The head of the union representing library assistants, clerical and mechanical personnel at the Boston Public Library is raising questions after she was placed on administrative leave earlier this week.
Elissa Cadillic, who has been president of AFSCME Local 1526 since 2005, was placed on leave on Monday following a dispute over paperwork related to the Family and Medical Leave Act. She said it’s well-known that she has a permanent disability.
In a statement, she said she submitted FMLA paperwork in April and earlier this month which she says was “ignored.”
“And so, I am asking if it’s retaliation for my protected union activities? Is it an attack on an individual who falls under protected class status?” she said.
The BPL directed a request for comment to the city’s press office.
“The City does not comment on individual personnel matters,” a city spokesperson said in a statement. “Broadly, the City respects employees’ rights under the FMLA and to engage in protected union activity, and does not pursue termination on those grounds.”
The move to place Cadillic on leave raised questions from another union leader at a BPL Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday.
One of the speakers, Bryce Kieren Healy, is the chief steward of the Boston Public Library Professional Staff Association. He described the situation as “union busting” and said Cadillic has been accused of fraud, a charge he doesn’t believe is true.
“Elissa Cadillic is being persecuted because she has been an unyielding champion of workers rights, not just at the library, but in the city of Boston itself,” he said
Cadillic contends that all of this can be cleared up by the city and library looking at the paperwork she submitted.
“And, you know, hopefully determine that this was just a mistake and we can all move forward and get back to work,” she said. “I can continue doing work for the public, which I’ve done my entire life.”
