End the Library Impasse

On paper, it looked wonderful: funds in the current Los Angeles city budget for extended hours at libraries, reversing years of financial cutbacks. Eight regional facilities in the city’s 68-library system were to be open for 60 hours a week instead of 46. Seven community branches were supposed to gain eight hours, to a total of 52. Funds in the coming fiscal year’s budget are supposed to extend longer hours to 15 more community libraries. So why has nearly a year passed with no change in operating hours?

The reason comes down to a labor negotiation impasse that can’t be allowed to plod on anymore. In fact, there seems to be a workable offer on the table. The city government and the leadership of the city librarians union agreed on a package that would give full-time librarians eight hours of pay for five hours of work (a little more than time and a half) on Sundays.

The deal was even supported by a very slim majority in the Librarians Guild Local 2626, which voted 109 to 104. But that vote was not nearly good enough. A two-thirds majority of the voting membership is required.

There are some strange parts to this, such as the suggestion that city library management has made little effort to fill vacant librarian positions, leaving current employees concerned about just how many Sundays they would have to work each month.

Today, the city’s Executive Employee Relations Committee is supposed to meet with both sides in the labor dispute in hopes of finding a solution. Mayor Richard Riordan and City Council members John Ferraro, Jackie Goldberg, Richard Alatorre and Joel Wachs are on the committee. If no progress is made, the city ought to quickly call for a mediator.

There are larger issues involved here, such as the fact that libraries are often the only calm, quiet and orderly places for poor children to learn, do their homework and pursue other intellectual interests. The extended hours would benefit them immensely. That’s reason enough to get this matter resolved as soon as possible.

Surely the city’s librarians and the folks in City Hall don’t want to try to explain why, when the money is available, the libraries continue to shut their doors during the days and times when they’re most needed.