Together, the Cuyahoga Falls Library and the Professionals Guild of Ohio (PGO) announce they have successfully negotiated and ratified a new collective bargaining agreement for the period of Nov. 19, 2022 to Nov. 18, 2025.
The new agreement affects the Cuyahoga Falls Library’s twenty-one union staff members, which include eleven full-time and ten part-time employees. The Professionals Guild of Ohio ratified the agreement on Oct. 14, 2022, and the Library Board of Trustees voted to approve it on Oct. 18, 2022.
“Both Labor and Management worked collaboratively to negotiate this new three-year collective bargaining agreement,” said Steven Kowalik, Executive Director of PGO. “The parties carefully considered each other’s concerns, and going forward this new agreement will give a fresh start to a new working relationship at the library. The Professionals Guild of Ohio appreciates the professionalism of the library’s new Director [Andrew Harant], and we are committed to working with him for the strong future of the library, its employees and the community.”
Representatives from the library administration, legal counsel, employee union officers, and PGO met five times between Sept. 22 and Oct. 14, 2022.
Library Director Andrew Harant said, “I’m especially thankful to our employee PGO union officers, Amy Walker, Union President, and Angela Fioramonti, Union Vice-President, for representing their coworkers and helping us to better understand our employees’ needs. Thank you to both Steven Kowalik of PGO and our attorney Emily Smayda Kelly of Kel-Lume Group, for their work in successfully negotiating a mutually beneficial bargaining agreement. I’m very pleased that all parties could quickly and respectfully reach an agreement, so we can continue the library’s mission to connect people with the world of ideas, information and imagination through excellent collections and services.”
