Queens Librarians Rally for Better Pay
to Halt Attrition
Several hundred staff from Queens Borough (N.Y.) Public Library held a demonstration October 1 to draw attention to the need to boost salaries of New York City librarians. The rally was held in front of Antun’s Restaurant in Queens Village shortly before the library’s annual staff-recognition awards ceremony was to take place inside.
John Socha, president of the library union’s local, said the demonstration was deemed a “Day of Mourning,” with participants donning black ribbons to lament the fact that over 17% of the borough’s librarians leave the system for better-paying jobs each year. “One-third of city librarians quit in the first three years,” he noted. “By the sixth year, 60% have gone to other systems.” Socha observed that Queens librarians’ starting salary of $29,000 is $2,000 less than nearby Long Island and nearly $15,000 less than San Francisco.
The crowd was addressed by city council members Sheldon S. Leffler and Walter McCaffrey, who plans to introduce a resolution boosting librarians’ salaries October 13.
Posted October 11, 1999.
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