Vineland Public Library employees will join IBEW Local 210 based on election results on Feb. 28.
VINELAND – The Vineland Public Library is as little as a week away from becoming a “union shop” based on the results of a mail-in election that wrapped up Thursday afternoon in Trenton.
The New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission handled the election. Barring objections, PERC election officer Bryan Markward said the commission could certify results in as soon as six days.
Markward said the employees approved starting a “mixed bargaining unit,” meaning it will serve both professional staff such as librarians with degrees as well as security guards and others.
The organizing effort was done through International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 210. Local 210 attorney David Watkins attended the ballot count in Trenton. There was no library observer.
Markward said Watkins was given a copy of the results. The attorney has not returned telephone calls.
The library board of trustees was notified of the outcome at its meeting Thursday evening by its legal counsel, Jeff Medio.
On another labor matter, the trustees revisited the layoff plan that members approved on Feb. 7. Five trustees were present on Feb. 7 and the vote was 4-1, with the “no” vote from Sally Goode.
The board approved the layoffs in what the majority stated was an effort to produce a balanced 2019 budget. The decision continues to draw protests from library users that it will significantly undermine the ability to deliver services.
At Thursday evening’s meeting, with nine members present, the board unanimously voted to approve a resolution endorsing a letter and a proposed layoff notice that the solicitor recently drafted and sent to the state Civil Service Commission.
The resolution, additionally, incorporated the original Feb. 7 layoff resolution. By voting on Thursday, members reaffirmed the layoff decision.
The layoffs affect five people, including the position of Director Brandi Grosso, who was not present for the meeting Thursday evening.
The other positions to be eliminated are a principal library assistant, a supervising library assistant, and two librarians.
After the meeting, Medio said the specific employees to be laid off still need to be identified. Whether the new union affects the process is unclear, he said.
Medio said he expects to hear next week from a commission official about the plan. The layoffs now are expected to take effect on May 15, he said.
For 2019, the library currently anticipates having $1,359,545 in revenue. That would be insufficient to operate with the current staff of 17 full-time employees and nine-part-time employees, the board maintains.
On Thursday, members present and voting were Goode, Maritza Gonzalez, Karen Kreck, Sheena Santiago, MacLeod Carre, President Luis Amberths, Elizabeth Bermudez, Melanie Lovisone, and Gina Randazzo-Dawkins.
In another matter, Medio reported receiving two bids from accounting firms interested in performing a proposed forensic audit of library operations.
Medio recommended the board direct him to ask the city purchasing agent to advertise for a new round of bids for the proposed forensic audit as well as for elevator services. The board approved the request on a 9-0 vote. In another vote, Lovisone was approved without dissent as the new vice president.
The library was a topic of discussion at Vineland City Council on Tuesday.
At the close of the regular meeting, council President Paul Spinelli threw scorn at rumors about the library’s future. There are no discussions about closing or privatizing the library, he said.