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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2020)
PAGE 12 | October 16, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS CRATES, CRATES EVERYWHERE: It’s what one worker called “hygiene the- ater.” More than three months after scientists deter- mined that inani- mate objects like books are very un- likely to be a source of COVID-19 trans- mission, materials are still being “quar- antined” for 96 hours at the Mid- land branch (left) and throughout the Multnomah County Library system, de- laying the time it takes for patrons to receive materials they place on hold. At a model library, cuts and turmoil By Don McIntosh Last month we reported that pre- viously announced layoffs at Multnomah County Library were mostly averted after an or- ganized outcry by rank-and-file library workers. That wasn’t the whole story, by a long shot. Li- brary workers, members of AF- SCME Local 88, are still mourn- ing the 128 positions that were cut, out of 580 total. As many as 43 positions had been vacant, but over two dozen workers took early retirement or layoff to spare co-workers, a wrenching deci- sion. Dozens more faced demo- tions, hour reductions, and wage cuts when their positions were eliminated and replaced with temporary jobs. Seven trans- ferred to temporary COVID-re- sponse positions at Multnomah County, with no assurance they’ll have a job after Dec. 31. What was most galling about the cuts is that they weren’t dic- tated by any budget necessity, but were ordered at the discre- tion of library director Vailey Oehlke a week after the library’s fully-staffed annual budget had been approved. The library faces no budget threat because it’s funded by a dedicated prop- erty tax that county voters ap- proved in 2012 by 62%—in or- der to put an end to recurring cuts in hours and services. In phone interviews and on- line correspondence, over a dozen library workers described a profound loss of trust in library management. Workers say the position cuts and the resulting wallop to morale are a major blow to one of the top library sys- tems in the country. As of 2016, Multnomah County Library had the nation’s fourth highest circu- lation, 19.2 million (3.4 million less than the New York Public Library). “You’re getting rid of all these good, talented, creative people, who are just trying their best to serve the community,” said li- brary assistant Susanne Loh- kamp, one of at least five staff at the Woodstock branch who took early retirement in September to save the job of a co-worker. “There was no budgetary reason for it. To me that’s the ultimate disservice.” Oehlke’s justifications for the cuts left workers perplexed. To allow for social distancing, each branch was assigned a maxi- mum safe capacity, but the staff limits were calculated based on the idea of letting a number of patrons back in, even though there’s no date set to do that. In other words: permanent staff re- ductions now, to create socially distant space for patrons at some undetermined time in the future. “It seems like they’re sitting on their hands for the sake of say- ing that their hands are tied,” said Joe Clement, a union steward at the Central Library. After one worker used the li- brary email system to express anger and grief over the cuts, the library’s executive management team faced an email uprising in mid-August. Dozens of workers chimed in via emails sent to all library staff over the next week, imploring management to re- consider. After a week, library executives limited workers’ lat- itude to send emails. Oehlke explained the move to the Labor Press Sept. 26, saying staff who didn’t want to be part of the thread had begun blocking the all-staff email account. “We are currently working on other channels we can create for that kind of cross-organization communication, that is ‘opt-in,’” Oehlke said. If the cuts wounded, it’s be- cause many library workers see these not as jobs, but chosen ca- reers to which they have a pro- found, passionate commitment. “We are an eclectic group of nerds, book-lovers, and intro- verts, with a strong community service ethic,” says library clerk Gina Greenlaw, one of the work- ers who had her position elimi- nated. “The library is kind of like nirvana for us, for people who love language and words.” Greenlaw was placed in a temporary position through Dec. 31, but suffered a demotion and a $3.82 an hour pay cut. To fight the cuts, union stew- ards and other library workers created an ad hoc group, Mult- nomah County Library Workers United. They set up a web site and Facebook group, and circu- lated an online letter signed by as many as 1,000 people. They got expressions of support from a number of prominent figures, in- cluding Portland author Cheryl Strayed and Noam Chomsky, the world-famous linguist and public intellectual. The position cuts come at the same time the library finds itself unable to meet demand for items patrons are placing on hold. The library reopened in June with system-wide holds curtailed. Oehlke said that’s because the area at the Isom Operations Cen- ter where books are sorted for de- livery is too small to operate at full capacity with social distanc- ing. But Oehlke rejected work- ers’ calls to add extra hours and shifts to reduce the backlog. “The thing that saddens me the most about these layoffs is the impact on the community,” says Kyra Hahn, a librarian whose position was eliminated. Kahn moved to Portland from Denver last November to accept a position that required Black cultural competency. Her last day was Sept. 30.
