Union negotiations started this week and the union rep asked if he could share my email where I go off about having to buy groceries w/ a credit card b/c I can't afford food working here. Oddly no one in management has spoken to me since. Today is the last day of the scheduled negotiations for now. The director spent most of the day yesterday in his office w/ his door closed. The union rep, after I went off on him (sorry, not sorry), said they were asking for a $15 starting pay for our step 1, then it goes up from there. We only have 3 steps. I'm a step 2 right now, but I've been here for 20 years so I'm 1/2 way up the pay scale as it is. It doesn't make sense to anyone that there's only 3 steps. One library I was looking for a job at has their sys admin starting at a step 14 at about $23/ hr. I'm guessing they figured unskilled work was a step one: circ clerk, delivery drive & previously IT; step 2 is circ coordinators, drivers who needed a cdl, and currently IT; step 3 is degree work, reference and ys librarians, tech serv.
While I don't have a degree I think IT should be at the same level as degree work since I freaking do everything (or at least I would if my boss would do her job).