Library Labor Relations

The Law office of Stephanie Adams, PLLC (the "LOSA") offers a variety of services to libraries and those who support them, including the "Ask the Lawyer" service through the regional library councils, and services to individual libraries, archives, museums, and information management professionals.

So from time to time, we are asked: will you help negotiate our union contract?

Our answer is: "Yes!  —But." 

 What's the "but?"

BUT: The LOSA is not a good fit for every union contract negotiation.  If the parties to the contract (the library and the union) are at a place of rancor and distrust, and really want their lawyers to duke it out with (rhetorical) gloves off, we are not the lawyers for you (we save that kind of energy for our civil rights work and litigation).

However, when parties (the library and the union) respect the others' role in providing a vital resource to their community, and can proceed with mutual respect—even if there are things about which they deeply disagree—we might be a good fit, and can help them be the architects of an exciting new contract.

 How does this work?  Through an approach called "ADR" (Alternative Dispute Resolution).

Working under a special ADR contract, the LOSA provides services to both parties negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.  Meeting at the table, we work with the parties to assess the mission of the institution, to focus on the goals of both "management" and "labor", and to help them to craft a contract that blends them all.

This approach is not for every library or system.  If your library and union are in a tough municipal environment where in order to get things done, parties feel they have to be hostile, or there is ZERO trust between the parties, ADR might not be the right approach, and the LOSA is not the right firm.  But if frustration and a longing for change has not turned into mutual distrust, and both parties want to explore how efficient and rewarding an ADR-informed union negotiation process can be, ADR could be for (both of) you.

How does a library and it’s union we get started on the path to ADR?  To explore an ADR approach for your library or library system, LOSA attorney Stephanie Adams has an initial meeting with designated representatives from both "sides," and each party gets the same summary of how we could work together.  That way, both parties can review the process and see if it’s a good fit.

Call our office at (716) 464-3386 or write to info@losapllc.com to set up a consult to see if “Library Labor Relations ADR” is the right approach for you (and you).