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Library staff tell Urbana board bargaining details were not shared; board votes to meet in closed session
Summary
At the July 14 board meeting of the Urbana Free Library, an hourly acquisitions clerk representing the bargaining committee urged trustees to attend bargaining and said administration has not shared wage proposals or schedules with the board. The board later voted to enter closed session to discuss collective bargaining under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2).
An Urbana Free Library employee told trustees on July 14 that the bargaining committee’s proposals and compromises have not been shared with the board and urged trustees to participate in bargaining sessions.
"We do not believe that the library's hands are tied," said Melissa Muckenharn, who identified herself as an hourly acquisitions clerk and said she has worked at the library for 16 years. Muckenharn told trustees the bargaining committee created a proposed scheduling preference survey intended for public-desk staff but that administration used it librarywide, causing fear among staff. She also said the administration provided a wage section that "has no hard numbers" and referred to a wage-scale appendix the union has not received.
Muckenharn said the bargaining committee represents all members and described inconsistent administrative attendance at bargaining sessions: "We have negotiated in good faith, repeatedly turning up to our bargaining sessions, not sure if we'll be meeting with Kelly and Talia or Kelly and Dawn." She invited trustees to attend bargaining meetings so the board would have direct information.
Later in the meeting the board moved to enter closed session to discuss "collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives" and "deliberations concerning salary schedules" under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2). The motion was moved and seconded and passed by roll call; trustees recorded affirmative votes and the meeting recessed to closed session.
The meeting record does not include a direct response from library administration to Muckenharn’s specific allegations during the public-comment period. The board’s formal action after public comment was to enter a closed session explicitly tied to collective bargaining; no public vote on contract terms occurred in open session.
