LISNews: Librarian News

The American Federation of Teachers, on behalf of University of California librarians, has reached an impasse with the university after a two-year struggle for salary increases that the university claims it cannot afford. UCSD Guardian reports.

Confidential discussions with a state-appointed mediator — provided by the State Mediation and Conciliation Service — are slated for March 24, an attempt to end a drawn-out negotiation process that began in 2007.

UC librarians, who demand that their salaries be raised to an amount slightly less than those offered at California State University campuses, claim the university has failed to take the negotiations seriously.

“If they would start bargaining, we might lower our original requests,” chief mediator for UC librarians Mike Rotkin said. “We are not locked into a position. We want to see both sides moving toward each other, and that’s what was not happening. We want them to move before we continue to move.”