Workers at two museums could still strike after two others reach agreements

Workers at the Whitney Museum of American Art could walk out on strike as soon as Oct. 5 if they are unable to secure a contract agreement with management following a near-unanimous strike vote by workers at the museum. Staff at the South Street Seaport Museum have also voted to authorize a strike and could walk out soon.

But workers at two other institutions, the Brooklyn Museum and the American Folk Art Museum, have likely averted their strikes after workers at both reached tentative agreements with management on Monday.

The workers at all four institutions are represented by Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers. Key issues for workers at all four were increasing wages and improving healthcare benefits said Maida Rosenstein, the organizing director of Local 2110.

"In general wages are low in museums, particularly in the entry level but also throughout," Rosenstein said. "Most of these workers are already paying out of pocket for healthcare and there are a lot of other issues, basic workplace rights, that people are fighting for."

Rosenstein declined to provide details of the tentative agreements reached by workers at the Brooklyn Museum and American Folk Art Museum but said that staff at both will vote on ratification this week. If the agreements are voted down, workers at both museums could still walk out on strike.

Representatives for the Brooklyn Museum and American Folk Art Museums did not respond to requests for comment.

'Untenable for making ends meet'

Like staff at the other three institutions, workers at the Whitney are pushing for higher wages.

”It’s not that we want to strike,” said Derrick Charles, a membership associate and chair of the unit at the Whitney. “We’d rather be working and doing our jobs but our wages are untenable for making ends meet in New York City."

The average wage is around $67,000 a year and entry level workers like Chalmers make $24 an hour, Rosenstein added.

"The Whitney should get in line and reach an agreement with us," Rosenstein said.

A spokesperson for the Whitney did not respond to a request for comment.

Union officials announced the successful strike authorization votes at the Brooklyn Museum, Whitney and the American Folk Art Museum on Sept. 15, saying that staff voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of striking.  

Staff at the South Street Seaport Museum announced they had unanimously authorized a strike a week later. The strike authorization vote at the Brooklyn Museum was also unanimous, the union posted on its Instagram account, and 99 percent of those who cast ballots at the Whitney Museum voted to authorize a strike.  

“The Seaport Museum has throughout and will continue to negotiate in good faith to reach a fair collective bargaining agreement that works for the needs of all parties and for the future of the Museum,” a spokesperson for the South Street Seaport Museum said in a statement. “We are optimistic that the parties can achieve a resolution that will permit the Seaport Museum team to do what it does best - celebrate the history of New York—the city and its people.”