University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Democratizing the union at UC Berkeley: Lecturers and librarians in solidarity

Phillips, Margaret; Eifler, David; Page, Tiffany Linton

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/106094

Description

Title
Democratizing the union at UC Berkeley: Lecturers and librarians in solidarity
Author(s)
  • Phillips, Margaret
  • Eifler, David
  • Page, Tiffany Linton
Issue Date
2019
Keyword(s)
  • Labor unions
  • UC Berkeley
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • Academic librarians
Abstract
This article explores how librarians and lecturers at the University of California, Berkeley, worked together to make their union more participatory in a context of increasing corporatization in public higher education. Written as a case study, we examine this ongoing revitalization process initiated by lecturers in the summer of 2016 and how it transformed librarian activism and bargaining strategy. For context, we also examine the history and unique nature of the University Council–American Federation of Teachers, the union representing both librarians and lecturers. We discuss why librarians had become ambivalent about their union and how an active group of librarians changed the culture in the organization and worked to bring members' voices into the 2018/2019 librarian contract negotiations. Engaging membership and encouraging participation required a group of committed organizers, with the support of paid union staff, to actively seek feedback from members, to communicate regularly, and to organize solidarity events. Throughout this process, the local worked to build coalitions with other campus unions, and members became increasingly aware of the important role unions play in protecting and advancing the mission of a public university and as a site for social justice activism.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Illinois School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Series/Report Name or Number
Library Trends 68 (2). Fall 2019
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/106094
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2019.0043
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2019 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 68 (2) Fall 2019: Labor in Academic Libraries PRIMARY
Library Trends 68 (2) Fall 2019: Labor in Academic Libraries. Edited by Emily Drabinski, Aliqae Geraci, and Roxanne Shirazi.