Upper Arlington library officially becomes union, despite leadership pushback
The staff of Upper Arlington Public Library has officially voted to form a union, despite several videos by the library's director to assure staff that not much will change.
With 79% approval (64 to 17) of staff members who voted in a secret ballot administered by the Ohio State Employment Relations Board, the union will be called Upper Arlington Public Library United Staff. In January, almost 70% of staff signed cards informing of their intent to form a union, an effort rejected by management at the time.
The library union is now the fourth in Greater Columbus to successfully organize with the Ohio Federation of Teachers since 2021.
“My coworkers and I voted to form our union because we want our library to thrive and that’s only possible if library workers are treated with respect, compensated fairly, and have a voice in decisions that affect our work,” said Caitlin O’Sullivan, a cataloger at Tremont Library.
Library Director Beth Hatch had produced several videos prior to the vote, extolling enhancements to the pay, benefits and communications to the staff at the three-branch system compared to peer libraries.
In one, she states, "We're not going to really be doing things much differently than other libraries," with or without a union.
UAPLUS was organized in affiliation with the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT), which represents nearly 20,000 active and retired public school teachers, charter schoolteachers, school support staff, higher education faculty and staff, library workers and social work professionals in Ohio.
Upper Arlington joins Worthington Libraries, Grandview Heights Public Library, and Pickerington Public Library, each of which unionized since 2021. Only Grandview Heights voluntarily agreed to accept its staff's efforts.
The Ohio Federation of Teachers described "a barrage of anti-union videos from (Hatch), and library patrons received a misleading email intended to undermine public support for the union."
One library patron called this “a direct misuse of taxpayer-funded resources to push the board’s one-sided narrative and exert undue public pressure on the staff they claim to respect" in a letter to The Dispatch.
“Despite heavy-handed anti-union videos from management, UAPL workers voted to form their union so they can advocate for the pay and benefits they deserve and for the world class library resources and services their patrons deserve,” said Melissa Cropper, President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers.
“We’re disappointed that our Board and Director declined to voluntarily recognize our union, refused to remain neutral during our union election, wasted library resources trying to influence our vote, and alienated our library patrons by sending anti-union propaganda to our email list,” said Jane Federer, a public services associate at Tremont Library. “This was our decision to make and now that our election is over, we hope that our administration respects the result and bargains with us in good faith without delay.”
Jen Downing, a librarian for 10 years at the Tremont Road branch, said she looks forward to upcoming negotiations and input with library leaders. She also hopes that future librarians benefit.
"I hope that no one else in the library will be made to feel the way I have felt in the past," Downing said of feeling unheard and unappreciated. "I am not a volunteer. I want to be compensated fairly."
Hatch released this statement: "We respect that decision and will bargain in good faith to achieve an acceptable contract. We remain committed to working with our staff, our patrons, and the community to ensure that our library continues to be one of the best in the nation."
dnarciso@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Upper Arlington fourth public library to unionize in central Ohio
