LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Employees at some of the branches of the Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) are pleading with the city to provide better work conditions, saying they've been the victims of sexual harassment, fights and threats. 

Katherine Skaggs, a longtime employee of the LFPL and president of AFSCME Local 3425, union that represents employees, said there are ongoing safety issues and concerns at several branches.

"We had a teenager that was beat up by a bunch of others in the library in the same week that my co-worker was blinded and hit with a stick," Skaggs said.

In a statement posted on social media Wednesday, the AFSCME Local 3425 said workers have been victims of "threats, mistreatment by supervisors, vehicle vandalism, stalking, physical assault, sexual assault, and tense situations involving fights and brandishing weapons."

"These incidents traumatize library workers, lower staff morale, and lead good workers to leave the library," the union said.

City officials said libraries are safe and that they’ve taken steps to address the issues outlined by the union. But Thursday, employees took their concerns to Metro Council, and, earlier this week, Skaggs met with Deputy Mayor Nicole George, who's in charge of public health and services.

"We spent an hour together, and I heard an array of concerns," George said, adding that the city has already taken steps to address some of the safety concerns, including "implementing a tracking system so that we can better understand the incidents as they occur across the system and then respond" as well as adding guards and cameras and taken steps to engage the youth.

"The mayor has responded by adding money to the budget specifically for youth programming at Shawnee and Newburg," George said. "We hope that's a model for more to come."

In its statement on social media, the union offered four ways to make Louisville's libraries safer:

  • Protect Workers and the Public from Dangerous Situations
    • Increased levels of security guards with proper de-escalation training for them all, insurance protection for staff personal property, review of library youth policy, and emergency transfers and leave for staff who are harassed, stalked, attacked, or otherwise affected by serious Incidents.
  • Adequately Staff Our Libraries
    • Increase staffing levels at all Library locations by hiring additional full-time and part-time union workers, increase pay for union workers to improve retention, hire social workers to provide non-police alternatives to resolving difficult situations.
  • Prevent Serious Incidents
    • Implement restorative justice practices for youth in libraries, assess longer bans for serious adult incidents involving hate directed at a protected minority group (i.e. racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia) and/or sexual harassment, add a transparent tracking system for all workers to know who is banned.
  • Independent Accountability
    • Ensure the independence and transparency of Metro ethics investigations, protect workers who report misconduct, and work with community groups to provide more alternatives to calling LMPD, who in some cases have escalated less serious incidents, in other cases failed to arrive in dangerous situations, and whose presence makes some community members and workers feel less safe.

Skaggs said some of the issues are internal, including a supervisor involved in "terrible abuse" toward an employee. But she said she appreciates the new administration giving her a seat at the table.

"At least she did speak with us, and I think that's a tremendous opportunity," Skaggs said. "And I look forward to being able to work with her on it."

As of Friday afternoon, more than 700 people had signed a petition on change.org calling for "help in getting the very basic things our members need."

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