Western Illinois University faces an immediate rehiring risk after an arbitrator ruled the institution improperly eliminated its librarians. The decision found the university’s rationale—that the library was not an academic program—was incorrect for the process used to remove the jobs, meaning the reductions were carried out without following the required steps. The ruling positions librarianship and library services as integral to academic programming in labor disputes, affecting not just affected staff but how other institutions classify academic units when restructuring. For administrators, it also reinforces that workforce reductions tied to governance and bargaining frameworks can quickly become procedural compliance issues. The decision may influence how universities document the academic status of library functions during future reorganizations, especially where faculty and staff protections are in play. For the academic workforce, the outcome signals courts and arbitrators remain attentive to how universities characterize program roles when eliminating positions.