Vote "Yes" on Library Budget on Tuesday, October 11

CSEA Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Suffolk Local 852, Unit 8349 endorses the passage of the 2017 budget for the Smithtown Special Library District.

Of course it does, you say: the union, which represents the 100-plus full- and part-time Civil Service employees of the Smithtown Library, has a vested interest in the budget passing.

True enough. Like working people everywhere, library employees have bills to pay and families to care for. A failed budget vote could mean reduced hours or lost jobs for employees due to reduced library hours and service to the community. Union employees are not tax grabbers or highly-paid political appointees. We earn no more than our neighbors with comparable educational and job requirements, and many earn less. No union member works at a public library to get rich.

But safeguarding jobs and families is not the sole motivating factor in endorsing this budget. Most of our members pursued a career in library work because they have a commitment to public service and appreciate the value of a good public library to this or any community.

Good public libraries don’t come free. It takes money to stock, staff, and maintain a public library. Still, all things considered, your public library is the community’s best educational, cultural, and recreational value. Does that sound self-serving? It isn’t. Library employees are taxpayers, too. Like everyone else, we demand value for our money and we scrutinize where our tax dollars go. And we know how little of that tax money, percentage-wise, goes to public libraries.

Ultimately we know that it is the public’s satisfaction with the service they receive on each visit to the library in person or online at the library’s website throughout the year upon which rests the outcome of any budget vote. The union employees of the Smithtown Special Library District take pride in delivering the best service they can with the resources with which they are provided. From supervisors and schedule-makers to those who check out books, DVDs and CDs with a smile and a friendly word; to those who go the extra mile to track down a rare book or article or to provide help downloading an e-book; to those who instill the joy of reading in our youngest patrons; to those who catalog and process a steady stream of new materials, keep the ledgers, pay the bills, and keep our buildings and equipment clean, safe and working properly, every member of the employees’ union cares about the work they do and the quality of service they provide. And, in case you hadn’t noticed, even in the internet age, public libraries are busier than ever. Come by any weekend or weekday after school and check it out. Sign in to use our free public computers. Visit each building’s 3D printing station. Arrange for personal instruction with the Book a Librarian program. Download an ebook or audio from the Library's webpage. The availability of these services and more should make it evident that all of us, employees and community residents alike, are best served by the passage of a fair and responsible library budget.

The 2017 library budget vote will be held at all four branches - Smithtown, Commack, Kings Park and Nesconset - from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 11. Note the special early voting time of 6:00 a.m. Please join us in voting “yes” to maintain the level and quality of service the Library provides to everyone in our community.

Richard Riis, President

CSEA Local 1000 AFSCME, AFL-CIO, CSEA Suffolk Local 852, Unit 8349