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15 Stark County Library Strikers ArrestedAttorneys for the Stark County District Library in Canton, Ohio, persuaded a judge to file a temporary restraining order August 17 barring striking members of Service Employees International Union Local 925 from entering the main library or any of the branches. Fifteen strikers were arrested the day before for criminal trespassing after blocking the entrance to the main library for an hour and a half, following a sit-in inside the library. Union leaders told the Canton Repository that they were trying to force the board to negotiate. Striking employees along with concerned citizens spoke at a board meeting the evening of August 15, but after an executive session President Jackie Caldwell issued a statement saying that the board would continue to negotiate “in good faith.” On August 18 another branch reopened, leaving only one of nine still closed. Meanwhile, the library continues to pay $5,500 a day for Huffmaster security guards, Assistant Director Marge Baker told American Libraries. Since the strike began July 31, the library either had picked up its own mail or U.S. Postal Service managers delivered it. However, on August 14 when a USPS union driver attempted to deliver the mail, a postal-union official blocked his truck. The driver refused to cross the picket line and was fired two days later, and the official has been placed on unpaid leave for objecting to the use of union drivers during the strike. Posted August 21, 2000. |
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