Local 1215 - CPL Employees Union

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Local 1215 - CPL Employees Union

AFSCME Local 1215 represents over 1,000 Chicago Public Library workers across the city.

09/23/2026

Want to learn more about how the city and budget work? This panel is coming up at Harold Washington Library Center next Monday evening. Bring your questions ahead of the fall budget season.

09/16/2026

Join fellow Local 1215 members for these postcard writing events to encourage voters to participate in the midterms! Data shows this method got 200,00o voters to turn up. On Sunday, September 27 we’ll meet at the Lozano Branch at 3 p.m. On Sunday October 4, meet at the Manning Branch at 3 p.m. Friends, family members and supporters are also welcome.

08/11/2026

For your information: bids, offers, seniority, oh my! After years of slow hiring, we are glad to see some vacancies being posted and filled. Here’s what our contract says about the hiring process.

Visit the links in our bio to view this process as a blog post, and to get a printable graphic for your union boards.

08/06/2026

The library's one of those things that just works. The same service regardless of how much money you have and where you come from. But now your holds are taking forever...and it's been months.

You deserve a library that works, and so do library workers. In order to, ahem, deliver on our promises, we need Staff to move the books around and provide the free programs Chicagoans of all ages love. This is not the time to shush! Let your library love be loud! 🗣️💚📚

Demand better from your elected officials: Find a way to fund our library because we deserve better.

07/29/2026

It's Union Happy Hour! 🍻A chance for Local 1215 members to connect with other members over a drink. Bring a work friend or come solo! For Union Members only. 21+. For the first 30 members, the Local will pay the first $20 of your tab. Non-alcoholic mocktails + drinks available as well as THC/CBD options.

Weather permitting, we'll be on the patio! ⛅

Look for the union volunteer in a green AFSCME shirt.

Wednesday, July 29 @ 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Electric Funeral Bar (Bridgeport)
3529 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60609

Not sure if you're in the union? 💌 Email [email protected]

06/22/2026

In addition to the budget roundtables, the Mayor's office is running an online budget survey. CPL doesn’t have a dedicated question, but Question 21 is a user choice section where you can advocate for proper funding and staffing for CPL. The survey doesn't state an end date, but it will likely close at the end of the month. Visit bit.ly/chibudget2027 to fill it out ASAP, and check out the blog post linked in our bio for more guidance on what to write.

06/12/2026

Union pride carabiners for Pride month! Iykyk 💅🌈💚

If you’re reading this post, you’re likely well on your way to getting your exclusive 1215 carabiner! You can earn one by filling out all the slots on this bingo card, which includes simple tasks like paying your dues, attending a monthly meeting (virtually or in person), and yes, following the Local on social media. You can send your questions or let us know you’ve completed the challenge at [email protected].

By getting more involved in our union and standing in solidarity with our union siblings and fellow workers, you can help make Chicago better for all workers, all year round. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎🩷🩵🤍

06/10/2026

Right now the Gage Park library is one of the smallest in the city, the building conditions are poor, and it is the last Chicago Public Library located in a storefront. Join neighbors across Chicago as we demand a better library for Gage Park.

Please join neighbors and library advocates in Gage Park this coming Saturday for food music and family events. Donations are encouraged and proceeds will go to support the building of a newer, bigger, better library for the Gage Park community.

06/03/2026

Library lovers and library staff: make your voice heard at the budget roundtables! This is your chance to let the mayor's office know that fully funding and staffing the library is a top priority for you. Tell them we need to hire the positions we won in the budget for 2026, and hire the positions that were promised when we opened up on Sundays. Chicagoans deserve a thriving library system, and this is one way to demand that. Click the link in our bio to see full roundtable info, or check the comments below. See you there.

05/30/2026

What’s the holdup with the holds right now? First let’s talk about how your holds get to you.

1. Library staff finds the book on the shelf. If you want to pick it up at a different library, no problem!

2. Staff scan outgoing holds and send them to Harold Washington Library for sorting into bins for their destination branches.

3. Truck drivers deliver big and small bins to all the library branches. Sometimes, lots of bins (hundreds of items!) go to a single branch. It’s heavy work!

4. Finally, staff check in books. If your hold is scanned, they’ll put a slip of paper with your name and put it on the hold shelf for you to pick up. We will also send you an automatic email or call.

If you regularly put books on holds, you may notice an increase in wait times. This is due to our truck driver shortage.

Without enough drivers, your holds are sitting at branches or in bins for longer. Less drivers, less staff, more work, more headache. Library staff wants to know: what’s the holdup?

Address

Chicago, IL

Telephone

+13126416060

Website

https://www.afscmelocal1215.org/

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