Library workers rally in Wake County over staff cuts, service impacts

Workers for Wake County Public Libraries gathered at the Wake County Commons Building on May 11 to push back against recent staff-hour reductions they say have already led to cut service and tougher working conditions across the system.

The rally came days before the Wake County Board of Commissioners’ budget public hearing on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 7 p.m. at 4011 Carya Dr. in Raleigh. The hearing sat inside a larger budget cycle in which County Manager David Ellis proposed a $2.1 billion fiscal 2026 budget, later adopted by commissioners for the year running from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

Library Workers United, the union behind the rally, says it has two chapters, one in Durham County and one in Wake County. Organized through UE Local 150, the group describes itself as a rank-and-file union built to organize public library workers across North Carolina and push for proper funding, staffing, pay, benefits and direct worker input in budget decisions.

The staffing fight matters in a county where the library system is large and widely used. Wake County Public Libraries has more than 20 locations, and county open-data records list 23 public library branches. That network serves fast-growing neighborhoods from Raleigh to the county’s outer suburbs, where families, students, job seekers and seniors often depend on library hours for computers, homework help, quiet study and basic public access.

The rally also underscored a larger contradiction in county planning. Wake County voters approved a $142 million library bond in November 2024 to pay for new libraries, renovations, relocations and expansions, including two new libraries and work at eight existing branches. Workers argued that the county is preparing to expand and modernize its library footprint while trimming the staff that keeps daily service running.

That tension has made the budget process a flashpoint. County budget hearings in recent years have drawn residents who pressed for stronger public investment, especially in schools and other core services. This year, library workers joined that broader push, warning that when hours are cut, the people who lose easiest access are the ones who already rely most on public space: students after school, people looking for jobs, seniors, and families who need a place to read, work and connect.