An audience of Peoria Public library employees and community members spilled out of the conference room at Tuesday's library board of trustees meeting.
Union library employees have worked under an expired contract since January. Seth Peterson is a reference assistant at the Lincoln Branch.
"I love my job, but I will not sit idly by when my leadership attempts to exploit that love to pay me less than what is even needed to live in 2023," Peterson said.
Peterson said any raise under 7% would be a pay cut given the current rate of inflation. He said Peoria's library pays significantly less than Bloomington and other comparable cities.
Lyndsay Hawkins is a community resident who spoke to the board.
"When we have talented people like the staff you have now, it makes all the difference. All the difference for my kids, and all the difference for families to feel like they belong to the Peoria community," she said. "When I found out that the library was hiring for minimum wage, it stopped me in my tracks."
The board only allowed 20 minutes for people to talk about the contract negotiations during public comment, citing board policy limiting how long speakers can address one topic.
The board went to executive session to discuss the ongoing contract negotiations. In a previous statement, library executive director Randall Yelverton said he's aware of the pressures of inflation in a post-pandemic economy, and he looks forward to reaching a mutually beneficial agreement with the union.
