FAM-L Bargaining, Day 24

work as many hours as management wants — or leave

Today at FAM-L bargaining, management told librarians that working regularly in excess of 40 hours every week is just fine, super normal, and if we don’t like it we can find work elsewhere.

This is unacceptable. We voted unanimously to form a union because we are poorly compensated while working unsustainable hours. We made clear at the table (in our Scope of Librarian Duties article) that the expectation should be 40 hours a week, and if we agree to a higher number than that, we need to see movement on Compensation from them. 

We also passed Compensation; Intellectual Property and Copyright; Benefits: Leaves; and Scope of Librarian Duties today; a package on Management Rights, Association Rights, No Strike / No Lockout, and Shared Governance; and a package on Grievance and Arbitration and Discipline and Discharge. For management’s part, they shared a counter on Committee Procedures, No Strike / No Lockout, and Compensation. 

In their Compensation counter, management increased their annual raise offer from 1.25% to 1.50%, an insulting movement for our members, and rejected our Salary Adjustment Studies proposal as well, showing that they don’t care about equity. If we are expected to work as many hours as management pleases every week, then we deserve far better than this. What we’re seeing is that the university doesn’t value librarians. 

Today, we reached tentative agreement (TA) on FAM’s last Personnel Committee counter, a win that protects the functions and duties of the committee who reviews librarians’ applications for promotion and continuing contract. The Union and the University also signed an MOU that increases research funds in the Publication, Reprint, Exhibition, and Performance Costs (PREP) program for our members. 

You can read all proposals in full at our website! 

FAM members: get an inside scoop 🍦and all your questions answered at our General Membership Meeting at noon on Thursday, November 21, RSVP here! 

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FAM Question of the Day

What’s involved in winning the best contract we can get? 

• Negotiation decisions require careful thought about the entire contract, not just discrete proposals. For example, we may need to trade one aspect of Benefits in order to win a better Compensation package for our members.
• Your democratically ratified priorities have guided the negotiation team over the last 18 months, as has your input at membership meetings and in correspondence and conversations. Please continue to keep in touch with your Negotiating Team about your priorities by coming to bargaining, attending membership meetings, and getting involved!
• Getting the contract you want takes action from YOU.

PS: Get answers here to your questions about raises, pace of bargaining, and more.