Bargaining Blog 7.31.23

We are very happy to announce that we have come to a tentative agreement on our first contract! Since our last bargaining session, we reached an agreement on the two remaining proposals, Compensation and Librarian Promotion. 


For Compensation, we agreed that:

  • Our salary floors for each position will be increased by at least 5% for every title, with some above 20%!

  • For the first year of the contract, everyone will either receive a 3.75% increase, or the new salary floor, whichever is greater. Everyone will receive a 3% increase for the second and third years of the contract

  • Non-librarian staff will receive percentage-based longevity raises at 5, 10, 15 and 20 years 


For Librarian Promotion, we agreed that:

  • Entry-level librarians will start at Assistant Librarian, and can get promoted to Associate Librarian after 5 years, and Senior Librarian 5 years after that

  • We are promoted based on job performance, research and scholarly contributions, and service to the profession and university; we do not need to publish peer-reviewed research to advance, since our positions are not tenure-track

  • The system is opt-in and not up-or-out; we do not need to submit materials for promotion if we don’t want to or feel we aren’t ready

  • For librarians who wish to be promoted during the first contract, we can submit our materials for consideration next spring


Thanks again to the 36 union members who showed up to our bargaining session (as well as anyone who was stuck in the waiting room). This helped demonstrate to the University that library workers care about these issues and are willing to show up on their own time to advocate for a better workplace.


We will be holding all-union meetings to share more contract details, as well as the details of the contract ratification process, on Tuesday 8/8 from 7-8pm, and Friday 8/11 during our lunch breaks from 12-1pm. Check your email for the Zoom link. And feel free to reach out to a bargaining committee member with any questions!

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