The Howard County Library Workers United union ratified its first contract April 24 with a unanimous “yes” vote after negotiating for about 10 months.

“It feels incredible. It has been a long road and a lot of hard work, so seeing it pay off, and seeing how excited our members are to come in and do the contract has been fantastic,” said Megan Royden, a member of the bargaining team for the union.

The contract includes wages increases, the establishment of new union committees and other protections. It received approval from all 123 members who cast a vote between April 22 and April 24, Royden said. Now the Howard County Library System Board of Trustees must also vote on whether to ratify the contract.

The union’s bargaining team sent a letter to the Board of Trustees urging it to ratify the contract that had been negotiated in good faith and is seeking a response today, which is also May Day, or International Workers’ Day. The Board of Trustees proposed “substantive changes” over a month after the bargaining team had signed off on Tentative Agreement articles, the bargaining team said in the letter.

“Proposing substantive changes to tentative agreements is not good-faith bargaining. Our reasonable expectation is that we move forward with the process as intended and that the Employer and Union sign the contract that we negotiated,” the letter read.

The union is completely open to communicating with the board as the new internal relationship is established between leadership and the union, Jess Lee, another member of the bargaining team, said. She and her peers are “hopeful” and “looking positively towards the future.” The unionization process has brought workers across all the library branches closer together, and she is excited for the relationships to continue building.

The contract includes advancements for wages, such as a 3% merit increase and a 4% cost of living adjustment for eligible workers in fiscal year 2026 and 2027. It also includes time-and-a-half pay for Sunday work hours and differentiated pay for workers who earn a bilingual qualification. When employees work outside their titles, they’d receive the wages for the position worked under the contract.

Other items in the contract are a sick leave bank, tuition reimbursement for eligible workers, a Labor Management Committee, a Health and Safety Committee, and disciplinary and grievance procedures.

One of the most important things was solidifying current items, such as benefits, that the workers were pleased with, Eliana Holgate, a member of the bargaining team who works at the Elkridge Branch, said. The 4% COLA is another exciting area of the contract, as library workers in Howard County are faced with a high cost of living and are paid less than in other jurisdictions, she said.

The negotiation process was a learning experience for both the union and the Board of Trustees, members of the bargaining team said, as it is the first contract for the newly established union. While each party had to reach compromises, the team is pleased with the gains made.

Howard County Library System workers voted 151-19 to join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland Council 3 union in February 2024. During a November Board of Trustees meeting, workers demanded fair wages amidst stalled contract negotiations. A few months later, state Del. Jessica Feldmark joined the union as it rallied again for fair wages and negotiations outside the East Columbia Branch library during an annual Evening in the Stacks fundraiser.

The union and the board were able to “meet in the middle” on various items, Charles Smalls, a member of the bargaining team, said. He and the other members had spoken about their excitement in creating a “bedrock document,” he said. There is a sense of pride when thinking that people will look to the document for years to come, improving it for as long as the library system exists, he said. “I’m really happy to have this conversation and hoping to get things off to a good start,” Smalls said. “This has sort of been like our honeymoon period, our first date, as far as HCLWU and HCLS are concerned, and so it’s kind of like once this contract gets signed, it’s only the beginning of it.”

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