Connect With Local 1857
All Communications are only available to Members in Good Standing. Members in Good Standing are Union members who have filled out the dues card and are paying monthly dues to our Union.
Missive Mailing List
The best way to receive official Union information from the Eboard is to sign up for our mailing list. The Missives include things like meeting links, election information, contract updates, and other important communications. To sign up, you must be a dues paying member.
Email c2everett@council2.com to add or update your email for the mailing list. Include your full name, personal email address, and say you’re with Local 1857, so they can find you in the database! Do not use your KCLS work account.
The Missives are written by our President and sent from c2everett@council2.com, so make sure to add that email address to your contacts/safe list so the emails don’t end up in your spam folder.
Listening Sessions
The Listening Sessions are monthly meetings that are run by the VP and President. The meetings are generally on a Monday at 7:15pm via Zoom and the link is shared in the Missives. These meetings don’t have any minutes and are a safe place for members to share their issues and bring forward problems that they or their coworkers are experiencing. The President and VP take notes and bring the concerns forward at the monthly JLMC sessions with HR.
Ballots
Election ballots and contract ratification ballots are sent to all members in good standing via U.S. Mail. To ensure we have your current mailing address please send any updated info via email to the Council 2 admins at c2everett@council2.com.
In the future, ballots for contract ratification will be sent via email. Election ballots will continue to be sent by U.S. Mail.
General Membership Meetings
These meetings are quarterly in February, May, August, and November. They are on Fridays at 7:15pm via Zoom and some of them may return to in-person or hybrid over the next couple years. The annual elections for Executive Board positions are held at the November meeting every year. The links are sent out in Missives prior to the meetings. All members in good standing may attend. The General Membership meetings give the Eboard time to update the membership on what has been happening since the last meeting, what is coming up in the future, and share the current financials for the Union.
Executive Board Meetings
Eboard meetings are mandatory for Union Officers and voluntary for members. Any member in good standing can email eboard@kclsvoice.org to request the Zoom link for that month’s meeting. The meetings are either on a Friday or Monday at 7:15pm and the calendar is published annually and posted on the Union boards in all KCLS break rooms. Eboard meetings are held every month that does not have a General Membership meeting. The meetings are in January, March, April, June, July, September, October, and December.
Are the posters in your break room out of date? Click here to access the most current versions of all documents that should be posted in the break room.
Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Executive Board and General Membership meetings can be accessed by setting up an appointment with an Eboard member. These documents are confidential to the membership and are not shared via email, except to the Eboard.
Watercooler Discussion Board
The Watercooler is an informal online discussion list for any member of Local 1857 who is in good standing. Sign up by sending an e-mail with your first and last name to 1857-watercooler+subscribe@googlegroups.com. Topics related to our local and union, libraries, and labor are welcome.
To send an e-mail to the list, use 1857-watercooler@googlegroups.com.
Topics should be of interest to a broad section of the list.
If you have an individual concern or issue, please contact our staff representative or your shop steward directly. The Watercooler is not the place to send questions about a specific grievance or disciplinary meeting. Union board members or people who represent the Union will not use the Watercooler to communicate official business. Any comments in the Watercooler by board members are their own personal views and NOT the views of the Union board as a whole. If members have questions they want addressed by the board, the best way to communicate is by direct email found at kclsvoice.org/contact-us.
Remember you are interacting with people.
Because you only see letters stringing across a screen, it is easy to forget or ignore that a person sits on the other side of the network. Always remember behind every e-mail address is another person. While we all need a safe space to vent and post personal views, it is not a space without etiquette. We each can have differing opinions, and still work together peacefully. Any threats of harm, name calling, outing of people and derogatory hate speech will NOT be tolerated
Make subject lines descriptive.
People should have a flavor of the message from glancing at the subject line. “Hello,” is not as good as, “Changes in Library 2 Go Schedule.”
Sign your messages.
We have close to 1000 members working in 50 locations, and it’s helpful to know who someone is and where they work.
Be prudent with speculation.
On the Internet, rumor can grow extravagant and spread like fire. Remarks beginning with, “I have a feeling that …” or, “I think that …” are usually suspect.
Be cautious with humor and sarcasm.
Typed language is naturally colder than spoken language, because it is stripped of voice inflections and body language. Quite easily, humor can be taken as insult, especially if subtle. Some users prefer to use symbols that hint at tone, such as the smiley face: 🙂 It is safest to frankly note satirical messages.
E-mail lists are as good, and only as good, as the subscribers make them.
Lists work best when intelligent people bring fresh knowledge and ideas to the table. New ideas can stimulate discussion. Trivial or inane comments often kill discussion. Write meaty, thoughtful things and everyone will benefit from the list.