Today marked the first day of negotiations for our FAM Librarians! Following introductions, our team presented an MOU regarding a 2% raise for all librarians in the bargaining unit. They also asked clarifying questions regarding an MOU for restarting paused committees. The University’s team will be returning next session with answers to those questions and a revised MOU.
Following discussion of MOUs surrounding status quo issues, our FAM-L Lead Negotiator, Ginny Boehme, opened negotiations with a powerful statement, outlining injustices suffered by the librarians and demonstrating that our librarians are done being ignored and are committed to making a contract to improve their conditions.
The University proposed ground rules for the session. FAM responded with their revised ground rules. These will be discussed next session.
Our team passed across three proposals today. Our recognition proposal named who is represented by the contract that we are writing through this negotiation process. We reaffirmed the values of our bargaining platform and defined the underlying intentions of the agreement in our purpose proposal. Our last proposal affirms and bolsters the academic freedom of our librarians to allow them to continue their crucial work for the communities they serve.
More: Read science librarian Ginny Boehme’s opening statement and find out Why Librarian Negotiations Matter to All Faculty.
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