Enoch Pratt Library workers reach wage settlement as talks on alleged poor working conditions continue
Still unresolved: issues of employee health, safety and “arbitrary” management practices that spurred the establishment of the AFSCME-affiliated union in 2022
Above: Employees cheer after a 218-12 vote established a union at the Enoch Pratt Library in November 2022. (prattworkersunited.org)
Employees at the Enoch Pratt Free Library will share nearly $1.7 million in cost of living (COLA) increases under a side agreement reached between their recently formed union, Pratt Workers United, and library management.
The side agreement is set to be approved today by the Board of Estimates.
A total of $1,264,861 in back pay and $421,620 in new wages will cover the salary increases that other unionized municipal workers received in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 but were not given to Pratt workers, who overwhelmingly voted to unionize in November 2022.
The agreement covers over 240 librarians, library associates, circulation staff, custodians and security officers.
Part of AFSCME Maryland Council 3, Pratt Workers United has slogged through a year of labor negotiations without reaching a contract.
The side agreement is a temporary fix, negotiated through Labor Commissioner Deborah Moore-Carter, as the union pushes for improvements in working conditions and communications with management.
According to the union’s website, health and safety issues loom large for library staff.
They include the alleged practice of keeping branch libraries open despite inadequate heating and defective air conditioning as well as a “cover up” of asbestos found in work areas during the three year-renovation of the Central Library Building.
The union further alleges that promotions and discipline are handled in an unfair and arbitrary manner, “little or no communication” exists with management, and employee concerns about their physical safety, especially in and around the Central Library, are often dismissed.
Temporary air conditioning units installed in 2022 at the Pratt Library’s Northwood and Govans branches. They worked for a while, then blew out the electricity, so the branches were closed again. (@prattlibrary)
Management Changes
In late September, the Pratt board of directors announced the selection of Chad S. Helton to replace Heidi Daniel as president and CEO, despite his controversial tenure at the Hennepin County (Minneapolis) library system, where he was dismissed for working remotely from his condo in Los Angeles.
Helton said he had come down with a serious eye disorder and was required to stay in Los Angeles to undergo a series of surgeries.
The Pratt board was attracted to his life story of overcoming homelessness as a young man and said he will bring “deep industry experience and bold vision” to Baltimore, with a special emphasis on tackling the system’s infrastructure needs.
The board’s decision led to the immediate resignation of interim CEO Darcell Graham, a 26-year Pratt veteran who became CEO of Montgomery County Public Libraries.
• Pratt Library’s new CEO was forced to leave his last job over remote work (9/30/24)
In a video message to staff, Helton appeared to acknowledge the tensions within the organization, saying he plans to conduct a public listening tour and meet with every Pratt employee “so I can hear directly from the people in our city what it is they want from us directly.”
Established in 1882 as a free lending library “for rich and poor without distinction of race or color” by merchant banker Enoch Pratt, the city-run system has a budget of $45 million and includes 21 neighborhood libraries and the flagship Central Building at 400 Cathedral Street.
-To contact a reporter: reuttermark@yahoo.com