Librarians & Archivists: Bargaining Bulletin Vol. 6, No. 10

Today’s session was short but significant in that we were able to outline key concerns about the increasing deprofessionalization of librarianship, informed by both relevant literature and autoethnographic research. Here is what we have to report. 

The parties signed off on the LOU Job Descriptions. 

UWOFA returned 2 articles and introduced 1 new LOU:

• Biennial Report and Review (no longer annual)
  • After consultation with Bargaining Unit members, we don’t have a clear mandate to accept peer evaluation as a component of Report and Review.
  • Members may request a meeting with immediate supervisors for an informal review between scheduled Reports 
• LOU Transition Provisions for Biennial Report and Review (new)
  • This LOU outlines the processes of transitioning from an annual reporting schedule to a biennial cycle – these changes will not apply until the 2023-24 reporting cycle.
• Responsibilities of Members
  • We continued our discussion of the deprofessionalization of librarianship. Librarian colleagues at the table shared examples from their lived experiences and those of their colleagues. The Employer thanked us for the depth of our presentation. The session was very powerful and we hope that it motivates the Employer toward creative solutions.   
  • We reiterated our proposal that when Members are assisted in Professional Practice by non-Members, such assistance must be led by Members.

The Employer returned 1 article:

• Professional Leave – the parties are very close to agreement

We are at the table again tomorrow for a full day.