|
|
A dispute about wages and compensation with employees who work for the Arrowhead Library System and the board that runs the regional operation could lead to a vote by union members to strike.
Workers say the latest offer by the ALS board doesn’t reflect inflation, doesn’t take into account wages needed to attract and hire new employees, and leaves out benefits—step increase– owed to workers who have retired over the three-year labor negotiation process. And, they say they haven’t been given a cost-of-living increase in three years.
Labor Representative of AFSCME Council 65 Amanda Metsa represents the union workers. “Their (the workers) last contract expired December 31, 2019. Therefore, the last increase they received was almost three years ago, on January 1, 2019. Since then, the Consumer Price Index has increased by over six percent, and the overall value of their wages has decreased.”
In 2020 the labor negations were interrupted for months because of the pandemic.
Started in 1965, ALS is a state-designated regional public library system that covers the seven counties of Northeastern Minnesota: Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Koochiching, and St. Louis counties. There are 27 public libraries in the ALS system, including the Grand Marais public library.
ALS also works with regional libraries in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, as well as other institutions, including museums, hospitals, and governmental agencies.
When determining pay rates for various jobs, the ALS board used a comparable wage study it commissioned as one of its’ tools from Bjorklund Compensation Consulting (BCC). The board had used BCC ten years earlier to evaluate ALS jobs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ALS jobs were classified as critical. “People needed the resources of the library for teaching kids from home and people needing to survive the stay-at-home order,” said one disheartened ALS worker.
“Our understanding is that the Bjorklund study looked only at employees of other library systems in Minnesota. Arrowhead Library System is unique in that it services all of Northeastern Minnesota,” said Mesta, “This means that the data was from other regions (Southeast Minnesota, Central Minnesota, and Western Minnesota) and does not provide accurate comparisons to similar positions in the Arrowhead Region. The Bjorklund study also didn’t account for the fact that other library systems in Minnesota are not designed like the Arrowhead system, which is made up of independent libraries and independent staffs, with employees who work directly for ALS (in this Union) serving all of those member libraries. In other library systems, a “clerk” likely reflects a wage for a position that is working directly within a single library, not working to assist a program that serves thousands of users across a large region of our State.
“For those reasons, AFSCME 65 has maintained that the results of their study were not reflective of the actual needs of the Arrowhead Library System. Wages should be compared to similar positions in our region.
“We have made a number of proposals throughout the course of negotiations. Our first proposal was simply to discuss “a fair and reasonable general wage increase,” and that remains the motto of the negotiating committee. We believe that no one should go backward, and we believe that wages should reflect similar wages in similar positions within our region.”
Representing the board is Twin Cities attorney Ann R. Goering. When contacted about the labor dispute, Goering responded.
“Throughout the negotiations process, the Library System has consistently offered wage increases to every employee, including COLAs. The wage study was conducted by an independent consultant with over thirty years experience and takes into account wages for similar positions in the area, as well as positions in other libraries and library systems in the State. The Union has objected to positions with more responsibility being paid higher wages that are fair and proportional to their duties.”
Metsa was asked if the ALS board of directors was allegedly asking to freeze wages and offer lower starting pay than agreed to in previous contracts she had this to say, “The answer to this question is complicated in their most recent offer to our members cuts starting wages by up to 20 percent for some positions, that is a dramatic return to wages that both parties agreed to nearly a decade ago They are proposing this as the cost of living is skyrocketing and as wages are increasing in all sectors.
“We had made some progress on this, but the concern of workers is the health of the entire Arrowhead Library System and the ability of ALS to attract and retain quality workers. Every single position at ALS requires a minimum of two years of post-secondary education and skills interacting with the public. The latest proposed starting wages for the lowest-paid positions with the Arrowhead Library System are below the entry-level wages members could earn at Walmart.”
In an effort to find a resolution, Metsa said the union “agreed to engage in contract mediation through the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services in an attempt to bring the employer to the table to work out our differences and come to a compromise. We have proposed several significant compromises between our position and the management position, and they have rejected each one. On September 28, through the mediator, the employer emailed a last final offer that we are taking to a vote on October 29.”
But when it comes to setting budgets, one must have funding, and Goering stated, “It should also be noted that ALS is funded through a combination of a State appropriation and dollars provided by its seven participating counties. ALS does not have taxing authority of its own. It has been well over a decade since the Legislature added any funds to the appropriation for the 12 regional public library systems, including ALS. The participating counties have budget challenges of their own.
“The parties are in mediation, and therefore the ALS cannot comment on the specifics of the proposals being exchanged,” added Goering.
If the workers strike, it will mean no Mail-Book services, the Bookmobile will not be on the road, materials requested from other libraries will not get sent since they all come to the headquarters to be processed. If the vote leads to strike, the timing will fall around the holidays.
“Our members love their work, and it is our hope that the employer will work with us to resolve this contract and settle it on terms that are fair, but our membership is weighing the option of exercising their right to strike to protect their contract and the critical services they provide to our Arrowhead Library communities,” Metsa said.
Leave a Reply