Mahoning library board Oks wage freeze for its 170 workers
No more library workers will be laid off if funding stays constant.
YOUNGSTOWN — The board of trustees of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County has approved one-year contract extensions for its union workers, in which wages will remain frozen at 2008 levels.
The board approved the agreements, which had been ratified by the union members Jan. 22, at its Thursday meeting.
The 16-branch library system also agreed to freeze wages for administrative employees as long as wages for the union members are frozen.
Also under the agreements, there will be no more layoffs of library employees unless there are further reductions in state or local funding.
“We have cash-flow issues, and the employees recognize that. We also have a real uncertain future going forward. People don’t want their libraries to close,” said Carlton Sears, library system director.
State-funding cuts forced the layoff of 26 library employees between July and September 2009 and the reduction of five clerks and three librarians from full-time to part-time status. The layoffs, which reduced library staffing to 170 employees, were the first in the library system’s 130-year history.
The board also imposed in September a 15-percent cut in library hours across its branches.
The agreements extend for one-year the contracts, which would have expired April 30, 2010, for clerical, maintenance and technical employees, and May 31, 2010, for librarians.
The 95-member clerical, maintenance and technical union and the 49-member Public Librarians’ Association of Youngstown belong to the Service Employees International Union District 1199.
“The employees understand the importance of keeping the library afloat. We’ll do our bit. ... For us, it’s a no-brainer,” said Michele Mellor, librarians’ union president. “Hopefully, next year, when we go into negotiations, things will be better.”
“This was a hard decision for many employees, but we understand the financial problems the library has during these economic times,” said Cathy Ciccone, president of the clerical, maintenance and technical union.
“Because of the savings that people are coming up with, we’re fine through 2010. We’re still spending more money than we’re taking in, though,” Sears said. Therefore, the library’s 2003 strategic plan must be updated to ensure the financial stability of library service beyond 2010, he said.
Sears presented to the board a timetable for development of the Library 2011 strategic plan, under which several alternatives for future levels of library service will be developed and presented to the public this spring, including maintenance of the current level of operations, together with the projected costs of each alternative.
The different models of service will take into account population shifts and changes in library use patterns in recent years and the likely impact of the current property reappraisal on any new local library levy that might be put before the voters.
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