TESTIMONY
George Olken, President of Local 1482 Brooklyn Library Guild, on the Impacts of Budget Cuts on Brooklyn Public Library Workers and Operations
3:50:10
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George Olken, representing the Brooklyn Library Guild union, testifies about the challenging effects of proposed budget cuts on Brooklyn Public Library's workforce and services.
- He shares examples of librarians unable to work in their assigned branches due to closures and staffing shortages.
- He highlights clerical staff being assigned to work alone at busy service desks, impacting their ability to properly maintain the library spaces.
- He describes a security supervisor having to take on low-paying delivery jobs to make ends meet despite his union position.
- Olken emphasizes that these budget cuts not only strain the library workers but also limit community access to library resources, urging the council to reconsider the cuts and increase funding.
UNKNOWN
3:50:10
Chair Brandon and other committee members, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share these stories from Brooklyn Public Library Union Workers.
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I'm George Olken.
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President of Local 1482.
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Adeborayna is a librarian who's promoted to branch manager of BPL's Bedford location
George Olken
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in 2021.
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After 3 years in her role, Adiba has never worked in the building.
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Instead, she's worked at 6 loadstaffed branches across the borough, while Bedford remained closed.
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The branch was supposed to open last year, and then this year.
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And if the provost budget cuts go through, opening will likely be delayed again for lack of staff.
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Christian Alston is works in clerical operations at our central branch in Grand Army Plaza.
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He usually works the early shift, which means he's at the checkout desk when we open.
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The library used to staff the desk and pears, but recently he's been assigned alone.
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More desk shifts means less time going over the shelves.
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At the end of his day, Christian walks through the youth wing where he sees books messy and disorganized.
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The library website boasts of more than 650,000 visits to Central Last Year, but workers like Christian can only be in one place at a time.
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Finally, one of our special officer sergeants wanted me to share his experience but was embarrassed for me to share his name.
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As a union member supervisor, he's tasked with making a fair schedules.
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He could take more of the few overtime shifts for himself, but he knows that everyone is struggling and he tries to make sure everyone gets something, which means on nights and weekends he delivers Uber Eats to make ends meet.
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We think of delivery workers as among the most underpaid and marginalized groups in the city.
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Those same workers are making sure your children are safe at the library.
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We are union workers being pushed into low paying exploitative sidegigs.
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We're the communities who won't have a library to take our kids to on the weekends.
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And we are the voters of New York City.
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Please do write by your these workers and all your constituents by ending these unnecessary cuts and refunding the libraries.
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Increased library funding, support democratic institutions, cut cynicism and austerity, and invest in our collective future.
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Thank you.
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Deborah D. Allman, President of the New York Public Library Guild Local 1930, on the Impact of Budget Cuts on Library Services and Staffing
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John Hyslop, President of the Queens Library Guild Local 1321, on Staffing Shortages Impacting Library Services and Facilities at Queens Library
