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No contract yet for Homewood Library employees

It is more of the same as Homewood’s library staff tries to get its first contract with the library board. 
 
The employees, who have joined the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), ratified the contract May 15, but the document was never shared with the Homewood Public Library board of trustees.
 
At the board meeting on Wednesday, July 17, board president Adrienne River said the board’s attorney “has asked repeatedly” for a signed copy of the ratified contract. 

Cameron Day, AFSMCE’s representative for the library employees, told the Chronicle by email: “Any document that I have management also has – we worked with (the) same set of documents throughout the process.” Day did not provide the Chronicle with the specific date AFSMCE presented the signed contract to the library board. 
 

And now, River said a union representative contacted the board for language changes to the document.
 
Following an hour-long executive session, the board issued a statement:
 
“We want to clarify the status of the collective bargaining. It is our understanding that the union ratified the contract on May 15. Since then we have repeatedly asked for a copy of the ratified contract but have not received it. Therefore it has been impossible for the board to ratify the current contract. 
 
On July 16, the union representative asked for changes to the contract language which the board is willing to consider.”
 
Staff joined AFSCME two years ago after their work hours were cut, impacting pay and vacation benefits. Library employees say the two-year contract promises 2 percent salary raises each year and a restoration for some employees of their work schedule. 
 
At the June library board meeting, the board heard from a union representative who argued the union believed the board was trying to make changes to the contract.
 

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