Massachusetts Library Staff Association

Massachusetts Library Staff Association Members at a recent AFT-MA Leadership Training

As a union of professionals, AFT Public Employees division is committed to improving the quality of government services we provide to our communities. Reclaiming the promise of high-quality public services is about fighting for first-rate public services that our support communities and keep them safe, healthy and vibrant. It’s about fighting to ensure that our communities’ tax dollars are properly invested back into the community, and that those resources are used responsibly and safely. Finally, it’s fighting to make sure public employees are well-prepared and supported so they can provide our communities with the high-quality services the public needs and deserves.

Cambridge Public Library Staff Association members attended Cambridge River Fest in June 2024

Cambridge Public Library Staff Association members attended Cambridge River Fest in June 2024 and disseminated information to the community about their current contract negotiations.

BPL and Cambridge PSA march on Labor Day 2025

BPL-PSA and Cambridge PLSA march on Labor Day 2025!

BPL-PSA and Cambridge PLSA marched on Labor Day 2025!

The American Federation of Teachers is All In for Libraries!

The American Federation of Teachers is actively trying to organize municipal librarians around the country. As one of the small number of library locals affiliated with the AFT, the MLSA can serve as a source of information and 'best practices' as the AFT pursues its organizing goals. AFT represents public library workers across the country, in separate municipal library bargaining units, and as a part of school and university bargaining units. AFT also represents librarians in state libraries—including the Illinois State Library, and the Connecticut State Library—and in other state agencies

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

BPL-PSA member and treasurer Jenna Young is profiled in AFT Voices!

Congratulations to BPL-PSA member Jenna Young! Jenna was recently profiled as part of the AFT Voices program. "Jenna Young, a Massachusetts Library Staff Association (MLSA) member and union treasurer, has loved libraries her entire life. As communities turn to library systems and staff to help them navigate life, Jenna says it’s time to invest and truly serve our communities." Please click here for the full AFT-MA article and to view more images.

Randi Weingarten and NYC teacher Tamara Simpson

Attacks on public education in America by extremists and culture-war peddling politicians have reached new heights (“lows” may be more apt), but they are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended not just to undermine public education but to destroy it.

We know public libraries are the linchpin of our communities. Click here for a celebration of the library and quotes from MLSA members!

Click here for a great article on how AFT-MA members are organizing to build union power!