Division Executive are library workers who know and understand the problems, new and old, that we face in our workplaces (San Jose Way, midnight closings, reclassifications, expanded hours, lack of career paths, need for children’s librarians etc). A committee of mainly outside workers will not be familiar with these issues.
Before voting are there any other things that we, as library workers, need to consider?
Yes, the most important ingredient in bargaining a good collective agreement is the support of library members. Whether we form a separate local union or remain in Local 416, when it comes to collective bargaining, only library workers can cast a strike vote to give the library bargaining committee more power at the bargaining table. Before you give your committee a strike mandate, you must be confident the members of the committee know and fully understand your issues and priorities. In bad economic times, it would be a huge risk to switch to a new bargaining committee that doesn’t know your issues.
Vote “YES”: to ensure that library workers who have negotiated all your past collective agreements, pay equity and wage harmonization will continue to bargain for you.
