Whitney Workers Ratify First Contract with Museum

After more than a year of bargaining, the union membership of the Whitney Museum Union of Local 2110 UAW have voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first union contract with the Museum. The three and a half year Agreement will increase employee wages retroactively to January 1 by 15% on average with additional increases of 9.5% during the contract. Employees will also receive a $1000 ratification bonus.

“We’re thrilled to have reached an agreement with the Museum that raises minimum pay rates across the board at every employee level,” said Ramsay Kolber, a curatorial research associate who was part of the Union Bargaining Committee. “The contract also has wage increases that will continue to lift salaries even higher over the next two years.”

The new contract contains 27 provisions covering wages, benefits, paid time off, layoff protection, health and safety provisions, differential pay for hazardous work and temporary assignments, flexible hours, restrictions on the Museum’s use of non-union temporary employees and more. For a summary of the major terms of the contract, see here, and read more about the successful negotiation in Hyperallergic, The Art Newspaper, and The New York Times.