Posts tagged Philadelphia Museum of Art
Art Museum workers continue strike into second week
October 6, 2022 // In the week since the strike began, there have been no negotiations between workers and management. After two years of negotiating, the union called a strike on September 26 when management came to the table with an offer to raise wages an average of 8.5% in the first 10 months of the contract, and 11% by July 2024, among other benefits such as four weeks of paid parental leave and accelerated eligibility for new employees to access medical coverage.
Striketober Is Back As Workers Fight To Close The Wage Gap
October 4, 2022 // Strike Activity Heats As Workers Grapple With Covid Inequities Workers have long been frustrated by a wide range of issues–from low wages to poor working conditions, but Covid brought these problems into sharp relief. Workers who interact with customers in person, from medical staff to restaurant workers, realized that while companies considered them essential, they also considered them expendable. As the immediate horrors of Covid fade into the rearview, the way workers were treated has left a permanent scar. The combination of a lack of basic benefits (like healthcare), poor working conditions, unfair labor practices and the extreme wealth disparity between business owners and workers has triggered action—which is now showing up in worker walkouts, says Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Philly art museum workers resume strike in effort to secure better wages, benefits in first union contract
September 26, 2022 // "After two years of negotiations, our membership cannot accept further stalling and union-busting," said Adam Rizzo, a museum educator and president of Local 397. "We had hoped the museum's appointment of a new director and CEO, Sasha Suda, would signal a change in tone and that she would be more involved in helping us reach a fair agreement. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened. If the choice is between accepting the status quo or going on strike, we choose to strike. It's up to museum management to present a better option."
Philadelphia Museum of Art workers union authorizes strike
September 2, 2022 // By the time the NLRB makes a decision, the museum may be under new leadership. Sasha Suda will begin her role as the museum’s new director and CEO in September. She is a former unionized gallery worker and most recently was leader of the National Gallery of Canada, in Ottawa, which is a unionized museum. union president Adam Rizzo
Bernie Sanders to hold pro-union rally in Philadelphia
August 15, 2022 // While many on Twitter were excited about the rally, there were others who pointed out that Sanders is a millionaire himself. John Dougherty, a powerful Philadelphia political boss who ran the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 for three decades, was forced to step down after he was convicted on federal corruption charges last November. Prosecutors say he bribed former Councilman Bobby Henon, who was a union electrician before he took office, to vote in line with Dougherty's agenda. In exchange, the councilman got a $70,000 annual salary and other perks like Eagles tickets.
State of the unions: why US museum workers are mobilising against their employers
February 4, 2022 // TA report by the American Alliance of Museums, published in April 2021, found that museums closed to the public for an average of 28 weeks during 2020. More than 75% of those surveyed stated that their income fell by an average of 40% that year, while 56% went through rounds of layoffs and furloughs. Rehiring, in most cases, is off the table. Those who kept their positions have had to pick up the slack.
‘We are in crisis mode’: Museum workers are turning to unions over conditions they say are untenable
November 4, 2021 // The coronavirus compounded the stressors of past years. According to a report by the American Alliance of Museums in April, museums in the United States locked their doors to the public for an average of 28 weeks starting in March 2020 because of the pandemic; nearly 30 percent remain shuttered today. Lost revenue from the forced closures hit the bottom line hard: Three-quarters of all museums surveyed said their income fell an average of 40 percent last year.