Monroe County Public Library (MCPL) employees will get the opportunity to vote on whether they want to join a union.

The MCPL Board of Trustees voted 5-2 Wednesday to approve a resolution under which 30 percent of eligible employees can request that a vote be taken. A majority of those casting ballots would be needed for the union to form.

Board members Randy Paul, Fred Risinger, Penny Austin, John Walsh and Janice Stockton voted in favor. Board President Stephen Moberly and Linda Hunt voted against.

Union membership would be open to all library employees except those who are confidential employees, managers, supervisors, part-time employees working less than 20 hours a week, board members and temporary employees.

Employees would have 60 days from the day the first card is signed to meet the 30 percent threshhold to call a vote. Only one vote could be held in any 12-month period.

Nearly all board members lamented the fact that a union vote has become necessary at the MCPL, and they expressed concerns that the estimated costs to the library could be $80,000 to $100,000 annually to negotiate with the union.

But Paul and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 62 representative Dave Warrick told the board that how much they spend is up to them.

"I would just like to say that any cost incurred is your choice," Warrick told the board members. "We don't incur costs as far in negotiations. We don't pay the employees to sit there, neither are you required to do that. Some employers hire lawyers, some don't."

He added that AFSCME is a union with a reputation of working with employers for the benefit of workers and employers.

Moberly called the vote "premature," saying the union movement was precipitated by "a very unhappy personnel situation that has been resolved." He was referring to the three-year tenure and late-summer resignation of MCPL director Cindy Gray.

Moberly said he hoped new MCPL Director Sara Laughlin, who assumed the position on Sept. 1, would have a year to turn the situation around. He noted that staff members used to be forbidden to even speak to board members, a restriction that has been lifted, and a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment and the continuation of the library paying for retirees' health insurance as progress that has been made.

"We have had an excellent dialogue with the staff," he said.

Risinger and Austin agreed with Moberly that the money the library will be spending could be put to other uses. But, they said, they were loathe to deny employees their rights to decide.

"I agree with you that it's very important that our employees have their voice," Austin said.

Steven Higgs can be reached at editor@BloomingtonAlternative.com.