Press

September 12, 2007 - Board of Trustees Meeting and Work Session
The Monroe County Library Board of Trustees listened to several statements from the public in favor of library unionization during their regular board meeting and then had a work session after the regular meeting to discuss the unionization proposal in detail. The next opportunity for unionization discussion from the Board will be at the October 12, 2007 work session. Read more about it in the Herald-Times articles: Library Board Hears Union Request and Library Board to Vote on $6.6 Million Budget Tonight.

August 29, 2007 - Library committee seeks union
The last installment of a three-part story in the IDS (Indiana Daily Student).

August 29, 2007 - More on the union movement from the IDS
Read 'The Making of a Union' for the second part of this informative series.

August 28, 2007 - Student newspaper writes series about library
Check out the first part of the IDS series of articles, 'Library Benefit Cuts Are 'Symptom Not the Problem''.

August 27, 2007 - Library benefits discussed
'Motive Challenged in Library Benefit Cuts' is an IDS story about plans for the library to cut staff retirement benefits.

July 11, 2007 - Board announcement
The Monroe County Library Board announced during their work session that they will consider the collective bargaining resolution, September 19, 2007, immediately following their regular board meeting.

July 10, 2007 - Monroe County Council passes resolution supporting right of library workers to unionize
Read the July 12 Herald-Times article for more details.

July 8, 2007 - Union Organizing Committee guest column on working together
'Unionization means working together for the common good' discusses how a union can help staff work together and have a voice.

July 8, 2007 - Bloomington Aternative investigative report on Monroe County Public Library
Check out 'How Public is Our Library?' for the Alternative's look into favortism, out-of-state consultants and more.

June 21, 2007 - Board of Trustee member, Randy Paul, states that board discussions about the union should be public
Read more details in the Herald-Times article.

June 20, 2007 - Union organizing committee members discussed the movement with the Bloomington Alternative
Read 'Clashing Philosophies' for the complete article.

June 6, 2007 - HT editorial seriously discusses the need for the Library Board to consider library problems
View 'Board must cool hot issue' for the complete editorial.

June 5, 2007 - Front page story about library workers quest to unionize
The first Herald-Times article discussing the unionization movement at the library.

April 27, 2007 - Informational Meeting
The union organizing committee held an informational meeting and invited all eligible staff. Organizers and other staff met at the Unitarian Church in Bloomington. Union representatives from Gary Public Library, Hammond Public Library and Louisville Public Library all attended and discussed their experiences. Ed Johnston, an AFSCME representative for the northern part of Indiana, was also on hand to answer questions. Michelle Martin, the AFSCME representative helping with our organization movement, coordinated the event. Staff received answers to a wide variety of questions they had about unions and our specific situation. The staff there made the decision to move forward with the campaign and signed cards for union representation.