A strike at 14 branches of the Essex County Public Library is closer than ever after mediated talks between the union that represents librarians, and the library board broke off.
"The library board [was] unwilling to move. They didn't budget on anything of any import," says CUPE Local 2974 Spokesperson Lori Wightman. "We made some movement; tried to work out a deal, but couldn't do it."
The strike deadline is 12:01am Saturday, and Wightman says there are no talks planned in the meantime.
She says talks broke down over what the union calls "a phantom issue."
"We've been told by management in negotiations that sick time is not an issue for the library. We don't over use it, so we're not really sure why this is the sticking point," she says.
Wightman says a strike by the 58 librarians threatens a lot of summer programs at the library.
"We have, I believe it's 300 programs planned for the summer," she says. "From family story, time to adult book clubs and those are all in jeopardy right now."
