PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The new union representing nearly 200 workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art scored a major victory on Friday when it reached a tentative agreement with museum management on its first contract.
“There were five outstanding economic issues we had when we went on strike,” said Amanda Bock, a PMA Union member who was at the negotiating table, according to a statement released on Friday. “After weeks of insisting they would not move, management has met our demands on all five.”
The tentative contract will run through June 30, 2025.
"They met all of our demands having to do with increases in minimum hourly rates and minimum salaries," said Adam Rizzo, president of the PMA Union Local 397.
"They agreed to four weeks of paid parental leave, for which previously there were zero.
"They agreed to increases of 14% over the course of three years of the contract.
"They agreed to longevity increases, so that folks who have worked at the museum for decades will be compensated for their commitment to the institution. So, every five years, full-time workers will receive $500 added to the base pay of their salary."
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Managerment also decreased the cost to employees of the high-deductible health care plan, said Rizzo, which 90% of union members are on.
“So that we can all earn a living wage and also afford to go to the doctor when we need to,” Rizzo said.
The union’s executive board voted unanimously to pass the agreement on to the membership to be ratified. If the agreement passes the vote, members will return to work on Monday, Oct. 17.
The path to a contract has taken more than two years. The museum workers first organized in August 2020. The strike began on Sept. 26 and lasted for 19 days.
While workers were on strike, management kept the museum operational by using non-union labor. Rizzo said department heads and managers were working the ticket desk and the museum's retail operations.
Rizzo says the sticking points for the museum management were primarily economic: the health care, benefits and pay proposals. But he says the workers were ultimately successful because of their commitment.
“I think the only reason we were able to get everything we did was because of the incredible solidarity between the workers who stayed out on strike for 19 day," Ruizzo said.
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Also, Rizzo noted, there is an opening night celebration of the museum's Matisse exhibit on Saturday, "and I don't think they wanted us out clogging up the streets with, you know, 500 people like we were planning to."
The museum’s new director and CEO, Sasha Suda, began her tenure in September as the workers were organizing themselves for this action. In a statement released on Friday evening, she struck a tone of unity.
"We believe that this agreement and our investment in people across the organization is the right thing to do, works for everyone and establishes a way forward for the PMA's future, the foundation of which is its staff,” Suda said. “I look forward to moving ahead as a unified institution at the service of its great city.”
Expressing pride in his colleagues, Rizzo said he thinks this contract victory could have implications for fair labor practices at similar institutions far beyond Philadelphia.
"I know that the world was watching. I know that our colleagues at other museums are watching. And I believe and I hope that this will have ripple effects in the field.”