Grosse Pointe Library Workers Still Without A Contract

Since July 1, 2017, when their last contract expired, Grosse Pointe’s librarians and support staff have been working without a contract, according to Grosse Pointe Librarians Association President John Clexton. The union alleges that the library administration has presented incomplete proposals, as well as offering different proposals to the bargaining team and to individual union members administrators contacted directly. Yesterday, negotiations between the two sides ended with no resolution, and will not resume until Jan. 23, according to Clexton.

“Administration’s actions have been very frustrating to our efforts to obtain a fair contract and counter-productive to the mission of the Library as a public resource,” Clexton said in a statement.

The Grosse Pointe Library Association union represents 16 librarians and 18 staffers in the public library system. One key sticking point is the choice of a health insurance plan, according to a fact-finding report issued by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission. The fact finder sided with the union over health insurance after determining the library financially able to cover costs, and that the plan the administration preferred to adopt was very similar in cost to the one the workers wanted to maintain.

The fact finder also determined that wage increases proposed by the Association should be adopted, based on many factors including comparable pay for librarians and support staff in other municipalities and the overall cost of the Association’s proposed wage increase versus the administration’s. The administration also wants the union to drop a longstanding, employee-funded sick leave benefit and replace it with a yet-to-be-determined or purchased short-term disability insurance plan.

"There was undisputed evidence presented at the fact-finding hearing that our wage and insurance proposal was affordable," the union said in a statement. "By not settling the contract with us, Administration saves at least $5000.00 every month. Our proposal costs less than the $40,000.00 (and still counting) Administration has spent on attorney fees thus far."

The library board meets Thursday, Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Central Library, 10 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe Farms. Negotiations between the library administration and the Grosse Pointe Librarians Association resume Jan. 23.

Photo via Grosse Pointe Public Library.