No deal yet for U. library staff

- Present pact expires Monday The librarian support staff may decide to check out if slowly proceeding union negotiations are not completed before the present contract's July 1 due date. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 590 and the University are currently negotiating a new contract for the 150 members of the library support staff, in order to replace the current agreement which expires Monday. Local 509 Shop Steward Dennis Byrd said he has been told negotiations "are not moving too quickly." A strike is not the only route of action after July 1, union members said. According to Byrd, the present contract can be extended if negotiations are not concluded before Monday. In the June 7 memorandum, the Local 590 says the University initially proposed a wide range of contract stipulations, including the elimination of all worker breaks and a reduction in personal days off. Jack Heuer, the University's labor realtions manager, emphasized Tuesday that the documents were outdated and negotiations had since progressed. He declined to comment further. "It's not even worth commmenting on, it's so outdated," Heuer said of the memo. Union officials have failed to respond to repeated phone calls concerning the memorandum. In the June 7 memorandum, the University proposals includes the elimination of the right to dispute employee performance evaluations, and "severe limitations" on the ability of union officials to investigate and process grievances. "It's an insane list of demands," a Van Pelt Library Clerk and union member said Tuesday. "If we agreed to it -- that would be crazy." University officials presented a more optimistic view of the state of the negotiations Tuesday. "We have a good relationship with the union," Heuer said, "We're hopeful for a successful settelement, for both parties." Mary Beth Mahoney, a clerk at Van Pelt Library, agreed with Heuer, saying "hopefully we'll come to an agreement where both sides will be happy."

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