When it's Cold in the Library, Workers Get Paid to Knock Off

According to a years-old and little-known contract provision called “Extreme Temperature Procedures,” workers in the vaulting halls of New York Public Libraries can take paid leave when indoor temperatures get frosty. Union boys and girls can step out for a few hours, or if they choose to stay, they can accrue compensatory hours or paid leave to be taken later. But how does NYPL define the rather subjective concept of "extreme cold"?

Well, it varies depending on what borough you toil in. If you're a hearty Queens worker, the threshold is 63 degrees. Brooklyn library staff who are a bit frailer, cash in at 65. At branches in Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx a generous 68 degrees is the tipping point.

According to the NY Times, the rule is rarely enacted since libraries are kept toasty warm. “It doesn’t come into play very often,” said spokeswoman, Joanne King. “And it’s really a very reasonable provision considering that we are asking staff to continue to give service under difficult circumstances.” Still, 67 degrees, or even 64 degrees seems mighty comfortable, and definitely not health-threatening. Even the workers' mothers might tell them to just put a sweater on.

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By Sabrina Jaszi in News on January 11, 2010 6:20 PM

Comments [rss]

lib

You sound like a boss or the tool of one. This article nicely glosses over the crumbling conditions of some NYPL libraries. And in neighborhoods that need them. Why focus on this one clause in the contract? To whip up a frenzy among anti-union morons who think their weekend and 8 hr day was granted to them by God-- that's why. Have some self respect you idiots.

books

for the record. 68 is the law in nyc. i still think these union workers are puss*es. We are talking about a library here. You're shaking down a library?! fck you.

Heat (During the heating season, October 1 through May 31)

* Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., heat must register at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees;

* Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., heat must register at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 40 degrees.

JacqueMehoff

It's really no big deal.

here's what happens, it's too hot, AC not working and temps approaching 80. OH NO! WE CAN'T WORK!

not true, you'll just get moved to another office where their AC is working. easy.

This is if you're working in an office. don't know about different work environments.

petemac

WTF? People think this is bad? This is why Unions are needed: we shouldn't have to work if the heating, or AC, or toilets don't work. Stop being fucking sheep and stand up for your rights.

kafkask

Unions. Ugh. They make everything difficult and expensive in this city. I've worked with them for many years and have come to realize they are nothing more than a drain on us all. Non-corrupt unions belong where people need them - factories, mines, places where rights can easily be trampled upon. But in a fucking library?

imadick

way to stay off topic there buddy.

68 degrees is ridiculous. the city would save a lot of money if they turned the thermostat down a few degrees. put on a sweater you fucking pussy.

JacqueMehoff

I was a union delegate, same goes for working in extreme heat. You don't expect the traders working without AC, do you?

douchebag5000

lol unions and the new yorkers who find this shit "reasonable"

HOTCUP

probably when the wolves start scampering around near the gutenberg bible.

stripe

I worked for NYPL for 3 years. This clause in the union contract got them renovating the branches and putting in AC. Because people who worked in branches without AC got a day off for every day worked when the temp and humidity inside reached a certain point by a certain time-- in some branches people were racking up months of comp time -- because we never went home, we took the extra day. I truly believe that the renovations that made the libraries comfortably cool/warm for all wouldn't have been a management priority otherwise. I don't remember this working in the winter though.

savedbyzero

This post screams for a shot from "The Day After Tomorrow".

Mordicai

I guess it is lucky that the staff are adults, not children, & that they don't have to stick around when it gets cold because they have a union that got them somewhat decent concessions.

I've just got the real deal, at least for Manhattan: if the temp is under 67 for more than two hours, they get comp time. If you want to go home, you have to use up vacation time, or you can temporarily transfer to a close branch. It has to be much colder, or look like the heat is not coming back on for a while, before they close the branch.