Strike Authorization

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART WORKERS VOTE TO AUTHORIZE STRIKE

For immediate release: August 30, 2022

(Philadelphia, PA) Today, members of AFSCME DC47, Local 397, PMA Union voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike in our fight to negotiate a first contract with Philadelphia Museum of Art management. In the largest member meeting in our union’s history, with a supermajority of membership in attendance, we voted to authorize a strike with 99% voting yes and not a single No vote. This vote comes only a few days after the union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against museum management on August 26.

The PMA Union has been in contract negotiations with museum management since October 2020, after winning our union election by a landslide 89% in August of that year. In our Unfair Labor Practice charge, we allege that museum management has committed eight different violations of federal labor law and engaged in union-busting during these nearly two years of negotiations.

Meanwhile, at the bargaining table, museum management has repeatedly failed to make reasonable offers on wages, healthcare, paid parental leave, or use of temporary and fixed-term employees.

“After massive layoffs, years without raises, and an ongoing pandemic, museum management expects us to accept meager raises, insufficient paid parental leave, and no improvements to our healthcare benefits whatsoever. We won’t. PMA Board Chair Leslie Anne Miller and COO Bill Petersen have the power to avert a strike: start respecting this Union, stop acting unilaterally in violation of federal labor law, and come to the table with real responses and a real commitment to reaching a fair resolution.” - Adam Rizzo, PMA Museum Educator and AFSCME Local 397 President

The vote authorizes our union’s executive board to call a strike if necessary. Local 397 represents museum workers across nearly all museum departments, including visitor services, retail, education, installations, curatorial, conservation, marketing, and development.

“During negotiations, we have presented research showing how low pay is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art compared to other art museums nationally, and especially compared to our peer institutions. Museum management has not argued that they cannot afford the improvements we are proposing; they have simply rejected them. When good faith negotiation on our part is met with Unfair Labor Practices and rejection again and again, we have no choice but to prepare to take action away from the bargaining table.” - Matt Carrieri, PMA Gallery Maintenance Technician and Executive Board Member at Large

“The workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art deserve better, much better, from their management than substandard wages and benefits and Unfair Labor Practices. AFSCME DC47 represents thousands of workers across Philadelphia, including many cultural workers at other Philadelphia nonprofits. What is happening at the museum is wrong and needs to stop. The workers voted overwhelmingly to form their union and join AFSCME DC47 more than two years ago. A fair contract is long overdue. We will continue to stand with PMA workers, and will join them on the picket line if a strike is called.” - Cathy Scott, AFSCME DC47 President