Union calls for accountability as TRL appoints interim leadership

Union calls for new interim leadership at Timberland Regional Library to “take swift, decisive action to address the longstanding structural and cultural failings that led to the proposed massive reduction in frontline staffing”

The following is from AFSCME Local 3758B:

OLYMPIA, WA (June 16, 2026) — At the Board of Trustees meeting in Amanda Park last month, our local president delivered a public comment in response to the appointment of Andrea Heisel as Interim Executive Director.

“Local 3758 continues to call for accountability in response to the Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees’ appointment of Andrea Heisel as Interim Executive Director. Appointing Andrea, as opposed to an external candidate who does not carry the same history of complicity in the ongoing budget crisis and mistreatment of library workers, represents a choice that is dismissive of the concerns of library workers and the demands of the public.

That being said, we are here now and would like to work together and see demonstrable, active work from Andrea’s admin as well as the Board of Trustees towards repairing the harm to workers and our community members caused by a hostile workplace environment and ongoing budget crisis. The union calls for Andrea Heisel to take swift, decisive action to address the longstanding structural and cultural failings that led to the proposed massive reduction in frontline staffing, threatening the livelihoods of library workers, and the critical work they do to provide services to communities across Lewis, Grays Harbor, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston Counties.

AFSCME Local 3758 members tabling at the No Kings protest in Olympia in March. Photo: AFSCME Local 3758

We believe this work should involve:

• Beginning the restorative justice process by publicly taking accountability, acknowledging the harm perpetrated by this administration’s actions, and apologizing to both staff and the public.

• Regularly seeking staff feedback to meaningfully change the working environment as well as creating a safe space within those discussions for opinions that challenge the status quo.

• Adding a non-voting union member on the Board of Trustees so that our voice can be heard.

• Presenting a transparent, accurate budget forecast to the public.

• And immediately laying out a public timeline to pursue a levy lid lift.

Local 3758 library workers remain committed to advocating for safe working conditions, fair labor practices, a meaningful voice in decision-making, and a strong, financially transparent, well-funded public library system for all.

Local 3758 would like to thank the public for their ongoing support. We strongly believe in the importance of listening to the public, particularly the library’s loudest supporters, as they will be crucial in convincing voters to pass a levy lid lift.”

Watch the Board of Trustees meeting on AV Capture ALL.

Editor’s note: donations to support library workers who lost their jobs are being collected in this GoFundMe.