Library Support Staff Union OKs 3-Year Contract

Library support staff union OKs 3-year contract

Agreement came after several years of bargaining with Ann Arbor board

BY JO COLLINS MATHIS

News Staff Reporter

After several years of bargaining, the Ann Arbor District library Board has finally signed a three-year employment contract with representatives of the 28-member Staff Associates Union.

The union includes circulation clerks, processing clerks, bookmobile drivers and other support staff.

This is the first union contract for the Ann Arbor District Library and is an important one that will lay the foundation for future negotiations, said Josie Parker, the library’s director.

The library was previously under the umbrella of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and the staff associates were represented by the school’s clerical union, until Michigan’s Proposal A forced a separation in 1996.

Members of the library's former clerical union then organized into the Staff Associates Union, represented by the Michigan Educational Association.

The new 60-page employment contract covers hours of work, benefits, wages and other worksite issues.

“This is a foundation, and we look forward to ongoing dialogue,” said Judy Calhoun, president of the staff associates.

The contract states that union employees will join the library's employee wage compensation schedule. This schedule, which is consistently adjusted for inflation, was developed for the library in 1997 by Management Resource Center Inc. after a comprehensive evaluation of positions in the library and comparisons with salaries in the outside library market.

Staff associates will join the library’s annual system for employee evaluations with merit pay for wage increases and for outstanding performance. Previously, they had been on a tiered, step increase system that was not matched with work performance.

Also according to the contract, the library will have flexibility in staffing public service desks, especially during busy Saturday and Sunday weekend hours.

“A fair labor contract is a solid blueprint for an organization, and we are prepared to build a collaborative post-contract relationship,” Parker said.

Jo Collins Mathis can be reached at jmathis@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6849.