On October 12, 2021 library workers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. publicly stated their intent to form a union. Their open letter in response to continued budget cuts and staff reductions stated: “The important services and resources the Library provides to the campus community are the result of the work we do every day. We aim to acknowledge this work and strengthen our collective voice by forming a union of Northwestern University Library workers because we are stronger together.” After facing austerity from university administration in the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, a new round of pandemic-related cutbacks and compartmentalization was too much for library workers.
Furloughs, layoffs, benefits cut, stifled advancement, and new or expanded responsibilities without increased pay are only a few of the issues stated in the calls to action by library workers. Most of these issues were ongoing, simply worsened by pandemic austerity. Of the 250 library employees at Northwestern, 50 were furloughed (some without notification) and two were fired outright. This was the highest rate of impact for any segment of NU employees. At the same time, remaining library employees felt massive increases in their workloads due to the lack of critical staff.
In a landslide vote, library workers voted to form a union with SEIU local 73 in early December. Workers state that this will give them a seat at the table when the administration makes decisions that will affect library labor and efficiency. While claiming possible short-falls in 2020 which would deplete the next yearly budget, Northwestern University then claimed over $83 million in budget surpluses in 2021. Despite this many library budget cuts remain, lost wages and benefits have not been returned, and laid-off library workers have not been rehired.
Library assistant Nick Munagian summarizes the collective impetus to unionize quite well: “It’s clear something is amiss when one of the wealthiest educational institutions in the country uses a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic as an opportunity to enact wage freezes, cuts to retirement benefits, layoffs, and furloughs, and then subsequently boasts of a budget surplus. Collective bargaining is a natural response to this sort of mismanagement.”
NUL workers had not seen a cost of living wage increase in the years leading up to the pandemic. Workers were frustrated with untenable workloads and a lack of increased compensation for their additional labor. “When I started four years ago, I had four subject areas. A few years later, the department areas were shuffled around, and I now have seven subject areas [with more patron engagement], with no related compensation increase,” says Becca Greenstein, STEM Librarian. Others had their retirement put in jeopardy like instruction and curriculum librarian Anne Zald: “During the furloughs, my coworkers were out in the cold and I lost some retirement benefits that have a negative impact on my future’s security.”
While some state and federal laws apply to collective bargaining by public employees, as per the National Labor Relations Board all employees have the right to form, join, promote, or assist a union. Most employment is in an at-will capacity by the worker with terms to be decided and changed at will by the employer. Unionization and collective bargaining create a conversation based around employment, meaning decisions are no longer top-down, unilateral, and authoritarian. Collective bargaining is an economic democracy in the workplace.
Caelin Ross, a business coordinator at NUL, says, “I believe in unions because I believe in worker's rights. I believe in regular living wages increases. I believe in clear job roles and expectations. I believe in advocacy for the front-line worker. I believe in being a leader and doing what is right for the most vulnerable or disenfranchised because that only raises us all up.”
Many of her fellow workers share this belief. Library assistant Yvonne Spura echoes a similar point: “I support forming a union because all workers deserve protection. The furloughs showed me that [our] work is not viewed or respected equally. My hope is that a union will help to repair the devaluation of many staff positions.” There are also practical benefits for Northwestern University: “I support forming a union because I've seen too many talented people burn out quickly,” says Cory Slowik, a communications specialist, “I'm tired and everyone is tired. Happy workers work better; I think the library could give better service with a union.” Happy, well-respected workers are more efficient and flexible than those who are underpaid, undervalued, and disrespected.
Library unionization and collective bargaining have an effect on the field of Library and Information Science as well: “I support unionization because Northwestern University has contributed to a status quo that sends the message to new and aspiring professionals in this field that their work will be perpetually undervalued and underpaid. I want people to want to be librarians and archivists. And I want them to be able to succeed in those positions,” says Josh Yocum, a digitization assistant. You only have to glance at the decline of accredited and available library schools across the country to see this point. The Northwestern University Library Workers Union has seen some success in bringing the issues workers face and their proposed solutions to the bargaining table. Librarians standing up for themselves helps to strengthen the profession.
All too often, as in this current culture war, libraries and their holdings become the focus of national debate. Collectivization is one tool that can strengthen the library from the inside out in this time of book burning. United as a workplace, library workers are empowered to help make decisions that affect their work and ensure they and their co-workers receive fair compensation and workloads.
In this and other ways, democratization can lead to increased workplace cohesion. Northwestern University Libraries aren’t alone either: The University of Washington and Yale are but two of the many university libraries with unions. Through their union, library workers at Northwestern can uphold the values of the profession while protecting fair conditions for library workers, assuring the quality of library services through grassroots lobbying for proper funding and staffing.