Unionized staff on the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) within the western metropolis of North Adams entered the second day of a strike right this moment, March 7. The 120 curators, custodians, guests providers associates, and different workers have been negotiating for larger wages since October. According to the union, 58% of its members make solely $16.25 an hour, $5.58 lower than the speed that constitutes a living wage in Berkshire County.
Employees picketed exterior the museum on Thursday from 9am to 2:30pm, chanting slogans equivalent to “We’re overworked and underpaid!” and bearing indicators studying “Great art; lousy pay” and “Fair contract now!” Some staff waved posters with “Honk for fair wages” in view of passing vehicles.
“The energy on the line is good, the morale is high,” Director of Artist Services Meg Labbee, who’s labored on the museum since 1999, informed Hyperallergic.
MASS MoCA staffers joined United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110 in April 2021. The union represents staff at a bunch of cultural establishments throughout the Northeast, including on the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and New York’s Museum of Modern Art. After greater than a 12 months of bargaining, MASS MoCA workers initiated a one-day strike in August 2022 in demand of a $20 minimal wage, amongst different stipulations. The union lastly ratified its first contract with the establishment’s management a couple of months later in December, securing raises for 90% of staff and efficiently elevating the minimal hourly wage from $15.50 to $16.25.
The union codified the suitable to renegotiate salaries lower than a 12 months later in October 2023, however 4 months on, an settlement stays elusive. Workers are in search of an $18.25 minimal wage retroactive to October and an across-the-board 4.5% wage improve for 2024. The museum’s final supply, offered February 20, contains the institution of a $17.25 minimal wage and a 3.5% museum-wide pay hike.
In response to Hyperallergic’s request for remark, museum spokesperson Jen Falk stated the museum “continues to bargain in good faith” and is “hopeful to be able to return to negotiations in the near future.”
MASS MoCA Director famous that the museum’s minimal wage is larger than that of Massachusetts ($15 an hour), there have been no interruptions to workers’ healthcare or retirement advantages, and that the establishment has carried out raises and funded worker help applications together with pupil mortgage help and childcare offsets.
The union estimates that it will value the museum $150,000 this 12 months to satisfy the union’s demand of a $18.25 minimal wage, from the establishment’s present supply of $17.25.
“We are able to be out for the lengthy haul,” stated Labbee. “It’s really difficult to be on the line, but there is an overwhelming sense of solidarity.” She added that staff are often siloed inside their respective departments, however the strike has allowed her to satisfy individuals throughout the establishment.
“It’s been an unexpected silver lining,” Labee stated.
