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Dissertation Information for James Kusack

NAME:
- James Kusack

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Indiana University (USA) (1984)

ADVISORS:
- David Kaser

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Marcy Murphy
- David Clark
- Herbert S. White

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: SUPPORT STAFF UNIONS IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES: A DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS (COLLECTIVE BARGAINING)

Abstract: This study examines support staff unions in university libraries and compares libraries with unions to libraries without unions. It has three objectives: (1) to compare compensation and selected employment policies and practices, (2) to compare personnel and budget characteristics, and (3) to analyze relationships between environmental variables (corporate character or control of institution, level of unionization in the state, and geographic region) and the dependent variables (compensation, work policies, and personnel and budget patterns).

A postcard survey of 182 university libraries found that support staff employees in 42 libraries (23.9%) of those responding were working under union contracts. Approximately the same percentage of privately- and publicly-supported universities reported support staff unions. Over 90 percent of the libraries with unionized support staffs were located in the Northeastern and Pacific regions.

A sample of fifty university libraries, stratified by presence of a union and by the type of support (public or private) available to the institution, was selected for further study. The sample was also constructed to assure maximum geographic diversity.

The null hypothesis that there was no significant difference (P < .05) between libraries with and without support staff unions was supported in nearly all instances.

There was a slight tendency (although not statistically significant) for libraries with contracts to pay somewhat higher starting wages, to grant additional compensation to those employees required to work on holidays, to require fewer hours per week, and to grant more paid holidays, vacation days, and sickleave. Only three libraries (each lacking a union contract) did not have grievance procedures for support staff employees. There was a slight tendency, however, for libraries without union contracts to for libraries without union contracts to contribute a greater percentage of the compensation package in the form of fringe benefits.

Number of librarians, number of support staff employees, and budgets for materials, personnel, and support staff were not significantly related to unionization, although a few more of the larger university libraries reported no contract in place.

Similar weak relationships were detected when the information from the questionnaire was re-grouped into a smaller number of larger cells. Factor analysis and analysis of variance also revealed no significant relationships between environmental variables and the dependent variables.

MPACT Scores for James Kusack

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:07:31

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