uc-aft unit 17 negotiations

The local labor-management meetings process kicked off on Monday at
UCSC. Ken Lyons, Annette Marines, and Greg Careaga spoke out about
the concerns of librarians on the campus. UC-AFT was also represented
by Mike Rotkin, Unit 17 Chief Negotiator, Karen Sawislak, Executive
Director, and Robert Weil, UC-AFT's UCSC Field Representative.

The UCOP Chief Negotiator, Deanna Dudley, explained that she is new to
handling the librarian unit (although she has worked extensively with
the UC-AFT lecturers and UAW graduate students). UCOP therefore has
requested this series of local meetings in order to gain a better
understanding of the professional issues of UC librarians and a more
complete understanding of the work they do.

Library management (AUL Kate McGirr) spoke first about the
opportunities and challenges for the UCSC library and librarians. She
noted the constant pressure the the Library is under to fundraise and
the challenge of moving forward with providing library services to a
growth campus. She is hopeful that some librarian positions will be
filled and possibly added in the next year. She also noted some of
the ways that that technology is changing the structure and skills
that are needed to deliver library services.

The UC-AFT librarians then took the floor. First, they detailed the
issue of staffing and workload at UCSC, noting that the number of
librarian positions had declined by 20% in the last 6 years as the
number of students enrolled at the campus grew steadily. Moreover,
the number of support staff positions in the library has declined.
Further, due to unfilled positions, some librarians have assumed
long-term "acting" or "interim" assignments that now have lasted for
years (in addition to their regular duties).

The discussion next turned to the implications of new technology --
how librarians now are expected to be proficient in print collections
and an ever-growing, ever-changing number of electronic mediums. The
UCSC librarians explained how they had assumed many new tasks in order
to manage, operate, and instruct users of electronic services. For
example, to operationalize the request of a faculty member that music
be available via the web in a digital archive, a librarian had to
learn new systems, work with IT specialists, train support staff, and
figure out how to mount and run an archive in a user-friendly manner
that would serve the professor's instructional needs. The librarians
also detailed how their workload as instructors has increased
enormously. New databases require new handouts for their
operation, that faculty expect increasingly individualized
instruction, and that students need ever more support in
understanding what the sources are -- and how to use and assess the
information they deliver.

The next topic was salary, recruitment, and retention. It was noted
that librarians at the CSUs, local community colleges, and local large
public libraries all outearn UC librarians, especially at the
assistant and associate levels. It is hard to recruit anyone to
Santa Cruz from any other part of the country, due to the sky-high
cost of living. UC salaries lag the inflation. Librarians do not have equal access
to University programs that subsidize the cost of housing. Librarians leave
because of salary issues -- and a revolving door of colleagues creates
more work for those who stay on, both in terms of extra work to
shoulder and the work of sitting on job searches.

Finally, the conversation turned to the academic work of librarians.
Given the pressures of Criterion 1 workload, it is extremely difficult
to find time for other activities. Yet the librarians get feedback
from management that achievements in Criteria 2-4 are valued in merit
and promotion. In particular, the UCSC librarians are expected to
serve and participate in national organizations -- yet they receive
only $900/year for travel support. Many must pay out of pocket to get
to the conferences and meetings they should attend in their area of
expertise.

The UCSC librarians made it clear throughout that they are deeply
committed to academic librarianship -- that they are proud of their
work and their service to the University. But they are top-tier
librarians who receive second-tier compensation. And the University
systematically undervalues their contribution to the mission of
research and education.

The tone of the exchange was very frank and very respectful. At
times, people asked tough questions. Differences of opinion and/or
areas of uncertainty and complexity were acknowledged.

Thanks to to the UCSC representatives -- Ken, Annette, and Greg -- for
their efforts.

The next local L-M meetings will be on Wed. Oct. 24 at UC-Riverside
and on Thursday, Oct. 25 at UC-Berkeley.