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Workers on the Hispanic Society Museum and Library in New York Metropolis have been on strike since 27 March, with union members, representatives of their United Auto Employees (UAW) native and native lawmakers becoming a member of the picket line on the establishment’s Washington Heights campus.
The strike comes as members of the museum’s union, which shaped as a part of UAW Native 2110 in 2021, search to succeed in an settlement with museum directors on their very first contract. The timing is very important because the Hispanic Society’s museum—residence to a world-class assortment of artwork from Spain, Portugal and their former colonies within the Americas—was attributable to reopen on 6 April after a six-year closure for intensive renovations.
That reopening has now been delayed till an unspecified date this spring, because of the strike and different delays, a Hispanic Society spokesperson says. “Apart from the present state of affairs, there have additionally been some development delays, most critically of which is a delay of the [Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant] ramp that can provide guests accessible entry to the principle constructing,” the spokesperson says.
The strike was authorised in a 21 March vote with a 78% majority. Employees on the establishment first got here collectively in 2021 after after the administration did away with pensions. Prior to now two years, the union has filed 4 unfair labor apply complaints in opposition to the museum with the Nationwide Labor Overview Board (NLRB). However, John O’Neill, a curator on the Hispanic Society and member of the bargaining committee, says that the strike has “been going pretty nicely” and that staff’ spirits have been excessive.
In February, workers issued an open letter to the establishment’s board of trustees, which is headed by Philippe de Montebello, the previous director of the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork. The letter outlined points together with understaffing that, staff declare, makes it troublesome to correctly preserve and safeguard the gathering, issues relating to current administrative appointments, troublesome working situations and an unclear roadmap to reopening the museum constructing. (Through the renovations, the Hispanic Society library has remained open and held short-term exhibitions.)
The museum’s workers are additionally demanding higher healthcare protection, together with asking the museum to cowl the price of insurance coverage premiums, which it did up to now.
An worker of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library on the picket line Courtesy UAW Native 2110
“We’ve been attempting to barter a contract for over a 12 months, and negotiations actually broke down over well being advantages,” says Maida Rosenstein, director of organising for UAW Native 2110. “The Hispanic Society has been pushing in opposition to the union from the very starting. They employed [the law firm Epstein Becker & Green] and so they ran an anti-union marketing campaign, nevertheless it didn’t work. Folks voted to kind a union.”
The latest provide from the museum would require workers to pay for their very own healthcare premiums and deductibles. Wages would go up however, based on Rosenstein, not sufficient to cowl the rise in healthcare prices.
“The salaries aren’t excessive, and also you’re speaking long-term professionals, curators, conservators, librarians, and so forth. and so they make little or no cash, what sustained them was the advantages,” Rosenstein says.
“One of many final factors we should come to an settlement on is medical health insurance,” a Hispanic Society spokesperson says in a press release. “The Hispanic Society introduced a proposal whereby workers could be requested to cowl between 2.5% and 12.5% of the premium, based mostly on earnings. The union insists that the Society pay 100% of the prices of healthcare premiums and deductibles. This union has contracts with different museums within the metropolis the place workers contribute in the direction of the price of medical protection.”
Members of the union’s bargaining committee and administration met earlier this week for a nine-hour negotiating session, however as of this writing no decision has been reached. “The traces aren’t clearly outlined the place we stand,” O’Neill says.
The contract presently on provide from the administration, based on the Hispanic Society spokesperson, features a signing bonus of $4,000 for brand spanking new hires, retroactive wage will increase of 5%, assured future wage will increase, “aggressive well being and retirement advantages together with assured contributions by the Society, in addition to beneficiant trip time—as much as 5 weeks based mostly on seniority. Moreover, the proposal features a assured minimal wage for all union positions, starting from a minimal wage of $52,000 to a minimal wage of $95,000 relying on the position.
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