Hi Folks,

Thank you all again for signing to support us Gloucester County Library workers in our fight for fairness. We are sharing a brief update to you, our cherished supporters, with some frankly unfortunate news. GCLS is claiming incorrectly that our negotiations have stalled. We remain hopeful, however, for a mutually agreeable resolution to be found so we can continue to serve our public the best that we can.

As of September 20th the Gloucester County Library Commissioners have seen fit to file for an impasse in our ongoing contract negotiations. This is despite significant financial movement from both sides and the GCLS Commission's side saying there was still movement left for negotiating. This action, we believe, is extremely unfair. This is negotiation through dictation. We are already taking steps to deny the impasse, though truthfully it will likely go through regardless. This will leave us, without your continued support, in the hands of "non-binding" arbitration.

Given that the GCLS Commission is not directly accountable for these actions, but are appointed by our local Gloucester County Commissioners (formerly Freeholders), several members of our bargaining committee went on 9/21 to the County Commissioners meeting to ask for their support in getting both sides back to the table and to negotiate fairly. We are yet to receive a response as of this writing.

Our county officials care about your voices right now more than ever with election season actively underway. So please consider letting your voice be heard in support of your local library workers in their fight for fairness so we can better serve our patrons.

 We appreciate your time and attention to this cause more than you could know.

Signed,

The Library Workers of GCLS