National Library Workers Day was established in 2003 and is celebrated on the Tuesday of National Library Week in April.

The Executive Board of Local 1482 would like to thank all of our members for their conscientious work and dedication all year round.  Your efforts, which we know are performed in a climate of persistent understaffing, are the true heart and soul of Brooklyn's libraries.  

We have a tradition of getting a small gift for our members to recognize National Library Workers Day.  This year it is a card sleeve, stamped with the Local 1482 logo.  Use it for your Metro Card or library card.  When you pull it from your pocket or bag, know that your brothers and sisters in Local 1482 appreciate more than anyone that, "Libraries work because we do!"

American Library Association/Allied Professional Association "National Library Workers Day" website. 

Public Libraries, Loved By All Remain Under Attack (AFSCME blog, April 14, 2014)

The next General Membership meeting of Local 1482 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 1st at 7:00 p.m.  It will be held in the auditorium of the Brooklyn Heights branch.  Food and refreshments will be available beginning at 6:00.

At this meeting we will elect three delegates to represent Local 1482 at the 41st Annual AFSCME International Convention, which is being held in Chicago, Illinois from July 14 to 18, 2014.  We will also elect three alternates who will step in should the elected delegates not be able to attend.  Nominations for both delegates and alternates are open to all members of Local 1482.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the meeting!

It is hardly news that unions have been under attack for a number of years.  The latest salvo is a court case that will be decided later this year by the Supreme Court of the United States, Harris Vs. Quinn.  Originating in Illinois, the plaintiff is Pam Harris, a mother who receives Medicaid benefits from the state to provide round-the-clock care for her disabled son.  She and other home-based workers who receive these benefits are required in Illinois to pay union dues to SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Healthcare Illinois-Indiana, even if they do not avail themselves of the services the union provides.  Ms. Harris argues that paying these dues is a violation of her First Amendment rights.  So-called 'Right to Work' groups have embraced this argument and are funding Ms. Harris' suit. 

Enter Laura Reyes, Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME (the parent union of DC 37).  Last month she published an article in the Huffington Post titled The Sexist Agenda Hidden in Harris v. Quinn where she illustrates how this case attempts to undermine all unions by directly attacking an area where it sees significant growth.

Because the population is aging at a greater rate, the home health care industry is expected to grow enormously in the coming years.  Those who are unionized are much more likely to earn a fair, living wage than those who do not belong to unions.  Oh, by the way, a huge majority of these caretakers are women. 

Reyes doesn't stop with women, however.  She reminds us all that women workers are one of the few demographics where unionization is growing, and that watering down-- or outright stripping away-- the hard-fought victories of any of our constituencies will eventually undermine all of them:

'Let's be candid about why cases like Harris v. Quinn are rising to the Supreme Court. Women make up 45 percent of union membership and will become the majority by 2020. That has anti-worker forces worried. They know that if women enjoy collective bargaining rights and have a strong voice in their workplaces, the inequalities of the past -- which favored their power and bottom line -- will begin to fade away.'  (Laura Reyes) 

March is Women's History Month.  Cases like Harris v. Quinn remind us that we cannot rest on our laurels when it comes to women workers.  Taking the larger view, it is also a cautionary tale for each and every one of us who enjoy benefits and rights gained through our legal ability to bargain collectively with our employers.   

The next General Membership meeting of Local 1482 will be on Tuesday, February 4th at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Brooklyn Heights Branch (address and directions here). 

Refreshments will be available beginning at 6:00 p.m.  Please join us to find out the latest news, and to share how the local can help you!

Image: Open Clipart

As the members of Local 1482 are well aware, last year the library unilaterally decided to open on the morning of December 24th for the first time in over 35 years. The union vigorously opposed this reversal of a long-established practice, and immediately sought to have it overturned. The library and Local 1482 eventually agreed to bring the issue to an arbitrator, who was charged with listening to the arguments of both sides in order to issue a binding decision. The arbitration hearing occurred in September, 2013.

The arbitrator issued his ruling on Monday. Unfortunately, the decision went against Local 1482 and ruled that the library has the right to operate on December 24th until 1:00pm. The arbitrator based his decision on a strict reading of Article XXII of the Working Conditions Contract, which states that the library may be open no later than 1:00 pm on the day before Christmas (as well as the day before New Year's Day).

I am deeply disappointed in the arbitrator's decision, which disregarded decades of practice and the needs of the membership. In the meantime, Local 1482 will continue seeking to convince the library to restore the December 24th holiday as a day off for all of our members.

Eileen Muller
President, Local 1482

The content originally published on this homepage from May, 2013 to the present has, unfortunately, disappeared.  Thanks to the magic of the Wayback Machine, however, you can still access every article published in May and June, 2013.  The only articles not included are General Membership Meeting announcements published in September and November.  The Working Conditions Contrast and all other sections of the website were unaffected by the issues that impacted the homepage.

We will soon publish something on the proposed changes in the timekeeping system.  In the meantime,  please contact us at local1482@gmail.com with your suggestions for articles.  Thank you for your patience as we worked to sort this out, and as always, thanks for reading!