Several library employees and union supporters used the council's public-comment period on Oct. 21 to ask the Memphis City Council to place a question on the 2026 ballot to reclassify library workers as civil-service employees and to protect their right to collectively bargain.

Alexandra Farmer, a library worker speaking to the council, said council members had discussed salary reviews and task forces but that those responses felt like a "distraction and a sidestep" from the immediate request to guarantee library workers the same civil-service status and collective-bargaining rights as other city employees. Farmer said: "All we are asking for is for this to go to the voters. Let the voters decide if librarians should be classified as appointed or if we should be the civil servants that we are." (Transcript.)

Multiple public speakers tied the request to Memphishistory of labor organizing. Keith Caldwell urged elected officials to "respect the dignity of labor." Eddie Fulton, a library worker, said, "Without civil service and union representation, my hands are tied," and asked the council to pass an ordinance to put the question on the 2026 ballot so library employment protections would "survive from administration to administration." Speaker Samara Solomon urged the council to take action to ensure library workers have a recognized voice in decisions that affect pay and safety.

Councilman Smiley said he would bring a measure to the next council meeting to let voters decide, telling speakers, "We're gonna bring something in the count next council meeting to talk about this issue." Several callers also raised concerns about censorship in the library system, alleging removal of language referencing diverse groups from programming and book displays and asking the council to oppose such censorship.

No formal council action was taken at the meeting on the library workers' requests; the remarks were part of the public-comment record. Council members and staff noted an ongoing compensation task force (next meeting scheduled Nov. 13) to review pay and classification issues; several speakers said pay increases alone are insufficient without the right to collective bargaining and civil-service protections.

Speakers asked for concrete next steps: (1) the council to place the reclassification question on the 2026 ballot via ordinance; (2) to oppose censorship practices in library programming; and (3) to coordinate with library workers on classification and compensation. Councilman Smiley announced an intent to introduce a ballot-related measure at an upcoming meeting.