Resolved

Union Eligibility

Over the course of six months, UW Libraries Union regularly met with the UW Office of Labor Relations to come to agreement on who should be eligible to join our union. Our position was that librarians and professional staff who do not supervise other librarians or professional staff are eligible to organize together into one bargaining unit. The “first level” of pro staff and librarians who supervise other pro staff or librarians are eligible to organize together in a separate bargaining unit.

The union initially proposed a list of about 180 potential members, split between the two bargaining units. Labor Relations immediately disputed approximately one third of the list, including most of the potential members of the supervisors bargaining unit. Labor Relations's objections demonstrated a lack of understanding about the nature of library work in general, and the tasks and ways of working at UW Libraries in particular.

Resolved, June 2021: After a careful process of documenting the responsibilities of the disputed members in order to argue for their eligibility, and many meetings to go over individual classes of position, the Union was ultimately able to come to full agreement with UW Labor relations over eligibility. The Union was able to set significant precedents for membership, winning eligibility for those with the job title of Head, and those whose job duties include advancement. Our combined units ultimately consisted of 181 eligible employees.

Combined Bargaining Units

Representatives from the UW Libraries Union and the UW Office of Labor Relations began meeting to discuss eligibility of membership in the union in January 2021. Labor Relations's initial stance was that it would be inappropriate for librarians and professional staff to organize together, and that rather than having two bargaining units (one for supervisors, one for non-supervisors) it should be split into four groups. From the beginning we have wanted our union to embody our organizational value of equity, and organizing professional staff and librarians together is a part of this. The work that librarians and professional staff do is so intertwined and so mutually supportive that to suggest we do not have a common interest is absurd.

Resolved, March 2021: After gathering and sharing examples of the interrelatedness of librarian and professional staff work, as well as a “Stronger Together” collective action at the March 'Town Hall,' UW Labor Relations agreed that it is appropriate for professional staff and librarians to organize together into two bargaining units (one for supervisors, and one for staff) instead of the four units the UW was proposing. UW Labor relations asked that we look beyond our “vertical unit” of the UW Libraries and include the Law Librarians in our bargaining units. We look forward to welcoming our colleagues to our union-building community.

Discretionary Leave

In December 2020, Dean Betsy Wilson advocated that all professional staff and librarians should receive six days of discretionary leave to recognize the extra burdens we undertook due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That decision was communicated to some supervisors, who then began to inform their staff. Libraries Human Resources then contacted some staff to say that the leave should not have been offered and cannot be granted, because of laboratory conditions. The granting of discretionary leave, while generous, was a violation of laboratory conditions, as it could be seen as an attempt to sway employees away from the union. To then rescind the offer and ascribe responsibility to the organizing effort was also a violation.

Resolved, February 2021: UW Libraries Union contacted the Office of Labor Relations, described the situation and why it represented multiple violations of laboratory conditions. We proposed the remedy that all librarians and professional staff receive the six days of discretionary leave. The Office of Labor Relations accepted the remedy, and the leave was granted.

Title and Status Changes

Over the course of December 2020 and January 2021, a number of Librarians were promised an increase in FTE and/or a change in title. Those attempting to increase their FTE were then notified that their FTE would not be increasing at that time, with the laboratory conditions imposed by the union petitions cited as the reason for denial. The FTE increase approvals were violations of laboratory conditions, and to then rescind them and ascribe responsibility to the organizing effort was also a violation. Similarly, the title changes were a violation.

Resolved, February 2021: UW Libraries Union contacted the Office of Labor relations, described the situation and why it represented multiple violations of laboratory conditions. We proposed the remedy that the affected employees be confirmed in their new titles and/or granted their status changes, but that UW would make no further promises to UW Libraries employees or discuss other changes to employees' appointments or FTE statuses without meeting with the Union to discuss the specific changes. The Office of Labor Relations accepted the remedy; four employees were able to move to full-time status, and eight employees had their title changes confirmed.