Tag Archive for: Region 9A

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Whitney, Brooklyn, and American Folk Art Museums, Authorize Strike

Unionized workers at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) have voted to authorize a strike action if they don’t receive fair offers for union contracts with their respective institutions.

Strike dates have not been set, but the three union groups organized with United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110 also voted to set a strike deadline if necessary, making note that each museum has a major exhibition opening in early October. The strike vote follows that of the Guggenheim Museum union, which voted to authorize strike action this June after six months of stalled contract negotiations.

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The workers of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art won their union election

Workers at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to join UAW Local 2110.

Staff members cite low wages, health and safety conditions, lack of promotional opportunities, and greater job security as reasons for unionizing. The unit will include all full and part time staff of the Museum including staff in Collections, Development, Marketing, the Bookshop, Education, and Guest Services.

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Brooklyn Defender Services Statement on Decision to Strike

“After months of intensive and good faith bargaining with the BDS Union, we regret to announce that we have not yet reached a tentative agreement, and staff have begun a work stoppage this morning. We stand ready to continue bargaining to reach a swift and equitable resolution.

In keeping with our mission of providing outstanding legal representation, BDS supervisors will handle the cases of the people we represent and be available to New Yorkers who rely on our critical services. It is our highest priority to ensure that our clients are not negatively impacted by the work stoppage.

Every day, New Yorkers are threatened with family separation, incarceration, deportation, and other serious harms in the legal system. As a public defense office representing over 40,000 people across Brooklyn and Queens each year, Brooklyn Defender Services defends New Yorkers with zealous advocacy and works tirelessly to uphold people’s rights, freedom, and dignity.

Our team of dedicated attorneys, social workers, and support staff deserve commensurate compensation to allow them to do this critical work. For that reason, we are proud to have made a strong offer to the union that reflects the value of their incredible representation. We are thankful to Mayor Mamdani for additional public defense funding, the highest level in NYC history, which enabled BDS to provide salary increases, healthcare coverage, and other employee benefits our staff need to serve their clients and afford to make a living in New York City.

We will continue to negotiate and hope to reach a swift and fair resolution. We remain committed to working together to provide the highest quality legal representation to New Yorkers in need.”

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UAW Celebrates Union Member Leader Claire Valdez’s Victory in NY-07’s Democratic Primary for Congress

Today, the UAW is celebrating the Democratic primary victory for one of the Union’s own member leaders, Claire Valdez for Congress in NY-07. UAW Region 9A mobilized thousands of members across NY-07 to help deliver a victory for New York’s working class.

“We are so proud to be sending the UAW’s own Claire Valdez to deliver for the working class in Congress,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “We know with Claire in Congress, we’ll never ask her to pick a side in the fight for justice. This is exactly how the labor movement can fight back against corporate greed and inequality: by electing more of our own. We know Claire is ready to fight like hell in Washington for the working class and our core issues at the UAW, and we have her back.”

“We are so excited to be celebrating Claire Valdez’s Democratic primary victory today alongside a broad, multiracial, multigenerational, working-class coalition in New York,” said UAW Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla. “For every union member we elect to office, we build a stronger, more powerful foundation to fight back against the billionaire takeover of our politics. Claire’s campaign ran on an unapologetically pro-organizing, pro-worker empowerment labor platform, and proves this is what voters are looking for right now. We’re proud of the hundreds of rank-and-file UAW volunteers that mobilized thousands of our neighbors to the polls for Claire!”

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Bargaining Time: Whitney Museum Union Is Fired Up

The Whitney Museum Union Bargaining Committee, UAW LOCAL 2110 is ready to rumble with management.

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Boston Museum Workers Stand Together

Employees at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston won voluntary recognition shortly after the workers went to museum leadership in early April. They are now gearing up for contract negotiations, seeking better pay and other job protections. Local 2110 will represent just over 90 ICA employees, in roles ranging from visitor services to development to curation.

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For Folk’s Sake: Museum Workers Picket Gala Over Poverty Wages in NYC

Workers at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City joined three dozen UAW Local 2110 organizers to picket the museum’s annual gala at the Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle on Wednesday night, May 6, demanding higher wages and better benefits.

Union members marched in front of the Upper West Side luxury hotel for two hours, holding signs that read, “For Folk’s Sake” and “Self Taught, Not Self Funded” while chanting, “What’s disgusting? Union busting! What’s outrageous? Poverty wages!”

Workers have been bargaining with museum executives for higher minimum wages and benefits since shortly after they voted to join the UAW Local 2110 in June 2024.

Frontline workers at the Columbus Avenue institution, who greet visitors, run the gift shop, and maintain the building, currently earn $19 per hour or $58,686 per year, about $12,000 below the living wage in New York City as calculated by MIT. Maintenance workers earn a similar rate at nearby art museums, including MoMA PS1, whose staff demonstrated for higher wages two years ago. (The American Folk Art museum’s CEO Jason Busch earned $321,882 in compensation during the 2024 fiscal year, according to the museum’s tax filings.)

Building Skills, Building Power at UAW Local 2325

A newly formed local union education committee hit the ground running at Local 2325, the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys. Representing nearly 4,000 legal services workers in New York, this amalgamated local is building out its already robust educational program.

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93% Ready to Strike: Square One Workers Demand Fair Pay Now

After 13 months of bargaining, Square One members voted by a supermajority to authorize a strike (93%). The primary issues are fair and equitable wages for members. Teachers working conditions are students learning conditions!

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Nitehawk Workers Still Waiting: Contract Talks Stall Two Years After Unionizing

Since unionizing in 2024, employees at Nitehawk Cinema’s Prospect Park branch have been bargaining for a first contract that would improve working conditions, hourly pay, and healthcare benefits; concerns that management has yet to address.

On March 13, Nitehawk workers and employees gathered in front of the theater’s Prospect Park location to demand attention to the contract, which workers argue has been at a standstill for almost two years due to stalling and bad-faith negotiating on the part of the owners.

Nitehawk Prospect Park is represented by Local 2179 of the United Auto Workers, which also represents workers at Alamo Drafthouse and Cinema Village. These local cinemas have been part of the surge in unionizing over similar workplace concerns in local movie theaters within the past couple of years.

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