Since reading the Post-Gazette’s June 24 article “Meeting Set to Organize Workers at Carnegie Library” about the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh employees seeking to unionize, there have been promising developments for library workers and very troubling and downright shameful reactions by library leaders aligned with the CLP director’s office and human resources.

Eligible CLP employees secured help from the United Steelworkers and, after filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, there will be a secret ballot election on Aug. 14 to determine if there is enough support to unionize and form a collective bargaining unit.

CLP leadership did not readily accept a community-served petition, refusing to take it from a group of community members that library leadership claims to serve and care about. Furthermore, CLP leadership has refused to respect the petition and remain neutral about unionization efforts, choosing to sow the seeds of fear and panic via laughably transparent union-busting strategies and a disinformation campaign from the director’s office and human resources.

Having a vote is good for a library workforce that positively impacts CLP and the greater Pittsburgh community it serves. Giving workers power to collectively bargain for better working conditions and pay and a voice in making responsible decisions about services and collections offered to the community makes good sense. Respecting, protecting, and taking care of CLP staff is the right thing to do, considering they do the exact same thing for the community that they serve.

As a part of the community that CLP library workers serve, I think it very wise for fellow community members and local media to take an interest in the vote and how CLP staff and leadership handle this defining moment.

A. Wolfe
Forest Hills

First Published: August 12, 2019, 4:00 a.m.