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Public Employee Press
Local battles NY Public
Library on tuition cut When
William Hall was interviewed in 2005 for a Librarian Trainee position, he was
happy to hear that the New York Public Library contributed up to $6,000 toward
tuition for a masters degree in library science. Nearly a year
later as a NYPL employee, Hall was shocked to learn that his employer which
requires trainees to enroll in a masters program was cutting the
reimbursement from $6,000 a year to $3,300. I felt betrayed,
said Hall, who has taken the lead in a group grievance that New York Public Library
Guild Local 1930 filed in September on behalf of all clerical titles and Information
Associates. For a world-class institution that prides itself on
being a progressive employer to renege on its commitment to employees career
development is outrageous, Local 1930 President Lynn Taylor said. Rep
Lisa Riccio and Assistant General Counsel Kim Hsueh assisted Taylor with the grievance,
which charges the Library with violating a past practice. What
was amazing is the way the Library did this, Taylor said. They
announced in May that they were reviewing the reimbursement plan,
then they quickly cut summer reimbursement from $2,000 to $1,100. The full-year
cut from $6,000 to $3,300 is a hard hit for our members. All told,
about 50 Librarian Trainees work at NYPL. As a condition of employment, applicants
must be either enrolled or accepted in a masters program. Clerical and other
workers do not have to meet that requirement. This disastrous news
was broken without warning, Hall said. New York City is very expensive
and many of us are living virtually hand-to-mouth. Librarian Trainees
earn around $30,000, so $6,000 was a significant boost for members pursuing their
graduate degrees. Hall said it covered the full cost of his studies at Queens
College, where he takes two courses a semester during the regular school year
and also studies in the summer. At schools with higher tuitions, such
as the Pratt Institute and Long Island University, members are hit even harder.
I love my job and the people I work with, said Hall, who said
he felt bound by principle to file the grievance despite his otherwise positive
feelings about the NYPL, which has a multi-million dollar budget and a huge endowment.
The trainee title is a feeder program, he said, so it behooves them
to treat you well, since they expect you to work there for a while and not leave
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