Librarians and Library Staff

The AFT represents public library workers across the country, in separate municipal library bargaining units and as part of school and university bargaining units. The AFT also represents librarians in state libraries—including the Illinois State Library and the Connecticut State Library—and in other state agencies, with corrections, education, mental health and developmental disability units, to name a few. Library staff are organizing with the AFT to protect their work, their professions and the people they serve.

IMLS

Trump administration ramps up attacks on public libraries

President Donald Trump has long belittled public libraries. This time around, in his second term, he’s ramping up his hostility toward them. His administration seeks to dismantle the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services—and AFT members nationwide have already begun to feel the effects.

OHIO

Pickerington Public Library Workers Ratify First Union Contract

Librarians and other workers at Pickerington Public Library voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first union contract. In addition to longevity pay, employees will receive raises of up to 10.5 percent throughout the three-year contract. The contract also gives employees access to up to three weeks of paid leave that can be used for parental leave or other qualifying family medical reasons. These new policies were added in the union contract without any corresponding concessions from employees.

Read about more organizing victories

OHIO

‘We are what a union looks like’

When the pandemic began, many workers in Central Ohio libraries—who have historically largely lacked union representation—realized they had little voice in resulting workplace policies. With libraries in the crosshairs of the culture wars , and a longstanding dearth of fair pay and professional respect, library workers seized the moment to organize unions with the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

MASSACHUSETTS

Jenna Young Knows the True Value of Libraries

Jenna Young, a Massachusetts Library Staff Association member and union treasurer, describes how libraries offer a vast range of services and serve as a tool for civic education. While libraries work hard to serve the community, the vital role of libraries is being threatened by budget cutbacks and increasing attacks on the freedom of information and free expression.