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The Union has been in bargaining since April of this year and had a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. on November 9th.

With a bargaining unit of almost 50 per cent part-time workers, the TPLWU has led a successful campaign for good jobs, fairness for part-time workers and quality public library services.

The local’s campaign raised concerns about the Toronto Public Library Board’s reliance on part-time workers and self-service check-out machines at the expense of a professional well-trained workforce.

At one point in the campaign the CUPE TPLWU worked with the OPSEU LCBO workers who recently made similar breakthroughs in their Good Jobs campaign.

“We are thrilled to have negotiated a settlement that addresses our main issues – full-time jobs and fairness for part-time workers” said Maureen O’Reilly, Chair of the Bargaining Committee.

“The settlement will see a number of part-time jobs converted to full-time jobs over the life of the new three year Collective Agreement, and a significant improvement in benefits for part-time workers.

“We also made progress in the area of career advancement opportunities for our members, committing the parties to develop mentorship and training programs.”

The parties negotiated improvements to pregnancy and parental leave pay – an important achievement that will make a difference for the Library’s predominantly female workforce.

Details will be released following the ratification vote planned for next week.

On Monday members of OPSEU Liquor Board Employees (LCBO) Division will proudly wear CUPE buttons in solidarity with the 2400 members of the Toronto Public Library Workers Union (TPLWU) CUPE 4948 as they countdown to a strike/lock-out deadline of 12:01am on Monday, November 9.

“TPLWU Local 4948 and OPSEU LCBO Division have a common concern about the high numbers of part-time or precarious jobs and the shortage of good full-time jobs in our communities,” said Vanda Klumper, Chair of the OPSEU LCBO Division.

TPLWU CUPE 4948 has been in bargaining since April. Monday’s action reflects a common campaign for good, full-time jobs and high quality public services. The OPSEU LCBO union narrowly averted a strike this year.

The TPLWU CUPE 4948 is working hard to negotiate a fair settlement to avoid a strike at the Library, and is hoping the Toronto Public Library Board is prepared to do the same. Contract talks continue for TPLWU Local 4948 this week.

Globe and Mail – Library staff votes to strike, but talks continue

Toronto Star – Library workers give union strike mandate

Toronto Sun – 2,400 library workers vote to walk out

“We have been negotiating with the Library since April and have not been able to come to a fair agreement. We want to maintain the kind of high quality community-based public library services our patrons have come to expect, and at the same time ensure that all library workers have good jobs”,  said Maureen O’Reilly, spokesperson for TPLWU and Chair of the Bargaining Committee for Local 4948.

“We believe that in this round of bargaining, the Toronto Public Library is at a crossroads,” said Maureen O’Reilly. “The Toronto Public Library is relying more and more on part-time work and self check-out machines at the expense of a well-trained professional workforce and quality service. Library workers need good secure full-time jobs just as much as our communities need great public libraries.”

Almost 50% of the workforce is part-time with fewer benefits. It takes a library worker on average five to six years to get a full-time job at the Toronto Public Library. Recent trends in the direction of public library services show little sign of progress.

“There has been a worrisome shift in the direction of local community-based library services at The Toronto Public Library in the last few years. More and more, the Toronto Public Library has been looking to corporate models of delivering public library service developed in the context of massive cuts to public libraries in the United States.  This has had a very negative impact on the 2400 predominantly female workers of the Toronto Public Library,” said Maureen O’Reilly.

The TPLWU has been in conciliation since August and still has three dates left to meet with the conciliation officer to come to an agreement.

TPLWU Local 4948 believes a made-in-Toronto solution based on good jobs and quality service is possible. “We will do everything we can to negotiate a fair settlement without a work stoppage. We hope the Toronto Public Library Board will do the same,” said Maureen O’Reilly.

The Toronto Public Library Workers Union, CUPE Local 4948, entered collective bargaining in April of 2009.  On August 27, 2009, the Union applied to the Ministry of Labour to appoint a conciliation officer to help the parties reach a settlement. The Ministry of Labour has appointed Denise Small as the conciliation officer.

The issues:

The Toronto Public Library has been recognized as the best public library in the world. A trained, professional workforce, based upon good, full-time jobs and career opportunities, is key to providing world-class library services to the public.

“Rejuvenating” the Toronto Public Library

Our employer admits that the Toronto Public Library (TPL) needs “rejuvenation” and has made a series of short-sighted proposals that demonstrate a “band-aid” approach to problem-solving.

We believe that a vision for the future of TPL cannot be built on superficial solutions. The Union rejuvenation plan for TPL will necessitate a commitment to changing organizational attitudes and involving library workers in finding solutions.

Good jobs at TPL:

The lack of good jobs at TPL denies career opportunities to existing workers and makes it difficult to attract new graduates and experienced workers from outside the organization.

Approximately half the workforce at TPL is part-time. While some workers choose to work part-time, many have no other option. It takes on average five to six years for a part-time worker to get a full-time job at TPL. The TPL workforce is predominantly female. The Union is advocating for good, full-time, permanent jobs with decent pay, benefits and working conditions that allow us to retire on a decent pension and equality for part-time workers.

Management has proposed to hire external workers over new librarians who have completed university and library school while working as pages at TPL, essentially dismissing young workers who have pursued education while working at TPL. How can Management ever hope to “rejuvenate” TPL by dismissing this diverse group of experienced young workers who have lived and worked in our own communities?

Doing more with less:

The TPL wants to keep libraries open until midnight. The TPL slogan is “The best thing a library can be is open”.

Management’s plan to extend hours relies on self-service technology. The vision is a  “study hall” model tied to few staff  – with almost no professional librarians – 90% of which would be part-time workers. The “study hall” model is essentially a much down-graded service with computers and self-check out machines.

We believe that our communities deserve better.

What is important to note is that the TPL’s bare-bones proposal to staff the new open hours comes in the context of an understaffed service to begin with (there has been an over 20% reduction in library staff since the early 1990s) and a complete lack of real career opportunities for library workers who want to build their careers at TPL. The future of more part-time jobs and less real service is not one that we can get excited about.

The Union has proposed that any expansion in hours be accompanied by a commitment to staffing the library with good jobs and the full range of library services for the public. Libraries are not internet cafes! Libraries play a unique role in our communities and must continue to meet the educational, recreational and informational needs of our communities.

TPL looking to business-style made-in-the-US service models to do more with less:

TPL has been looking to  business-style service models that have been made popular with libraries in the US that have been forced to provide library services on fewer resources as libraries suffer budget cutbacks. There are plenty of examples of libraries both in the US and in Canada that have suffered at the hands of such models, having seen the erosion of full-time jobs into part-time jobs, the de-skilling of the profession as the numbers of librarians are reduced and replaced with “generalist” positions and good library jobs replaced with technology. The plan to do more with less always comes at the expense of quality service and good jobs for our communities.

There is a long list of Employer proposals on the bargaining table that will only serve to mask the problems at TPL and erode public library service over the long-term:

• Restrictions on movement from one job to another, i.e. increasing stagnation.
• Promoting external workers ahead of current workers
• Restrictions to job posting opportunities
• Later hours with inferior service
• Increasing reliance on part-time workers
• More restrictions on flexible hours
• Focus on centralized services at the expense of the specific needs of local communities.
• Generalist jobs instead of professional specialized jobs to serve the communities better.
• Imported business-oriented solutions.

We want to bargain real solutions

The Union has made many proposals to provide TPL with long-term solutions:

• More good jobs = better service
• More full-time jobs = better service
• Equality for part-time workers
• Expanded hours with full quality service
• More career opportunities
• Hours of work scheduling responsive to increasing work/life balance
• Flexible scheduling and hours
• Focus on local services and job specialization
• Made-in-Toronto library solutions.

This round of bargaining is not about money – this round of bargaining calls upon the TPL to find the will to assume the leadership necessary to address real problems and to look for made-in Toronto public solutions befitting one of the finest public libraries in the world.

It is about hiring young workers and offering all TPL employees good jobs with opportunities for career advancement. It is about connecting us as library workers and the services we provide with our local communities.

We are at a crossroads. This round of bargaining will determine the direction of the Toronto Public Library for years to come.

This round of negotiations is about serving our communities better with good jobs.