The American Library Association’s workers have formed a union.

Workers at the American Library Association have announced that they’re forming union with AFSCME Council 31. When the new union is certified, American Library Association Workers United/AFSCME will represent over 100 primarily Chicago-based ALA workers.

An open letter signed by 40 employees was released yesterday, and lays out some of the new union’s core principles and commitments, include equitable pay, stable and comprehensive benefits, job security, and more of a say in the organization’s policies and strategies.

The union aims to protect and advocate for staff, but also to protect the ALA mission that they all believe in. A fair labor contract will allow staff to “to create a sustainable future that restores, reimagines, and reinvigorates ALA’s crucial advocacy.”

The move to organize was motivated by recent concerns over layoffs, increased workload, salary disparities, lack of transparency from management, and more. David Connolly, a longtime ALA employee and member of the union’s organizing committee, echoed this commitment to the library organization’s mission: “A union helps protect the knowledge, continuity, and dedication that make our work possible. No one should have to choose between serving the profession with a sharp focus on advancing ALA’s mission and protecting their own well-being.”

After this announcement, the new ALAWU will begin gathering signed union cards before asking management to voluntarily recognize the union.

AFSCME Council 31, the Illinois local of the largest union in the AFL-CIO. AFSCME represents many nonprofit organizations and cultural workers, including more than 35,000 library workers across the country, more than any other national union.

Image from afscme31.org