As workers across the Free Library of Philadelphia system, we are deeply concerned by the City’s handling of this unprecedented public health crisis. While we are speaking as library workers, we believe that all City of Philadelphia workers, and others, deserve the same access to emergency paid leave and that our community health and safety must take the top priority.

At the time of writing, our libraries are closed to the public for the next two weeks, but workers are still expected to report to work every day. We believe that this is an unnecessary risk for ourselves and the public. Deliberately sending hundreds of workers out onto public transportation and to their libraries each day will increase the rate of transmission in our communities and prolong this crisis. This is a reckless and irresponsible choice on the part of the City, and in the best interest of our communities, our families, our neighbors, and each other, we make the following demands:

• The Free Library should remain closed for the duration of the crisis, and no one should be expected to physically report to work. Employees whose work is considered essential should be allowed to work from home immediately, with all necessary accommodations being made.
• No workers connected to the Free Library system—which includes the Free Library, the Free Library Foundation, and The Rosenbach—should experience any financial hardship due to this crisis. Everyone, whether full-time, part-time, or seasonal, should continue to be paid in full for their normally scheduled hours. Anything less than full pay puts many people at great risk of hunger or eviction; and it effectively forces all workers to risk contracting and spreading the virus by seeking other sources of income.
• No one should be expected to use their own accrued sick leave or time off to stay safe or perform caregiving during the crisis. This would exacerbate existing inequities between those who have access to paid time off and those who do not, putting many of our most vulnerable coworkers even more at risk. In the interest of public health and slowing the spread of the virus, it is crucial that we are all enabled to stay home to keep our families and communities safe.

Call Mayor Jim Kenney with our demands at (215) 686-2181!

In solidarity,
Workers of the Free Library of Philadelphia and Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation