‘We are inconveniencing the majority of the public, the taxpayers that utilize our services,’ says employee
Bradford Today
Letter to the Editor
September 13, 2023
BradfordToday welcomes letters to the editor at dave@villagemedia.ca or via our website. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following is a letter to the editor and an open letter to Bradford West Gwillimbury council.
My name is Heidi and I think most of you know who I am and where I work.
I don’t mean to brag, but I can say I am proudly serving in my 36th year in this town. I want to emphasize I work for the public library.
I have seen a lot of changes in the library community over the years. In all these years of service, I feel all employees of the town deserve respect and need to be treated fairly. This is not the case at present, as I find myself on a picket line, Week 9. The library staff are no different than anyone else that works for this town.
On the library website, it states that we are a “community gathering place.” Well, we can’t be this if we are closed. We are inconveniencing the majority of the public, the taxpayers that utilize our services.
Think of the following individuals affected: the Out of the Cold Café clients, where I volunteer, who can’t use us as an established cooling/warming centre when needed. Think of the patrons who can’t afford the internet and use our public computers that are always in demand, on a daily basis. Think of the preschoolers, middle graders, students, tutors, seniors, community groups renting out our meeting rooms, study room users, even the leisure centre daycare group that visits us. Anyone who wants to use this free facility is being turned down. Resentment towards this is increasing within the community that is supporting us 100 per cent.
Lastly, what is $1.35 per hour? Not much to ask for for the hard-working, dedicated staff, who love their jobs, and want to get back to serving this great community, including me.
Heidi Northover
Bradford