COLUMBIA − The Daniel Boone Regional Library's (DBRL) Board of Trustees voted to approve the proposed contract agreed upon by administration and the DBRL Workers United Union, Thursday night.
However, the board requested to amended the contract to only guarantee the 5% annual wage increase for 2024. All other subsequent years would have to be re-evaluated by the board to ensure that expenses don't compromise day to day operations for patrons.
The contract was 14-months in the making. Workers expressed that they were blindsided because the amendment happened in a private meeting comprised of board members.
The proposed contract was supposed to increase the library’s cost-share for health insurance and provides annual raises of 5% each year.
The union was formed in May 2022. However, negotiations didn't start until October 2022. Click here for a full timeline of KOMU 8's coverage here.
DBRL Board of Trustees Vice President, Margrace Buckler, said it was a difficult decision the board had to make to ensure there was enough money in the future to not compromise daily operations.
"We've paid a lot of attention to what's in those articles and spent a lot of time going over the whole contract, so the fiscal responsibility of the board of trustees is to make sure we have the revenue to operate for our patrons. We don't want to cut from services if we don't bring in the revenue we expect," Buckler said.
Nate Suttenfield, DBRL Board of Trustees president said in a press release that he hopes negotiations can continue to go forward in time for next year.
"We appreciate all of the time and care that both the administration and staff have put into the writing of this contract," said Suttenfield. "The board believes that the two sides are very close and we are hopeful that the final negotiations will not take long."
If negotiations stay on track and the union approves the article changes, the new contract will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
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