DPL’s values of welcoming, connection, curiosity, stewardship, and equity are our values, too. As frontline workers, we bring these values to life each day. Through our organizing work, we have come to learn, however, that our working conditions are often at odds with the values that DPL espouses. The following is a list of demands designed to serve our shared goals of anti-racism. They will bridge the gaps we recognize between our current workplace realities and our vision to see “a strong community where everyone thrives.” First and foremost, DPL Workers United demands that the Denver Public Library administration recognize our union.
We deserve a working environment that is welcoming.
- We demand that at-will employment be dismantled immediately and that criteria for “just cause” dismissal be put in place.
- DPL Human Resources must make all library job descriptions accessible to all staff, including how job titles map to city job classifications and pay scales.
We deserve to feel connected to our working environment and larger community.
- We demand that the E-Team develop a standardized process for internal decision-making over policies, procedures, and practices that affect a significant number of staff. This process must include representatives from our union at an early point where proactive feedback would make meaningful change in the final decision.
- The E-Team must collaborate with our union to create a public and transparent fair workweek policy that includes scheduling and redeployment.
We deserve a working environment that supports our curiosity.
- All workers must be given opportunities for professional development by guaranteeing 5% of their scheduled hours to attend trainings, classes, and meetings. Supervisors must be held accountable for ensuring this happens through a mandatory performance goal.
- We demand the implementation of training that informs workers of their legal rights in the workplace, including the right to join a union, as a part of new hire orientation and added to the rotation of recurring all-staff competencies.
We deserve a working environment that exemplifies stewardship.
- The E-Team must immediately prioritize replacing lost frontline and support staffing over any other spending. Positions in Security, Facilities, Supply, Custodial, On-Call, and other frontline work must be replaced before more administrative positions are filled or added.
- Good stewardship is safeguarding the most important resource at DPL: the staff who make it work. We demand to be able to afford to live in the city that we serve, and that the E-Team and commission take all appropriate steps to move all job classes to a living wage.
We deserve an equitable working environment.
- Supervisors must be reviewed by the staff under their purview as part of the annual review process, at all levels of the organization, and held accountable when they fall short.
- If an MLIS is to be a requirement for management positions, DPL must support aspiring librarians through financial and mentorship support. Otherwise, MLIS requirements for management positions must be discontinued.
This list of demands is neither exhaustive nor final. Instead, we present this selection of concrete actions to jumpstart the work of reshaping DPL into a workplace centered around care and solidarity. Our union is not done evolving. We have many stories from our current and future members yet to tell. Tell your story here and consider getting involved to help us continue to make demands that honor your experience and desires for improving our connections to our work, our community, and each other.