Whitney Museum workers rallied outside fundraising gala amid contract negotiations

Unionized staff at the Whitney Museum of American Art rallied outside the museum’s annual fundraising gala on 19 May in New York as contract negotiations continued with Whitney Union UAW Local 2110. The gala honored artist Julie Mehretu, philanthropist Fern Kaye Tessler, and former Whitney director Adam D. Weinberg, while workers distributed flyers, buttons, and signs supporting a new labor contract. UAW Local 2110 represents around 185 Whitney employees, and the first contract—ratified in March 2023 after 16 months—expires next month; it raised the minimum hourly wage from $17 to $22 retroactive to 1 January 2023, with increases scheduled to $24 by June 2025. The union alleged police barricades were placed near the museum on Gansevoort Street, while the museum said it was committed to reaching a fair, reasonable contract.

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