Library staff from across Tufts campuses have begun the process of unionizing, announcing at a rally Tuesday morning that over 70% of library staff have signed union authorization cards.
At the end of the rally, a letter declaring the library staff’s intent to unionize was read out before Marty Ray, vice president for strategic initiatives and chief of staff to University President Sunil Kumar. Ray accepted the letter and a photo petition with staff’s faces on a banner.
Patrick Collins, executive director of media relations at Tufts, stated the university would review the letter and public poster.
“We are reviewing the materials provided to better understand the scope and composition of the proposed unit,” Collins wrote in a statement to the Daily.
“We strongly believe in the mission of Tufts and want to serve our students, faculty and community to the best of our ability,” the library staff wrote in their letter to Kumar. “But we have found this increasingly challenging to do while facing a rising cost-of-living, inadequate pay, and low transparency around pay.”
Library staff across all Tufts libraries and the Tufts Archival Research Center are expected to be part of the union.
“Over 70% of library staff across Tisch Library, Hirsch Library on the Boston campus, the archival research center, at SMFA … have signed authorization cards,” Elizabeth McCall, a research data librarian at Tisch Library, said.
The union is also composed of staff from the Ginn Library and Lilly Music Library on the Medford/Somerville campus, as well as the Webster Family Library on the Grafton campus.
The library staff union is looking to affiliate with the Service Employees International Union Local 888. A representative from SEIU Local 888 was present at the library staff rally on Tuesday, but they did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily by publication.
During the rally, library staff and SEIU members made clear that if Kumar did not recognize the union, they would look to set up an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board. If a majority of valid ballots cast supported the union, the NLRB would certify it as the exclusive collective-bargaining representative for employees in the bargaining unit.
“We will be following up expeditiously to get that response and to get toward either voluntary recognition or a victorious union election,” Will Hansberry, external organizer with SEIU 888, said.
The major issue raised during the rally was a lack of options for library staff to gain pay increases consistent with the cost of living.
“I don’t feel respected when I can’t afford to pay my rent because I don’t get an adequate raise every year,” Miles Donovan, studio manager at Tufts Digital Design Studio, said. “I don’t feel respected when I’m asked to do eight different jobs when I only have one job title. I don’t feel respected when I tell them that there’s no promotion track for my position and that the only way I can get different compensation is to apply to a different job, or if I leave and come back.”
Ella, a senior with Tufts Labor Coalition, said the group would support the library staff.
“Libraries are so important to our university. The university would not exist without you all,” she said at the rally. “As a student, it is our job to support you to get what you need, so that way the university can continue to run, information can be accurate and students can be supported.”
