Board chair defends plan to overhaul system
CUPE counters that staffers are being ‘systematically undermined’ by plan
The Saskatoon Public Library’s board of directors is defending a controversial restructuring program that has caused employees’ morale to crumble amid fears about job security, pay cuts and sweeping organizational changes.
The board this week released an 11,000-word statement reiterating its view that the change was necessary. In an interview, board chair Candice Grant said the underlying reason for the overhaul is the library ’s failure “to keep pace with the times.”
“We simply have not kept pace with the changes that we’ve seen in public libraries across North America (and) the changes that we’ve seen in our community,” said Grant, a lawyer who was appointed to the library board in 2013.
“The changes you’re seeing at an organizational level are a response to those concerns,” she said, adding that the board’s thinking was guided by other cities where libraries “have been revitalized and have continued to be integral parts of their communities.”
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2669, meanwhile, responded to the statement on social media, arguing the library is being “systematically undermined.”
The most visible effect of the restructuring — now set to come into effect this summer — is the replacement of “traditional desk-based service” with “service points” and “roving employees.”
An internal document obtained by the StarPhoenix describes the difference between the two philosophies, in part, as the difference between libraries “designed around stacks of books” to one with “smaller service points for staff to help the public.”
The document also states that the new “community-led service model” will prioritize the “user experience” over the traditional model’s emphasis on “programs and services delivered.”
It frames the shift as a move from quantity to quality. That change is expected to result in most of the library’s roughly 260 employees, who are members of CUPE Local 2669, having to apply for new positions, some of which will come with pay cuts.
Grant acknowledged that change is difficult but noted some of the library ’s “current job functions do not allow us to facilitate the flexibility that we need to adequately staff all of our different areas.”
The ongoing restructuring has opened a deep divide between the union and management.
CUPE Local 2669 has blasted library administrators for failing to provide clarity on hours and wages, while library administrators have argued they are simply following processes laid out in the workers’ collective agreement.
Grant declined to comment on the conflict between union and management, or concerns raised by some employees about the optics of awarding library CEO Carol Cooley a $1,300 bonus and $9,900 training program while workers fear for their livelihoods.
She did, however, confirm that the board “supports the way that administration has rolled out these changes.”
“The status quo that we have been operating under can’t continue. We appreciate that change is scary and can be difficult, but we do see these as necessary changes that will benefit the community in the long run,” she said.