Memphis residents will decide if library workers will be granted civil service protections or remain political appointees.
During the regular meeting of the Memphis City Council on Tuesday, council members voted 10-1 on an ordinance that would place the decision in the hands of voters in November. If granted civil service status, library workers would be able to collectively bargain and have other safeguards.
The referendum seeks to amend the City Charter, and amend a 1984 executive order to include appointed employees.
At a press conference prior to the vote, Anthony Lucatelli, a Memphis Public Library worker, called the change ‘“long overdue.”
“We may not have overdue fines anymore, but this is long overdue,” Lucatelli said. “Library workers are on the front lines everyday helping children discover reading, delivering books to our 18 branches, connecting our seniors to vital services, assisting job-seekers with applications and resumes, providing free internet access — helping our unhoused friends and neighbors get connected with the resources they need. … We are doing the work our community needs.”
Lucatelli noted that this has been a fight that has lasted for a year and a half, and that he and other workers have garnered community support while also informing and educating their colleagues.
Library workers representing Memphis Public Libraries-Workers United (MPL-WU) were joined by members of the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH), Communications Workers of America, and others to encourage city council members to vote yes on the ordinance.
Council members relied on the library workers present to answer questions and concerns that arose during committee meetings. Fonda Fouché, chief human resources officer for the city of Memphis, noted that if library workers are considered civil service employees, they would have to reapply for their jobs.
Fouché said this would affect about 230 library employees. She said some positions, such as senior leadership, management, administrators, executive assistants, and finance would remain appointed.
Councilwoman Pearl Eva Walker wanted to confirm that all library workers had received this information. Fouché said she met with some members of the library and Communications Workers of America and had the conversation with that group.
Emmaline Rogers, a library worker, said they have spoken to all library workers, and “around 70 percent” of workers who would be considered civil service employees have voiced their support. “Library workers of all ages and levels have rejected the presumption that we’re political appointees,” Rogers said.
Rogers added that all library workers had been verbally informed about the proposed change to civil service workers as well as having to reapply for their jobs.
Alexandra Farmer, another library worker, said they have a “tight network” and “systematically talked to everyone.”
“We have communicated what the city has told us — not directly, because again this is a problem, we don’t have direct communication,” Farmer said. “We have gone to every single worker that is not a manager or a supervisor in the Memphis Public Library system and we have talked to each other.”
Farmer affirmed that these conversations confirmed what civil service protections mean and that it is going to be a “difficult road.”
Vice Chairman Chase Carlisle said he didn’t believe civil service is the way forward. Carlisle said he did not support the ordinance on these grounds.
“Civil service is not the mechanism, and change has to happen,” Carlisle said.
Though he voiced his support of library workers and their desire for collective bargaining rights, Carlisle voted no on the ordinance.