Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Union workers at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum are accusing the institution of retaliatory layoffs and union-busting.
According to members of Workers United, the union representing employees at AKG, say. 13 Visitor Experience Associates were replaced by 11 non-union security guards. In total, over 60% of their largest unionized department has be laid off.
On Friday, at least 30 union members rallied outside of AKG to leaflet.
"We're rallying against the leadership going through a radical procedural change and laying off 13 union members, almost in the same breath, within the same week, have hired 11 non-union workers to perform almost our entire job," stated union member Caitlin Cole-Conroy.
Casey Moore, a union organizer for Workers United, says AKG is unwilling to work with the union members to resolve the layoff crisis.
"They claim that they want to bargain with us, but they have no interest in actually resolving the problem and keeping the 13 workers. They've made it clear that they have every intention of laying these people off and cutting the largest union department by half, and that's kind of been what we've seen from them throughout this whole effort, is an unwillingness to actually work with the union. I'm not sure if it's their ego or what's driving this, but there's been a complete unwillingness to actually have a collaborative relationship with the union," stated Moore.
Some of the patrons who were walking by showed their support for the employees.
"I'm a union person. Buffalo is a union town. A lot of people here are union. We grew up on steel plants and other plants, and I just feel like when they union Bust, they're taking away people's rights. I mean, unions were built on the backs of hard working, blue collar people. I really do believe that it's something that should not be busted up," stated one patron.