Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the executive board of AFSCME, our International Union and parent organization of DC37 and Local 1482, has temporarily waived the usual conduct of nominations for officers to the executive board.  As a result, the nominations for the new three-year term of Local 1482 officers will take place virtually this year instead of at an in-person meeting.

The above letter was mailed to the home addresses of all Local 1482 members, but it is being posted here as well in the expectation that mail delivery did not reach everyone who should have received it.  You can download the letter above at the top of this post

All dues paying members of Local 1482 may nominate candidates for office by submitting nominations to the email address listed at the top of the letter.  The deadline for submitting nominations is Tuesday, October 13 at 5:00 pm.

The responsibilities for many of the Local 1482 offices up for nomination are outlined in the Local 1482 Constitution.  You can also find the nominations and election process laid out in the Constitution of the local.

We will providing more information at the General Membership Meeting on Monday at 7:00 pm.  The meeting will be held over Zoom.  Please register for the meeting by filling out this form.  We will email you the login information on Sunday night.  We will also email the login information at 6 pm on Monday to those who register later on Sunday and on Monday.

The first General Membership meeting of Local 1482 is scheduled on Monday, October 5 at 7:00 pm.  The meeting will be held on Zoom.

We invite members to fill out this reservation form.  We will email the Zoom link and login information to you on Sunday night, or on Monday at 6 pm if you submit the form later on Sunday or on Monday before 6 pm.  

Providing there is a quorum, this will be an official General Membership Meeting where business is conducted.  There will be information on submitting nominations for the election of Officers and Delegates to Local 1482 for a three-year term that will begin in December, 2020.

Please share the reservation form with colleagues who are Local 1482 members.  You can find the full meeting schedule for 2020-2021 here.  

Official Local 1482 General Membership meetings will resume on Monday, October 5 at 7:00.  We have moved the meetings from their traditional Tuesday spot to accommodate BPL's current scheduling, where members in staffed branches work until 7:00 pm on Tuesday nights.

All meetings will be held on Zoom for the foreseeable future.

For General Membership meetings, we will send a reservation link days before an upcoming meeting where members can sign up to participate with their names and email addresses.  We will email the login information prior to the meeting to all who register.

Executive Board members will be sent login information for monthly meetings by President Ron Barber.  

You can find a printable PDF of the meeting schedule by clicking on the image above, or by visiting this page.  Please print out a copy, post it on the union bulletin boards in your work locations, and share with your colleagues.  

Local 1482 will hold a General Membership Meeting on Monday, August 31 at 7:00 pm.  This meeting will be informational, and no official business will be conducted.  

The meeting will take place on Zoom, and we are asking members to register in advance.  Submit this form ​with your name and email address and we will email you the login information on Sunday night, or at 6 pm on Monday night if you send the form on Monday.

Thank you to all of our members for your engagement, participation, and resilience in these unexpected circumstances.  We look forward to connecting on August 31.  

To Our Members--

As the libraries in NYC implement their reopening plans, our members in Local 1482 now have to confront the realities of returning to their physical workspaces, and questioning whether our work environments are truly safe.  The Executive Board of Local 1482 acknowledges the concerns our members have expressed during this transition, and we reassure you that your safety and security are our top concern.  You have a right to a workplace that protects your health, the library is obligated to provide it, and the union will protect you and hold the library accountable if your workspaces are not safe.

First and foremost, we expect the library’s decisions will adhere to public health guidance, and guidelines for negotiating public spaces and workplaces, as issued by the CDC, and New York State, and the NYC Department of Health, as well as the Working Conditions Contract between the library and Local 1482.  

Taking these documents into account, and holding the health and safety of our members paramount, we make the following demands regarding the reopening of our workplaces to staff and the public:

• That PPE and cleaning supplies are plentiful, and are restocked regularly. 

 

• That clear, comprehensive signage is put in place that communicates mask requirements, and promotes social distancing.

 

• That cleanliness and wiping down of frequently used surfaces in both public and staff areas is a top priority.

 

• That branches and work locations are not rushed too quickly from one step to another in the reopening plan, and that the library provides our members with adequate time between steps for review, reflection, and training.

 

• That processes and physical spaces are configured well in advance and in a way that drastically minimizes, if not eliminates, unsafe confrontations with library users.

 

• That the library responds concretely to members’ concerns about enforcement of public masking.  Work locations should be provided with masks in different sizes for different ages. Further, mask compliance, or lack of it, should play a role in deciding processes and determining timelines for work locations in contemplating moving them from one step to another.

• That the library will recognize and respond to the unique needs and challenges of members who are parents and caregivers in these difficult and uncertain circumstances.

• That staff working from home are provided the technology and training needed to meet the expectations of the library, and the initiatives they promote.

And finally...

• We demand the union be involved in decision-making as work locations move through steps in the reopening plan from this point onward.

Since lockdown began in March, our interactions with the library have largely involved their reaching out to the union after-the-fact about decisions already reached.  In recent days, the union has been able to engage in a dialogue with the library. And as a result, the union has achieved agreement on the following:

• That work locations will be provided with a cleaning checklist, to be delivered the week of July 13.
• That members who have  previously been instructed to clock in on Sum Total will not have to do so.

More work locations will open in different phases in the coming days and weeks.  The demands above are not comprehensive or locked in place,  We recognize they can change and added to based on the evolving public health environment and issues that arise in our members’ work locations in the coming weeks.  

To that end, we invite our membership to report conditions and areas of concern about their work lives, especially now that reopening has moved beyond paper and documents and Zoom meetings, and into our members’ lives and everyday movements.  We have created a form, located here, where you can share information with what’s going on and what you observe.  The content submitted will be accessible to everyone serving on the Executive Board of Local 1482, which we feel will expedite responses, provide perspectives across a variety of titles and levels of experience, and will allow us to track trends and patterns.  

If you are not able to fill out the form, please reach out to any member currently serving on the Executive Board.

We thank you in advance for your submissions and feedback.  Please be well.

DC37 has launched a Covid-19 website that serves as a clearinghouse of information and support for its members and retirees.  It includes:

• A FAQ that defines which titles are considered essential services, and provides up-to-date information on pay.
  
• Worksite Updates issued by a number of City departments and agencies.
  
•  Covid-19 Resources from the City, State, and CDC.   
  
• Contact Information for DC 37.
  
• Information about Government Benefits available to workers from New York State and the Federal Government. 
  

The DC37 offices at 55 Water St. are currently closed, but staff are operating remotely.  Call the Professional Division at 212-815-1040 to inquire about matters related to Local 1482.

To all members, please be safe and please be well.

As a union member, you have the right to refuse to submit to a meeting with management or employer's investigatory interview without the presence of a union representative if you reasonably believe that the meeting or interview could result in disciplinary action.

These are your Weingarten Rights.  They are federal law, and they were guaranteed in a Supreme Court case back in 1975.  If you are ever summoned to a meeting with management that you feel can lead to disciplinary action against you, invoke your Weingarten Rights right away.  Refuse to answer questions or continue the discussion until you are provided with union representation. 

We have created a document to post on union bulletin boards in your work locations that provides members with language to use if they are ever called into what they believe is a disciplinary meeting with management.  The file is 8" x 6".  Print it out, and cut out around the border before posting (we get it that bulletin boards can get crowded, so we kept the document to half-page sized).

Find more information about your Weingarten Rights here. 

Please print out and display our schedule for Local 1482 meetings on your union bulletin boards, and share it with your colleagues.

The first General Membership meeting of 2019/2020 is Tuesday, October 1 at 7:00 pm and will be held in the Trustees Room of the Central Library.

General Membership meetings are an excellent opportunity to catch up on the latest news, and to discuss  issues and actions that matter to you.   We hope you can participate!

The date for the annual Labor Day Parade for all city unions is Saturday, September 7 at 11:00 am.

All members of Local 1482 are invited to march, as are your friends and loved ones, and everyone who supports labor and unions.

If you are able to join us, please wear your green DC37 t-shirt or baseball cap. The meeting place will be West 48th Street in Manhattan between 5th and 6th Avenues

Please download and print out the flyer, found here, and share it with your colleagues.

We'll see you on September 7th!

The first General Membership meeting for 2020-2021 is scheduled for Monday, October 5 at 7:00 pm.  It will be held on Zoom.

To receive the login information, submit this form ​with your full name and email address. We will email you the Zoom link and login  information on Sunday night, or at 6 pm on Monday night if you submit the form later on Sunday or on Monday before 6 pm.

Providing there is a quorum, this will be an official General Membership Meeting, and there will be information shared on the nominating procedures for the upcoming election of Local 1482 officers for the new three-year term starting in December, 2020.  

Please share the reservation form with colleagues and friends who are Local 1482 members.  You can find all Local 1482 meeting dates for 2020 through June,  2021 here.