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Interim Berkeley Public Library Director Henry Bankhead speaks at a March meeting of the Board of Library Trustees. A union that represents more than 100 library workers has called for Bankhead\u2019s firing. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
Members of the largest union chapter representing Berkeley Public Library<\/a> workers are calling for the firing of the system\u2019s leader, alleging he is \u201cunfit\u201d for the job and bears responsibility for a litany of problems that have tanked employee morale.<\/p>\n Interim library Director Henry Bankhead disputed allegations made in a petition calling for his ouster that was signed by 90 members of the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 chapter, which represents 113 librarians and staff. Other current and former workers told Berkeleyside they disagreed with the union\u2019s claims and its drive to fire Bankhead.\u00a0<\/p>\n The petition, which union members delivered at a Board of Library Trustees meeting last week, is a sign of renewed strife inside the system. <\/p>\n A decade ago Berkeley\u2019s libraries were undergoing a tumultuous era<\/a> in which two consecutive system directors<\/a> each departed after less than a year<\/a> in their roles, and the City Council took the then-unprecedented step of firing two library board members<\/a>. While the five-year term of Director Tess Mayer<\/a> appeared to bring stability, she left the system last year<\/a> and the union\u2019s drive comes as the governing board chooses a new permanent leader. Through the library\u2019s spokesperson, Bankhead declined to say whether he is seeking the job.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Berkeley Public Library\u2019s patrons and staff deserve trustworthy library administrators who will manage public funds transparently and responsibly, treat patrons and workers with respect and fairness, abide by professional standards and local ordinances for privacy and surveillance technology, and strictly follow rules for public and staff safety,\u201d the union members\u2019 petition read<\/a>. \u201cWith a supermajority vote of no confidence, [union] leadership and its members call on the Berkeley Public Library\u2019s Board of Library Trustees to remove Henry Bankhead from library leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Bankhead, who was a deputy director before assuming the interim director role after Mayer\u2019s departure, responded to the petition during the April 15 board meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cI appreciate the giving and receiving of feedback, and you are accomplishing that, and I salute you,\u201d he said to the assembled library workers, before rebutting several points from the petition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bankhead declined an interview request after the meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a statement provided by library spokesperson Aimee Reeder, he wrote, \u201cMy focus [for] the next few months is preparing Berkeley Public Library for a new director and I remain committed to working with staff on fostering a safe, resourced and respectful workplace to better serve the Berkeley community.\u201d<\/p>\n Union alleges leader\u2019s moves have driven down morale<\/p>\n The union\u2019s petition alleges Bankhead has cultivated a toxic environment, fostered unsafe working conditions and engaged in favoritism and retaliation, among other complaints. The one-page document does not detail specific instances of alleged wrongdoing, but union members in interviews described several incidents involving Bankhead that they said led to the petition.<\/p>\n For instance, librarian Julia Wiswell told Berkeleyside that when staff issued a suspension to a man who had threatened to call immigration authorities on them and other patrons during a heated interaction at the Central Library last year, Bankhead intervened to downgrade the discipline to a warning after talking with the man.<\/p>\n \u201cThat left staff feeling very unsafe, and it left patrons feeling very unsafe,\u201d Wiswell said.<\/p>\n In another statement provided by Reeder, Library Services Manager Bill Kolb wrote that the suspension was initially rescinded because staff were the ones who \u201cprecipitated the negative interaction\u201d when they asked the man to leave the library because he was riding a scooter inside. Administrators had previously given the man, who has a disability, approval to use the scooter as a mobility device, Kolb said. Asked whether Bankhead made the decision to downgrade the man\u2019s suspension, Kolb said it was \u201cmade collaboratively by library leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Management changed the discipline again after consulting with the city attorney\u2019s office, Kolb wrote, and suspended the man\u2019s library access for six months. Weeks later, an appeal panel that included Kolb downgraded the suspension to one month.<\/p>\n Union members also complained to the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health after the system started a months-long maintenance project last August that left the Central Library without air conditioning during what is typically the hottest stretch of summer. Librarian Jose Guerrero said the building\u2019s upper floors were stifling on hot days with the cooling system off-line, but that the library was short on staff and workers felt they could not take the \u201ccooling breaks\u201d managers recommended. The union alleged an employee suffered symptoms of heat stroke.<\/p>\n![\"About](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_2268-2560x1920.jpeg\")
Members of the SEIU chapter that represents more than 100 Berkeley Public Library workers read from a petition calling for the firing of Interim Director Henry Bankhead at an April 15 meeting of the Board of Library Trustees. Credit: Nico Savidge\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
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Berkeley\u2019s Board of Library Trustees is in the midst of a process to hire a new library director. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside