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PJ library staff gets new deal
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The unionized staff members at the Port Jefferson Free Library are "happy" with their new contract, according to Doreen Reynolds, president of the staff association. The workers at the landmark Thompson Street institution had gone for a year without a new contract and had resorted to informational picketing on several occasions to demonstrate their displeasure. Staff ratified the agreement Aug. 25 and it was subsequently signed by Reynolds and board president Cliff Dittrich. About one week before that, library director Tara D'Amato resigned to take a job with the East End Arts Council based in Riverhead. The search for a new director is under way, according to Dittrich.
D'Amato told the Port Times Record she had been dissatisfied with her job for some time, citing a continuous daily filing of grievances by staff members during stalled contract talks. The position of library director, in addition to overseeing programs for the patrons, is responsible for personnel matters. D'Amato described it as "stuck two years answering union grievances; it's not a lot of fun."
Reynolds denied the grievances were "petty" and gave one example that, going forward "we will be working on," she said. That grievance involves Young Adult librarian Erin Schaarschmidt who was denied the title of department head, a de facto role she plays, according to Reynolds.
Head reference librarian Robert Maggio has been appointed acting director while the library searches for a replacement for D'Amato. Maggio, who had to resign temporarily from the union to assume the acting director's job, said he is not a candidate for library director. "I like being a librarian," he said when asked why he was not seeking the top administrative post. "I like books; I like contact with the public." Earlier this month Maggio reported having received no grievances from the staff since becoming acting director.
The new contract lasts five years, retroactive to 2008. D'Amato said the contract provided for an 18 percent raise over five years. She called that "quite an increase" and predicted it would negatively impact library programs by siphoning redirecting limited resources to cover personnel costs.
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