Library workers in Torontos west end members of CUPE 416 picketed two locations Dec. 9 to press their case for parity with their downtown counterparts.
Five years after amalgamation created one megacity and one mega-library in Toronto, many library workers still earn as much as 25 per cent less than their counterparts in the old city of Toronto.
There is no reason why a library assistant at a suburban library should be making $18,000 less a year than an assistant working at a branch downtown, said Maureen OReilly, recording secretary of CUPE 416. This inequality affects morale across the library system at a time when everyone is being asked to do more with less.
Many library workers in the former York and Etobicoke libraries werent unionized. When the libraries merged in 1998, their wages were much lower than their Toronto counterparts. Ever since, the Toronto library board has refused to harmonize wages.
The matter is before an arbitrator but the local is still awaiting a decision.
Support the library workers. Tell the Toronto library board what you think. Contact Nancy Marshall:
Phone: 416.393.7215
Fax: 416.393.7083
E-mail: nmarshall@tpl.toronto.on.ca
Five years after amalgamation created one megacity and one mega-library in Toronto, many library workers still earn as much as 25 per cent less than their counterparts in the old city of Toronto.
There is no reason why a library assistant at a suburban library should be making $18,000 less a year than an assistant working at a branch downtown, said Maureen OReilly, recording secretary of CUPE 416. This inequality affects morale across the library system at a time when everyone is being asked to do more with less.
Many library workers in the former York and Etobicoke libraries werent unionized. When the libraries merged in 1998, their wages were much lower than their Toronto counterparts. Ever since, the Toronto library board has refused to harmonize wages.
The matter is before an arbitrator but the local is still awaiting a decision.
Support the library workers. Tell the Toronto library board what you think. Contact Nancy Marshall:
Phone: 416.393.7215
Fax: 416.393.7083
E-mail: nmarshall@tpl.toronto.on.ca