Union talks end in problems

Citation

Fitzsimons, E. (2001), "Union talks end in problems", The Bottom Line, Vol. 14 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2001.17014aab.010

Union talks end in problems

Union talks end in problems

Keywords: Public libraries, Trade unions, Labour disputes, Employees, Wages

Dateline: New York, NY

Negotiations between the New York Public Library and the librarians' union broke down when the city requested givebacks to compensate for proposed salary increases. Salary talks between the library and the union had originally led to an agreement last August in a proposal that would have raised salaries of current librarians by 15 per cent. The increase was aimed at addressing inadequate salaries that have led to a shortage of personnel in the city's library systems. However, negotiations broke down and administrators withdrew the proposal after the city subsequently wanted the library to increase the librarians' 35-hour workweek by two-and-a-half-hours and to eliminate all currently vacant positions. Local 1930 President, Ray Markey, said the library staff, which is already overworked, "feels totally betrayed" by the demand for more productivity. The union planned a demonstration for 12 October 2000 outside the main library to coincide with the opening of the exhibit Utopia: The Search for the Ideal Society in the Western World. Available at http://www.ala.org/alonline/news/2000/000925.html