UAW Local 2300 Professional Staff Association/Tompkins County Public Library | Bargaining Day 3
April 2, 2025 | 2-5:00 pm
TCPL UAW PSA Siblings,
Our third session of PSA bargaining update:
Management Attendees: Peter Jones, outside counsel; Kathy Weinberg, President, Board of Trustees; Tonya VanCamp, TCPL Business Manager; Susan Currie, Interim Director
Labor Attendees: Christine Johnson, President UAW Local 2300; John Tavares, incoming President UAW Local 2300; Lonnie Everett, UAW Region 9 International Representative; Asia Bonacci, Jeremy Jordan, Regina DeMauro, Joyce Wheatley, UAW PSA Bargaining Team.
Observer from UAW SSA: Shelby Buche
The UAW PSA team is committed to open and transparent bargaining and agrees to give members regular updates. The team also agrees to negotiate only when at least ¾ of the PSA negotiating team members are present.
Management presented a rough draft packet of all demands to the contract for the UAW PSA team to consider. The UAW PSA team caucused to review the packet.
The UAW PSA team requested that management provide digital and physical documents that show revisions, changes, removals, and relocations of all proposed changes for clarity. Management and the UAW PSA team discussed proposals 1-4, submitted on March 12th. The UAW PSA team then presented 6 demands to Article 6) Work Week.
6.B: The Library will not require any bargaining unit employee to work after 9:00 PM or before 9:00 AM on Monday through Thursday; after 6:00 PM or before 9:00 AM on Friday or Saturday; and after 5:15 PM or before 12:45 PM on Sunday, September June, contingent upon funding.
Change to:The Library will not require any bargaining unit employee to work before 9:00 AM or after 9:00 PM on Monday through Thursday; before 9:00 AM or after 6:00 PM on Friday or Saturday; and before 12:45 PM or after 5:15 PM on Sunday, September through June. If staffing a public service point, employees may elect to arrive 15 minutes early and be paid for such time.
6.C: In arranging for permanent changes to assignments, shifts, days of work, and days off, the Library will seek input and will work collaboratively with staff and give at least 30 days' notice prior to implementing a change. In arranging for temporary changes (lasting less than 3 months), the Library will make its best effort to give at least 15 days notice prior to implementing a change, and provide an estimated end date. The Library shall take into consideration reasonable individual needs; seniority must be considered.
Change to:In arranging for permanent changes to assignments, shifts, days of work, and days off, the Library must seek input, work collaboratively with staff and give at least 30 open days’ notice prior to implementing a change. In arranging for temporary changes (lasting less than 3 months), the Library must provide at least 21 open days’ notice prior to implementing a change and provide an end date within the designated temporary, 3 months’ time span. In both cases, the Library must document need and urgency for the said change and must consider employee’s objection(s) based on personal commitments and/or Library assignments, and the Library must prove operational necessity for disruption of employee’s schedule; seniority must be considered.
6.D. 2.: Employees of the Library will be offered the option of working Sundays on the basis of seniority. The schedule for Sundays will be created using the seniority list starting with the staff member who has the greatest seniority and going down the list until all who choose to work have had an opportunity. In the event that there are no volunteers, the three most recently hired employees working in the title of Librarian I may be required to work.
Change to:PSA members of the Library will be offered the option of working Sundays on the basis of seniority defined as rank followed by length of continuous employment with the Tompkins County Public Library. The schedule for Sundays will be created using the seniority list starting with the staff member who has the greatest seniority and going down the list until all who choose to work have had an opportunity. In the event that there are no volunteers, the three most recently hired employees working in the title of Librarian I, II, or III may be required to work. No employee will be compelled to work more than 50% of available Sundays.
6.D.3: Sunday hours for employees of the Library will be in addition to those worked during the regular work week, Monday through Saturday.
Change to:At employees’ discretion, Sunday hours may be calculated within employees’ regular work week or in addition to their regular hours.
6.D.4. A Sunday shift will commence fifteen minutes before opening and end fifteen minutes after closing.
Change to:A Sunday shift will commence fifteen minutes before opening and end fifteen minutes after closing, or the actual release time, whichever is greater.
6.F. Ten percent of a staff member's schedule may be done from home. Staff may request additional Work from Home time based on reasonable individual needs, with approval from their Supervisor. Staff members will work with their Department to ensure that remote work meets the needs of the department. Work from home arrangements shall be approved by the Director.
Change to:Ten percent of a staff member's schedule may be done from home. Staff may request additional Work from Home time based on reasonable individual needs, with approval from their Supervisor. Staff members will work with their Department to ensure that remote work meets the needs of the department. Additional work from home arrangements shall be approved by the Finance & Personnel Committee.
Management and the UAW PSA team then discussed additional dates for bargaining, with the UAW PSA team proposed meeting more frequently for longer sessions in order to speed up the negotiation process. The next bargaining session will take place from 2-5 on Wednesday, April 9. Please let us know if you have any questions.
In solidarity,
UAW PSA Bargaining Team