Timberland Regional Library Reaches Agreement to Limit Immediate Layoffs

Timberland Regional Library (TRL) has reached an agreement with union leadership on an updated layoff plan that significantly reduces the number of involuntary layoffs while continuing efforts to address ongoing financial challenges. 

Under the agreement, most previously announced involuntary layoffs will be rescinded. The original layoff plan impacted 61 employees, including 17 voluntary layoffs. Of the remaining 44 involuntary layoffs, 36 have now been rescinded, resulting in a total of 25 affected staff. Involuntary layoffs will proceed only in limited cases, including employees in probationary or trial service status and those with certain levels of documented discipline. Voluntary layoffs will continue as planned. 

“I want to ensure that credit is given to the TRL staff who have been working behind the scenes to find an acceptable solution.  While this is a positive step, we still will see some staff laid off and will still have difficult decisions to make for the rest of this year. We hope that the support that the public has shown these few months will be channeled into a successful levy lid lift when the time comes,” said Thurston County Trustee Mary Beth Harrington. 

“This agreement is the product of collective, collaborative work,” added Board President-Elect Dustin Loup. “Our communities deserve a library system where the Board, leadership, and the union work on issues together, and this development is an example of that at work. TRL leadership brought forward a plan that significantly reduces the immediate impact on staff, the union engaged in good faith, and the public made clear how deeply they value their libraries. 

Representatives from the union also emphasized the collaborative nature of the agreement: 

“We appreciate the willingness of TRL leadership to engage with us and respond to the concerns raised by workers and the community. Working together, we were able to achieve a meaningful outcome that preserves library services and reflects shared values. While challenges remain, this agreement demonstrates that collaboration can lead to real solutions for workers and the communities we serve,” AFSCME Local 3758 Staff Representative Beth Gawne said. 

While the revised plan pauses most involuntary layoffs, TRL emphasizes that underlying financial challenges remain, and a successful levy lift will be necessary to ensure long term sustainability and avoid deeper service reductions, which could include reduced hours, fewer programs, or potential library closures.  

“Given additional time and space to more thoughtfully review our budget and the board’s interest in exploring a levy lid lift, we were able to determine that we could make the budget whole with the planned layoff revisions plus additional cost-savings measures including reductions in non-staff expenditures, ongoing monitoring of revenues and expenses, and adjustments to non-represented staff salaries. However, it will be imperative to pursue a levy lid lift in the near future,” stated Library Services Director Andrea Heisel. 

Going forward, TRL Administration, union leadership, and the Board of Trustees have committed to continued collaboration as they work toward long-term funding solutions and maintaining library services across the district’s five-county region. Responding to news of the agreement Board President Brian Mittge shared, “I'm heartened by this new direction for TRL, which dramatically reduces our previously announced layoffs by more than half. After listening closely to the public and taking their ideas into careful consideration, our staff put together a new framework designed to keep our branches open and staffed. It takes our budget from the red to the black through the end of the year. It’s not the entire solution, and we continue to look at ways to resolve long-term structural issues with our budget, but it’s a big step forward.”