Toronto’s public libraries will be closed Monday morning after CUPE Local 4948 announced its 2,300 members are going on strike.
The deadline for talks with the library board expired Sunday morning at 12:01 am, and while the two sides continued to negotiate until at least 6 am, they failed to reach a deal.
In a press release issued shortly after union president Maureen O’Reilly announced the strike Sunday afternoon, the union accused the library board of an “aggressive attack on workers’ job security” and said CUPE’s bargaining committee had no choice but to strike.
“We are very disappointed that the Board is attempting to continue the attacks launched by the Ford Administration on the rights of our members,” O’Reilly said in the release.
Major points of contention between the union and the board include job security provisions for part-time workers, who make up more than half of CUPE 4948’s membership. The union charges that the board was seeking to reduce those provisions in order to lay the groundwork for layoffs.
The union says the library system has already been pushed to the brink by the elimination of 107 employee positions under the 2012 budget, and further staff reductions would result in the closure of branches.
During the budget process earlier this year, there was public outcry over the suggestion that some branches might be closed, and the union believes public opinion is firmly on their side.
All 98 TPL branches will be shut down during the strike.
