Ann Arbor Librarians, Staff Picket Over Pay, Schedules

Ann Arbor librarians, staff picket over pay, schedules

Workers dispute contentions that they are overpaid when compared to others in the market.

By JO COLLINS MATHIS

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Unionized Ann Arbor librarians and clerical staff who are tired of working under a 6-year-old contract picket all branches of the library today.

The library workers, represented by the Ann Arbor Education Association and the Michigan Education Association, dispute the library management’s contention that librarians are overpaid when compared to other libraries in the market.

“With the services those people offer to a community like Ann Arbor, those people do need to be paid well for what they do,” said Linda Carter, a teacher and Ann Arbor Education Association vice president. “They’re the hub of information within this community. Management has been anti-librarian in my mind for the past five years, so it has not been one of mutual concerns. We want to let the community know here’s where we are.”

Asked if there's been any talk of a strike, Carter said the librarians and staff are only interested in working toward a fair and equitable settlement with management. She agreed with Tim Grimes, the library’s associate director for community relations, that the state mediator should help move negotiations along.

The teachers union represents the 18-member Librarians Association and 28-member Staff Associates union because the library was part of the Ann Arbor Public Schools until 1996, when the Proposal A tax reform law split them apart.

The union has never had an agreement with the library, and has been working under the terms of a contract that was in place six years ago. Unionized employees at the top of their pay schedules in 1996 have not received raises since then.

But Grimes said a settlement may be close now that a state mediator has joined the bargaining.

“Both parties would like to have it resolved,” said Grimes. “But it’s a very important contract because it’s the first contract for the new district library.”

When the library was under the control of the school district, librarians were included in the teachers contract. Carter said librarians’ morale is low because teachers have received raises since 1996.

Grimes said a report commissioned by library management in 1997 found the pay structure for many library workers, especially librarians, was well above the competitive market rate.

The analysis showed Ann Arbor librarians were earning an average of $58,900 per year, compared to the base market salary of $36,400. The highest-paid librarian in Ann Arbor earned $62,000.

Fifteen of the AADL’s 18 librarians earn $61,000 a year, which was above last year’s state average of $45,222 for similarly sized libraries.

Negotiations began in October 1997 and have taken many months largely because of the complexity of the old agreement and the fact that it took a while for the unions to organize, Grimes said.

The library’s nonunion staff, who make up three-fourths of its 201 employees, have been working under a merit pay structure set up in the 1970s.

The picketing will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Staff reporter Jo Collins Mathis can be reached at (734) 994-6849 or by e-mail at jmathis@annarbomews.com.