To avert strike, Cuyahoga County Public Library agrees to new contract with union | Cleveland

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CCPL

The Parma-Snow branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

In early June, unionized librarians and employees demonstrated outside the Parma Snow branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library, demanding better pay and “respect and dignity for all employees.”

This week, those workers, represented by a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, got what they had hoped for in a new three-year contract – namely, a staggered pay increase over the next three years. Five percent in 2024, four percent in 2025 and three percent in 2026. Union members had recently voted to strike at the end of the month if a new contract was not reached.

The deal, reached after months of negotiations, was seen by both sides as a sure win for the public.

“We are extremely pleased that there will be no strike,” CCPL CEO Tracy Strobel wrote in a statement, “and that we will continue to provide uninterrupted service to our customers.”

She added, “CCPL is proud to offer competitive wages, annual salary increases and attractive benefits to full-time and part-time library staff.”

The victory, which will impact about 900 county residents – clerks, assistants, librarians and other staff – is seen by the bargaining unit as necessary support for workers who are often overlooked in the essential workforce. Particularly for those with entry-level pay: A CCPL employee making $13 an hour in 2024 will make about $14.60 if they stay there for the next two years.

But according to Michael Wood, lead organizer of SEIU 1199 in Cuyahoga County, the victory in the ever-present fight for a $15 hourly living wage is only a small one. While Wood declined to reveal exact details of the negotiations, he agreed that the staggered wage increase was better than a strike period: “They compromised, we compromised.”

A system as robust and comprehensive as CCPL’s 28 branches serves thousands of Northeast Ohio residents every day who rely on the library not only for reading materials, but also for classes and passport photos, as well as access to the Internet and a variety of research databases.

That’s exactly why Wood himself and the workers he represents were a little worried about the prospect of a strike. Or even the start of collective bargaining. Especially when negotiations stalled in early June and the CCPL asked a federal mediator for help.

“These are public servants – the purest form of being a public servant, I think,” Wood told Scene. “That’s one of the reasons the idea of ​​a strike was difficult, because they want to continue to serve the public.”

The SEIU had pointed out that Strobel’s salary – $245,000 – compares to that of an average CCPL employee, which is about $16 an hour.

And of course, you have to compare these numbers with the library’s good reputation across the country: it has made it into Library Journal’s top rankings twelve times in a row.

This is where the mentalities of Wood and Strobel seem to meet.

“It is not just buildings and books; it is the people who work there,” Wood said. “And for some reason that library is highly valued — and it is and it should be. It’s because of the people who actually work there.”

The library’s board of trustees will vote on approving the agreement later this month.

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