In 2006, Most U.S. college graduates with a Bachelor’s Degree earned $50,900. The average non-union public librarian earned $44,506, with a Master’s Degree!
Data from the 2006 ALA-APA Salary Survey: Non-MLS – Public and Academic revealed that average salaries were higher for many of the 62 positions, including Library Technical Assistant, Library Clerk and Associate Librarian.1
In 2007, the union earnings advantage for librarians was 52%; the union earnings advantage for library assistants was 34%.2
Union Library Workers Have More Say…
UFCW Local 1994 lobbies county and state legislatures on your behalf. Our work has helped our members secure improved pensions, increase funding for their systems and create more secure workplaces. We don’t just fight for you; we fight for the libraries too.
A state of Maryland survey showed that public libraries are perceived as the best use of tax dollars by Maryland’s citizens. This kind of information underscores the value of library workers and can be used to win workplace improvements.
Safety and Security
Libraries are perceived as tranquil places for contemplation or study. But with increased demand, libraries are becoming less secure, less tranquil. A union can help you voice your safety concerns and have those concerns resolved.
1 Source: Grady, Jenifer; Davis, Denise. ALA-APA Salary Survey: Non-MLS – Public and Academic. American Library Association – Allied Professional Association, American Library Association Office for Research and Statistics, 2006.
2 Source: American Library Association-Allied Professional Association and Office of Research and Statistics, ALA-APA Salary Survey 2007: Librarian — Public and Academic, ALA-APA Salary Survey 2007: Non-MLS — Public and Academic.
There is a Union Difference
Updated On: Mar 12, 2010 (16:00:00)
A study conducted by the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) and the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) has revealed that salaries in unionized public and academic libraries were higher than those in non-union libraries for staff in positions that do not require an ALA-accredited Master’s Degree in Library Science.
Data from the 2006 ALA-APA Salary Survey: Non-MLS – Public and Academic showed that average salaries were higher for many of the 62 positions, including Library Technical Assistant, Library Clerk and Associate Librarian.
The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) analyzed the data by position and educational attainment. With 24 affiliated unions, DPE represents more than 4 million professional and technical workers, including many library workers.
This publication clearly demonstrates the power of unions to raise salaries in the predominantly female, underpaid library world. The percentages on the graphs indicate the union difference as the raise that would be required to equalize the union and non-union salaries.
Each year, ALA-APA conducts an extensive salary survey of librarians in conjunction with the ALA Office for Research and Statistics (ORS). In 2006, thanks to the suggestion of the ALA-APA Standing Committee on the Salaries and Status of Library Workers, the inaugural ALA-APA Salary Survey: Non-MLS – Public and Academic included a question about union membership.
Invitations to respond to the survey were sent to 3,418 public and academic libraries, with 836 (24.5%) responding. Data was received for 26,937 individual salaries, ranging from $10,721 to $130,686 across 62 positions. The data included separate categories for four regions, and for states, library type, library size and educational attainment.
Particular thanks are due to the many respondents who completed the questionnaire, to Jamie Bragg of ALA-APA, to Denise Davis, Director of ORS, to the Management Association of Illinois, to DPE intern Michael Ebell, who analyzed the data, to Pamela Wilson, who managed the project for DPE, and to Elliott Becker, Marcie Lawrence, and Leandra Roscoe of DPE for their valuable contributions. We look forward to many collaborative endeavors.
The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA): the Organization for the Advancement of Library Workers is a companion organization to the American Library Association. It provides services to librarians and other library workers in two primary areas: certification of individuals in specializations beyond the initial professional degree; and direct support of comparable worth and pay equity initiatives, and other activities designed to improve the salaries and status of librarians and other library workers. ALA-APA recognizes union membership as a path to improved salary and status for library workers.
Information from the American Library Association
Page Last Updated: Mar 12, 2010 (13:00:00)
ALA-APA and Unions
American
Library Association-Allied Professional Association: the Organization
for the Advancement of Library Employees (ALA-APA) advocates for and
supports library employees in seeking equitable compensation, but
negotiating wages and other compensation must be done at the
institutional level.
ALA-APA cannot do collective
bargaining, so its power to improve wages and benefits is limited. By
being part of a union, library workers gain local allies who can help
to achieve pay equity and better salaries. This is especially important
in public libraries where the union brings greater power to win budget
increases from local governments. Unions are one of many ways library
workers may improve salaries.
Library Workers Collective Bargaining Sponsors
In a move to gain collective bargaining rights for all library workers across Maryland, Local 1994, with the help of Delegate Tom Hucker, is introducing legislation in the 2010 state legislative session that will legislate such rights.
The primary sponsor of the bill in the House is Del. Tom Hucker. The Senate's sponsor is Sen. Nancy King.
In the Md. House of Representatives, Co-sponsors are:
