It is a truth universally acknowledged that a stressed-out worker must be in want of a good book – or maybe a book club.
That’s how AFGE Local 2369 decided a virtual monthly gathering featuring a good book was needed. Members working at the Social Security Administration office in New Jersey were battling poor morale and needed something to bond over. After all, SSA ranked dead last in the most recent annual employee satisfaction survey due mainly to chronic staffing shortages, high turnover, and overwhelming workloads.
The person who runs the book club is Sarah Lamm, the local’s Women's and Fair Practices Coordinator who was elected to the position at the end of last year and had been trying to find a way to create camaraderie and solidarity among members.
“Working with our local's president, Angela Digeronimo, we came up with the concept of a book club for bargaining unit employees,” she explained. “The idea was that book club would be a way for employees to bond and develop rapport with each other outside of work -- about something completely unrelated to our jobs -- with the hope that it might bring some light back into our interpersonal work relationships and just a good time talking about these wonderful books. I am a big reader myself, so it was an easy pitch.”
Every month, the local puts options out for members to vote on and select a book to read for the month. Members have about three weeks to acquire the book and read it. The local encourages the use of local libraries, e-readers, audiobooks – or anything that works. They also try to keep it to a theme. All selections for May, for example, were Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island authors or stories, and so they read They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta.
For June, the selections gave reference to either the LGBTQIA+ or African American experience, in honor of Pride and Juneteenth. They will be discussing The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid at their next meeting on June 10. Prior titles include The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides and The Measure by Nikki Erlick.
“It’s been really wonderful so far. Attendance varies depending on the month, but we are having a growth spurt and there will be several new participants,” she said.
The local plans to expand the audience to include all employees under the local’s umbrella, including non-bargaining unit employees and management.
“In the spirit of trying to build bridges of connection, we decided to open the book club to all in an effort to develop better working relationships and break down the walls that divide to try to have a better place to work for all of us. We are trying to inspire ‘union’ in the truest sense of the word!” she added.
Running a group session like the book club is second nature to Sarah as she’s also a licensed clinical social worker. She’s an avid reader herself, having read more than 40 books so far this year. Her all-time favorite book is I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. Some of her favorite authors include R.F Kuang, Emily R. Austin, and Madeline Miller. Sarah has been a claims specialist for the Social Security office in Brick, New Jersey, and an AFGE member since 2019.
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