Blog 8/19/23

It’s been a long time coming! We have a contract!


On Thursday, 91% of our union membership voted to ratify our first contract!!! We are thrilled to be here after three years of organizing. The contract has many wins that meet our bargaining priorities:


Raises Across the Board

Protect Our Benefits

Path to Promotion

Invest in Our Development

Transparency, Equity, and a Voice


Wins include:

  • Raises for everyone! The first year everyone will get a 3.75% raise OR the minimum salary of their rank, whichever is higher. We will get 3% raises in Years 2 and 3 of the contract

  • Non-librarians will be eligible for longevity raises based on their years of service: 1% at 5 years, 1.5% at 10 years, 2% at 15 years, and 2.5% at 20 years.

  • Librarian rank and promotion! We will have three ranks for librarians: Assistant, Associate, and Senior. The ranks will have salary minimums the first year of $70k for Assistant, $80k for Associate, and $90k for Senior. Librarians will start applying for promotion in the Spring!

  • If someone is promoted, they will get a 4% raise or the floor of their new position, whichever is higher

  • Flexible work (such as remote work) is codified in the contract and we have the option to flex our remote days schedule 

  • MLIS tuition assistance is BACK! Up to five full-time workers are eligible for 90% tuition coverage at ALA-accredited institutions for up to 5 academic years, up to a maximum benefit of $5,250 per year subject to budget availability. MLIS tuition assistance was a past benefit the university took away, so we are very excited to have this program back.

  • The university will now give us the option to pre-pay conference registration. Professional society memberships (up to $250) can be paid with our annual professional development funds. Non-exempt staff will now have $750 (up from $500) in professional development funds per year. Exempt staff will remain at $2000 per year.

  • Many benefits, such as vacation and personal floating holidays, are now in the contract and if the University decides to alter these benefits, they must bargain with us.

  • We will have a Labor Management Committee that will meet quarterly with representatives of the library to address any labor issues.


We are excited to start a new chapter at the library as a union represented by SEIU Local 73. Now that we are in a union, we are no longer at-will employees. We have more rights, there must be “just cause” to discipline staff, and we have the ability to file grievances if the contract is violated. If the university wants to furlough staff, they must give proper notice and bargain with us over the effect. This was a major point for us, since 25% of library workers were furloughed in 2020 and we had no power to negotiate with the university on the terms. We look forward to starting a new academic year as part of the first staff union at Northwestern!

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