Rahway Library Workers Demand No Budget Cuts

Save our Library! Support our Staff!

We, the union staff of the Rahway Public Library, represented by Local OPEIU 32, have come together to ardently appeal to the City Council and Mayor to ensure the library’s wholeness and support our dedicated staff.

Some of you may not know, but in 2019 we tragically lost our Director, Gail Miller. She was a pillar in our community and was a lifelong advocate for the library, working closely with the community Library Board and the Mayors of Rahway. Her time and tenure with us left an undeniable impact on this community and the staff that continue to support the library to this current day. Her legacy continues with support from the Friends of the Rahway Library and their offering of yearly scholarships for Rahway students who are graduating high school and continuing their education.

During this time, the library was staffed by 9 full-time and 8 part-time union members with a much higher budget allocation. In 2019, the minimum NJ Per Capita State Aid for Rahway was $927,116. The library was funded that year at $1.473 million.

As of today, the library is run on a day to day basis by 8 full time and 6 part time union members. We work faithfully on a daily basis to continue offering services and bringing new ideas. With rising inflation costs, the library staff is expected to work with less staff and less money in our budget. The minimum library funding for this year is $1,319,265.

We were without a library director until welcoming Director Ian Sloat in August of 2020. The Staff persevered through a partial library closure during a global pandemic, with library staff still reporting to the building and adapting to offer remote services for the community. Curbside pick-up, online programming including the popular Toddler Time Live, Family Fun Nights on Zoom, curbside crafts, crochet classes, and other innovative services were offered and still continue today.

That is why it is essential that we receive the support that the staff needs to effectively operate the public library. The proposed changes are drastic and will have a negative effect on the most vulnerable populations in our city. To add insult to injury, our part-time co-workers hours would be reduced to a mere 4 hours per week starting in 30 days. These part time staff members are essential to the daily operations of the library and we fully support them.

We fully support our Library Board of Trustees and Library Director, Library Staff, and most importantly the community we serve. We are here to advocate for our staff, for the community, to support a lifelong love for reading and learning, and to help those that are in need of the services that our library provides.

We call on our community to demonstrate their support for the Rahway Public Library and its union staff by making their voices heard to their elected officials. We demand the City Council and the Mayor fully fund the library to allow its staff to provide these invaluable services to the community of Rahway. This must also include the granting of funding for physical improvements to the library building as well as for providing adequate funding so we may continue to offer free stellar programming, essential services and necessary professional staffing.

In closing, we stand behind our motto and encourage all of you, as well as the public, that we serve to “Come in and Find Out” what’s going on in The Rahway Public Library. You, too, can become “A Fan” guaranteed