[Unionized workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art began a
one-day "unfair practices" strike Friday morning amid ongoing
negotiations with museum leadership on their first collective
bargaining agreement. ]
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PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART WORKERS HOLD 1-DAY STRIKE FOR BETTER
WAGES, BENEFITS  
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Maggie Mancini
September 16, 2022
Philly Voice
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_ Unionized workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art began a one-day
"unfair practices" strike Friday morning amid ongoing negotiations
with museum leadership on their first collective bargaining agreement.
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Unionized workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art began a one-day
"unfair practices" strike Friday morning amid ongoing negotiations
with museum leadership on their first collective bargaining
agreement. 

The decision comes less than three weeks after AFSCME Local 397
members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike
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filed eight unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor
Relations Board, claiming that museum management engaged in
union-busting practices during contract negotiations. 

Union members say museum executives have yet to remedy the alleged
unfair labor practices or come to the bargaining table with an offer
that addresses their demands. The union, which formed in August 2020
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has been in contract negotiations with the museum since October of
that year. 

"Museum management needs to stop union-busting and make serious offers
that improve workers' wages, health care and parental leave," said
[[link removed]] Cathy
Scott, president of AFSCME District Council 47. "Our membership would
not have authorized a strike if they were not united in these demands.
We cannot accept a status quo that subjects workers to violations of
federal law, wages well below the national average for art museum, and
benefits that do not allow workers to support their families." 

Local 397 represents workers in most museum departments, including a
visitor services, retail, education, installations, curatorial,
conservation, marketing and development. Pickets have been set up near
the museum's main entrance, the Perelman Annex and the Rodin Museum. 

The decision to strike came after a week of posts
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union's social media accounts, in which workers described why they
were "ready to strike." In the posts, workers noted that museum
management has been unwilling to respect the union and accused its
leadership of "peddling misinformation" about the union in internal
emails to its staff.

The one-day work stoppage is meant to serve as a warning to museum
leadership that Local 397 is willing to make good on its promise to
strike amid ongoing negotiations. The union is authorized to call for
further action — including more work stoppages — if its executive
board deems it necessary. 

"We take this very seriously," said Adam Rizzo, museum educator and
president of Local 397. "If museum management does not remedy the
unfair labor practice charges and come to the bargaining table ready
to make real progress, we are prepared to take further action. We have
made it very clear what PMA Board Chair Leslie Miller and COO Bill
Petersen can do to avoid the disruption of museum operations." 

Rizzo said much of the negotiations have focused on economic issues
like paid parental leave, health care benefits, job security and
salary increases. 

"The museum remains open to the public and is committed to serving our
community," a spokesperson from the Philadelphia Museum of Art told
PhillyVoice. "When eligible staff voted to unionize, we immediately
and unequivocally pledged to negotiate in good faith and we have done
so. The museum has devoted significant time and energy to the
negotiations, and we have made considerable progress, reaching
agreement on more than 25 substantive issues. We are disappointed that
the union has chosen to strike, but we remain focused on reaching a
fair and appropriate contract with the union." 

Workers are bargaining for guaranteed pay increases. Some say that
raises have been infrequent. Sarah Roche, who has worked as a label
technician at the museum since 1997, previously told Hyperallergic
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she has not had "a meaningful raise in in a long time, not since the
Bush administration." 

When the union authorized its strike in August, Rizzo said it was
unacceptable for the museum to offer "meager raises" after workers
went years without raises and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused
the museum to eliminate
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of its staff in early 2020.

The museum is slowly beginning to restaff its museum as travel has
resumed and residents have attempted to return to normalcy. Still, the
union alleged in its charges
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that management has sought to replace full-time employees with
temporary workers, thus reducing the size of the union's bargaining
unit. 

MAGGIE MANCINI 
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PhillyVoice Staff

[email protected]

* Adam Riizzo
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* President Local 397
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* Cathy Scott
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* President District Council 47
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* Philadelphia Museum of Art
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