Daniel Boone Regional Library union calls counteroffer 'egregious and insulting'

The union and Daniel Boone Regional Library administration are at odds in negotiating a first contract, with the union calling a management counteroffer "egregious and insulting."

Members of Daniel Boone Regional Library Workers United walked away from last week's session after receiving the library administration's response to the union's proposal on discipline and discharge of employees, the union stated in a news release.

Library management took issue with the union's characterizations in its own statement.

"Union negotiation sessions are inherently oppositional and require compromise on both sides," the library management statement said. "The time investment in an initial union contract can be significant. The national average for a first union contract is over 400 days of negotiation, and we are less than four months into ours.  We will take our time to ensure that the resulting agreement protects both sides and allows the library to move forward affordably and with a clear set of parameters in areas such as grievances and discipline."

Daniel Boone Regional Library is the first in Missouri to have a union.

Management's counteroffer would allow management to discriminate against workers based on pregnancy, ancestry, immigration status, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation and gender identity, the union news release states.

“We believe these are essential protections for our employees and are appalled that Executive Director Margaret Conroy struck them from our proposal,” said local union president Wendy Rigby in its news release.

Not so, the management response states. The protections are already in the policy.

"In a recent news release prepared by DBRL Workers United, the group claimed  DBRL management opened the door to discrimination against staff." The management statement reads. "The library’s current Equal Employment Opportunity policy already disallows discrimination."

The policy prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, receipt of governmental assistances, military service or affiliation, genetic information, veteran status, status as a victim of sexual or domestic violence or order of protection status, the statement reads.

The union claims in the statement that management's counterproposal removes progressive discipline for workers.

"DBRLWU confirmed that the library’s counter-proposal also removed the current policy for progressive discipline, a process that would give employees several opportunities to correct a problem before being formally disciplined or terminated and in a huge step backward opted to reinstate a list of fireable offenses instead," the union statement reads.

The current policy gives employees several opportunities to correct a job performance problem before being terminated, but not in all cases, the management statement reads.

"The disciplinary process may stop or skip one or more levels at any time," the management statement reads. "There may be some instances that require immediate written warning or immediate disciplinary action, including but not limited to probation or termination. However, the primary objective of the DBRL progressive disciplinary process is to return the employee to the status of a satisfactory employee.”

The union's negotiating committee has 18 unaddressed articles since delivering its contract proposal to management in September, the union statement reads. The next bargaining session is from noon to 5 p.m. March 7 and is open to the public.

It's disappointing that the union chose to complain to the media, the management statement reads.

"We are saddened that DBRLWU chooses to air its frustrations with the bargaining process in the press, but we are determined to work for a union contract that benefits the staff and the library as a whole," the statement reads. "All of us agree that our overarching goal is to continue to provide excellent library service to our communities."

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Employment discrimination, discipline at issue in library contract