Unions

I am a school librarian represented by the teachers’ union. What should my union leaders know to advocate for me?

It is hard to be a union rep. Teachers and other educators have a wide variety of regulations they must abide by. What is important to remember is that within those parameters, school libraries have even more requirements and limits.

Here are the important things for an attorney or union rep negotiating or advocating for a school librarian to know:

I understand that, as employers of a union shop, the library is required to allow the union a reasonable amount of time to conduct union business.[1] However, how much time is reasonable? Can employees meet with their shop stewards on the clock at the library for 5+ hours a week, taking both away from their duties? Is there a ballpark?

The care required when addressing union-related issues in so critical, we're going to start with a small cautionary poem:

If a nonprofit organization is unionized, may they have volunteers as part of a collaborative effort with another organization for a service that is not currently provided? For example, could they collaborate with a volunteer organization for an outreach service that is not currently provided?

This is a very good question, since the use of volunteers to supplement or replace work typically performed by union employees can most definitely be a violation of a collective bargaining agreement.