(The following is a letter from the Bryant Library Staff Association to Fran Gaynes, president of the Board of Trustees of the Bryant Library and is printed here at the staff allocation's request.)

It is with great concern that we address the board. After almost two years of seeking recognition and over one year of formal negotiations in trying to achieve a contract, we continue to be put off by the Bryant Library Board of Trustees in a process that has been fraught with delays, postponements and only four face-to-face meetings. We have worked diligently to present fair and cost-effective proposals and have been more than willing to negotiate. Our proposals are consistent with the library's past practices and reflect the seniority and long-term commitment of our staff. Our good faith has been met with delaying tactics, silence, skewed statistics and most recently a totally substandard reply - not even a fair counter offer. These delays and false accusations serve no purpose other than to further insult and punish the staff for organizing. The costs of these delays to the library would be better spent on settling a fair contract.

The staff is focused on continuing to provide excellent service to the community, in fact, every survey that has been done in the past 10 years has unanimously stated that the quality of staff service is what sets this library apart from all others. We are a hardworking and dedicated staff of long-term employees experienced in meeting our community's needs.

We want a written contract that will enable us to work in a clean, safe place with terms and conditions of employment that everyone knows about and that applied fairly to all. This is not the case at the present time. Although we are troubled by the disrespectful treatment we have received, the quality of our work and our commitment to serve the community will not be diminished. Ignoring the necessity of a fair contract and union-busting tactics will not make it go away.

Paulette Palumbo, President,

The Bryant Library Staff Association