Click the links below to skip to a specific role, or to a specific nominee running for a contested position (nominees whose roles are not contested or who have withdrawn are not linked):
President
Carlynn Lampton
John Rayburn
Eric Eichelberger
Rosie Carter
Vice President
Adrienne Seely
Allen Pulliam
Executive Board at Large
Barbara Washington
Ana Santoyo
Jamie Maddox
Lolita Griffin
Emma Ramirez
Diana Rocha
PRESIDENT (one position)
Carlynn Lampton
Statement: Hello AFSCME. My name is Carlynn Lampton, and I am running for your local 1215 president. I started my journey as a page, later becoming a clerk and now as a librarian. In my tenure here, I have been through 4 administrators. I have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly here at CPL. My platform is based on personal safety and transparency for all staff members.
I was here during better days when we had over 2000 employees working only 6 days a week, except for the regionals and HWLC. During this time, we were movers and shakers, and we were one of best entities that the city of Chicago had to offer, but overtime that has changed. The major shift being our personal safety and job security.
As frontline workers we are expected to be everything to everybody. From security guards, to babysitters, to custodians, Narcan dispensers, to whatever “duties as assigned”.
We are asked to go way beyond our job descriptions and pay grades. With a little over 1000 employees working 7 days a week, we are asked to do the jobs of 2 people.
Some of our members are afraid to go to work because there is not a plan in place for the times when the branches are short on guards, or if the guard who is working for the day, only works part-time or doesn’t show up at all. These members are left on their own and the safety and the security of the entire building is in their hands. This is unacceptable.
One recent issue in CPL is the lack of transparency from administration, where the immediate response committee typically reports an incident 21 days later, instead of immediately.
Another issue is the removal of the plexiglass, as it was said to hamper our customer service to our patrons. Bringing the plexiglass back will keep our staff members safe and make it difficult for any patrons to attack or harm staff members.
We need to bring back armed security guards; it was a great deterrent from aggressors.
We need to bring back CPD check-in to each branch to make sure everything is safe.
We need to start real-time accountability and true transparency when ANY incident occurs whether ADMIN thinks it’s important or not!
Our safety should be a number one priority, and I will fight for it, if I am elected.
In solidarity.
John Rayburn
Eric Eichelberger
Statement: Hello, brothers and sisters of Local 1215. My name is Eric Eichelberger. I have been a member of this local for 26 years. I’ve been active in either the MAT team, the Executive Board, Steward, Lead Steward, Executive Chief Steward, or Vice President.
Given my experience, I’m now applying for the presidency. I have seen this local in its great days, and I’m looking forward to helping bring it back, so I’m asking for you to vote for someone with strong leadership skills. I will fight for you in every way possible, and the proof is in the pudding. If you know me, you know I’ve always fought for this local and for my brothers and sisters, and I’ll continue to do so.
And if you don’t know me, here’s the chance to meet your number ONE supporter. Thank you!
Rosie Carter
VICE-PRESIDENT (one position)
Adrienne Seely
Statement: I became active in Local 1215 during the COVID crisis, a few years after starting at CPL as a Slavic languages Cataloger. The difficulties CPL staff faced during COVID forged me into a union activist, and I started working on the Local 1215 Executive Board in 2021 as Recording Secretary with the goal of helping the Local improve its transparency and its communication with members. As Chair of the Newsletter and Website Committee, collaborating with inspiring and dedicated committee members, we refreshed the newsletter and created the Local’s first-ever website, giving members new tools for staying informed on union business and engaged in its actions. Through my work as Recording Secretary bringing you the minutes every month, and through 4 years of being a steward, I’ve also learned a lot about our membership, our contract, and the challenges we all face at work. I’ve represented staff from all across the system, from almost every job title at CPL, in pre-discipline meetings and grievance hearings.
If elected VP, I will use and share the knowledge and experience I’ve gained towards one main purpose: increasing direct democracy and bottom-up power sharing within our Local. Too often, our members are fired up to make a difference for their coworkers and have an inspired idea on how to do it, but then struggle to find a way to implement their ideas in our Local. Maybe they didn’t make a motion during a meeting correctly, or maybe they’ll hear the too-frequently reiterated response, “Our Local has never done that before,” and the discussion will be closed. We face too many problems at work—from facilities issues to security inadequacies to contract violations—to let opportunities for new avenues of action and organization to be discouraged or foreclosed in our Local simply because they haven’t been tried before. We cannot afford to let our members’ knowledge, skills, and inspiration go to waste. As VP, I will work actively to find new ways to make it easier for all members to participate in the Local. And I’ll continue to be a voice within the Local’s leadership advocating that we implement concrete methods and strategies to enable access and to create a more empowered and active membership.
As a member of the current Executive Board I have attended joint Labor-Management meetings for 3 years. It’s wonderful when we can work collaboratively with CPL management, but it’s not always possible. I am well-prepared to both collaborate with and stand up to management when necessary. Our union’s District Council 31 is a large organization with many herds to tend, thus our Local has to be proactive and assertive in making sure that Council 31 fully grasps the actual extent of library workers’ challenges. As VP, I will actively work with Council to make sure our rights and interests are protected. I’ll also work to ensure that Council supports us in addressing our concerns in the ways that we choose, and with methods that use and strengthen, rather than bypass, the power of everyday workers.
We are in an extremely difficult political moment nationally and locally, as we prepare for contract negotiations in 2027. The infrastructure of support that unions have relied on through the labor-friendly Biden administration are at severe risk. It’s on us to protect one another through our solidarity—through our commitment to ourselves as workers, to our union siblings, and to working people everywhere. As VP, I will work to expand our connections with other unions as well as community groups in Chicago, from fellow culture and information workers at the Field Museum, the Shedd, and elsewhere, to the City trades coalition, to the community and patron groups that count on us to provide crucial services. Our solidarity is our strength, and our unity is founded on our shared struggle as workers. If you want to know more about how I will fight for you if elected as VP, please call me at (312) 745-6408, or email me at adrienne.seely@gmail.com.
Allen Pulliam
Statement: Hi, my name is Allen Pulliam. I’m running for Vice President of Local 1215 to help make the union a stronger voice for all its members. One way that I do so now and as your next vice president will be to help improve the security of our work locations, especially now that I’m part of the immediate response working group, which already gives us as union members a voice to make our work sites more secure workplaces for all of us. Another way to help serve as your next vice president is to work on getting full-day custodians in our locations to keep them clean for staff and the public that we serve.
Some of the experience that I will bring to the role, I currently serve in my second term as trustee, where I and the other trustees have ensured that the locals’ finances were in good shape and made recommendations on how some things could improve. Another experience that I will bring, is that I’m currently a steward of the local and have been for the last four years to bring a voice to those that find themselves needing a steward, and to provide information and advice to members when they reach out to me or pass along information for if and / or when any union action needs to be taken. And I will bring eighteen years of knowledge working for the library to the role of vice president.
RECORDING SECRETARY (one position)
Alenka Figa (elected by acclamation)
TREASURER (one position)
Neil Anderson (elected by acclamation)
EXECUTIVE BOARD AT LARGE (three positions)
Barbara Washington
Statement: My name is Barbara A. Washington and I am the Head Clerk at the West Town Branch. I am honored to be considered for a position on the executive board of our Local 1215 union. I have been a dedicated advocate for workers’ rights and a strong supporter of improving our workplace conditions. Since joining the Chicago Public Library in 1998, I have been actively involved with our union and, for the past 10 years, I have served as a union steward. This role has allowed me to understand our members’ concerns deeply and work towards meaningful solutions.
With my experience and passion, I am ready to take on the responsibilities of an executive board member. If elected, I will work closely with each of you to ensure our voices are heard, our rights protected, and our shared goals achieved. Thank you for considering me for this role. I am excited about the opportunity to represent our union and make a positive difference for us all.
Ana Santoyo
Statement: My name is Ana Santoyo, I am a part-time Children’s Library Associate that is running for executive board of our local. I started at CPL as a Library Page and am currently working on my MLIS. I am also a union steward and have been a voting delegate for AFSCME national’s 2024 convention. Some of my story may sound familiar, as I know many library workers can relate. My journey in libraries started before I became a library worker. As a young child, I loved books and the library, however I didn’t see many people that looked like me working in the library. As a Mexican daughter of immigrants, I did not have that. I saw many, including my family, heavily exploited by their bosses for very difficult work. I care about working-class people – CPL workers and our patrons – more than I can express in this statement. I care about us and our patrons being able to live with dignity and respect while we are in our libraries and when we are not.
I see our union as our tool to build unity among our members and to combat the challenges our 81 branches face. The issues and inequalities we face in our workplaces ultimately impact our communities and our patrons. This is what our management needs to know! I am inspired to see teachers in our city fight for a librarian in every public school. It is sad and an equity issue that there are libraries in our library system that also don’t have a children’s librarian. In thinking about why that is, we have a huge task to organize for the staffing levels that each branch needs in order to best serve our communities. I see many challenges in our future if we do not have good leadership that voices the concerns of all CPL workers, part-time staff, bilingual staff, workers with disabilities, and any worker that feels unsafe or undervalued in their workplace. I hope to help reach our entire library system to get engaged in our union. You are AFSCME Local 1215 and, together, we can build and fight together for the libraries we and our patrons deserve.
Jamie Maddox
Statement: My name is Jamie Maddox and I’m excited to announce my candidacy for the position of Executive Board Member. I’m looking forward to working harmoniously with other elected officers & CPL management in an effort to continuously make CPL the best library.
Lolita Griffin
Emma Ramirez
Statement: I’m Emma Ramirez (she/her), and I’m currently a clerk at the Bezazian branch. Though I’ve been working at CPL for 2.5 years, I’m new to this union. I don’t come from a family, a state, or a culture that’s friendly to unions. I faced difficulties fighting for important changes in my workplace without a union. It was exciting to move here and become a member of Local 1215! When I represented our local at the AFSCME International Convention in August, I got a crash course in what unions can be and what they shouldn’t be. The most valuable lesson I learned there was that if we want to benefit the most marginalized workers, we need to seek out their voices and act on their concerns. I want to fight for and with my coworkers who can’t come to union meetings because they’re at their second jobs, or they’re taking care of their kids, or they literally don’t know how to get involved. Whether it’s a lack of information, a lack of resources, or a lack of democracy, our members don’t feel like their participation is meaningful. By collaborating with other individuals on the executive board, and with the everyday workers that make up our union, I vow to increase engagement from the bottom up.
I tried to invite a page to get involved in union business, and they said they couldn’t; they weren’t in the union, because they couldn’t spare the $25 a paycheck for dues and still meet their needs. They can’t vote for me, but I still want to fight for them!
Mary Gen Davies (withdrew acceptance of nomination in writing after October 25 meeting, will not be on ballot)
Diana Rocha
Statement: I’m Diana Rocha (they/them), and I’m a Librarian I in Adult Services at the Little Village Branch, and an active member of Rainbow Committee. I’m interested in working together with other e-board members to create new, more accessible opportunities to engage and activate members including (but not limited to) zines, discussion sessions, and finding more passive ways to participate. I bring to the position my skill set from 6+ years as an everyday worker in libraries, and previous organizing experience over the past 8 years – in union and non-union workplaces, including another AFSCME local and SEIU, in political organizations + campaigns, and in mutual aid projects. I also bring the experience of a first-generation, bilingual, queer librarian – the experience of acting as a bridge between cultures, languages, and information in various capacities.
I’m running for e-board because I am passionate about organizing, building worker power, and imagining what our union could be if more members were active participants. I believe a strong union is the best way for us, as everyday workers, to have leverage in getting our needs met – our needs for safety, adequate facilities, work/life balance, and dignity for workers. I believe a strong union can be part of a movement for a more just and equitable society beyond our library walls, or bargaining for the common good, benefitting both our patrons and union members. I believe a union is what members make of it, and a strong union is built on an engaged membership.
TRUSTEES (three positions)
Darryl Bell (elected by acclamation)
Rory Brown (elected by acclamation)
Areanna Egleston (elected by acclamation)