Several dozen library workers from all corners of Denver converged for an after-work drink on Wednesday — with a side of unionization.
Organizers were hoping to make a show of support for unionization to the entirety of Denver Public Library’s workforce. Just hours earlier, all 800 employees of the library system had met for an all-day conference.
“Management was looking to see how many people wanted the union today, and we showed them a whole hell of a lot,” Jen Lowe, an on-call circulation worker, said at the after-hours union event at Schoolyard Beer Garden.
Denver’s library workers have been organizing since 2020, but that mission has gotten a lot more urgent recently. Starting Jan. 1, they will gain the right to collectively bargain — a key union power. The city government’s layoffs and budget cuts have also increased pressure.
Supporters of the library’s union, known as Denver Public Library Workers United, are planning to hold a union election in the coming months. They’ll eventually need to win support from a majority of affected workers voting in a special election.
One organizer told the crowd gathered that on Wednesday morning that the union was already confident it had the support it needed to force the local government into collective bargaining.
Wednesday’s event saw the launch of the union’s bargaining platform.
Nearly 300 workers have filled out a survey passed around by union organizers. Respondents identified three top issues — compensation, transparency and staffing.
Those will be priorities for the union if it wins the election and begins contract negotiations. They will also ask for a clearer, more equitable disciplinary process.
Many library workers on Wednesday said library staffers are burning out from huge workloads, including caring for homeless or immigrant patrons.
“A lot of people know that a lot of library staff are not fairly compensated,” said Jeremey Bongers, an activities coordinator at the library. “There's a lot of the work that people are doing in the vein of social work that is not recognized.”
The city’s budget deficit will impact the library.
Facing a $250 million budget deficit, the city has laid off about 170 people, frozen hundreds of open positions and slashed programs to close the gap. Next year’s city budget could shrink by about 6 percent to $1.66 billion.
The library faces a cut of 13 percent, or $8 million, in the proposed budget. DPL has avoided layoffs so far, but it has closed 99 open positions. It also has closed four library branches for months in order to save money, and it will cut some $3.7 million in services and supplies.
The cuts have some library employees nervous.
“If the city's not going to have our backs, if they're going to give raises to the safety department and forget about the other city and county departments and agencies that do valuable work that's serve the community, if they're not going to watch out for them, then the union will do that for DPL staff,” said Juan Manuel Ramirez Anzures, an administrative assistant at the Central Children’s Library.
Denver Public Library Workers United’s election would be the first new union election in decades. No other organizing effort is apparent at other city departments. Denver’s police, fire, sheriff’s department and Denver Public School teachers are already represented by unions.
