Bargaining update & invitation: 12/12
🍕 Reminder: All-unit meeting tomorrow! 🍕
Join your colleagues on Tuesday, December 17th 12:00-1:00PM in the Moss Room for lunch and updates.
Invitation to Bargaining Next Week!
Management stated their intent to deliver a comprehensive economic proposal at the next bargaining session
This is an open invitation to be a member of the Bargaining Team for the Thursday, December 19th bargaining session. Bargaining will be from 9am-1pm in L2E-Large and on Zoom. You don’t need to attend the whole session. If you would like to attend, the bargaining team will work with you to accommodate your schedule.
Please note, this will be on your personal time. Ensure you are on a break, lunch break, or not working
Please let the Bargaining Team know how much of the session you can join for by emailing us at bargain@calacademyworkersunited.org by 12pm Wednesday, December 18th
Your Bargaining Team voted to withdraw the Parking Proposal
This did not come up as a priority for bargaining unit members in the initial survey. This lets us focus on members’ bigger financial priorities
We discussed with management the costs that staff incur complying with dress codes and uniform policies
Both sides clarified the existing policy and your Bargaining Team is continuing to negotiate on this issue
Thanks to all who have shared their thoughts on this issue, and if you have any ideas on this topic, reach out to the Bargaining Team
We discussed with management that changes in the National Labor Relations Board (which is in charge of enforcing labor law) in the next presidential administration will likely weaken the power of unions to enforce their contracts in arbitration
Your Bargaining Team presented a counter to Layoffs
Added back in severance and health care coverage with set amounts
Your Bargaining Team initially proposed the Term of Agreement
We chose to have the contract expire on April 30, 2028 because Shawn Fain, the United Auto Workers President, has called for a general strike on May 1, 2028. You can read more about this here and here
One of the focuses is on climate change which is important to the Academy’s mission
There is ample time to prepare since the strike is planned for three years from now
Additionally, it is fairly standard for union contracts to have a lifespan of 3-5 years
Scheduling
Management proposed meeting twice a week starting in the new year. This is a good sign as it means they want to hurry up and finish, as do we!
Your Bargaining Team suggested Wednesdays and Thursdays
Bargaining update: 12/5
Leaves of Absence and Decolonial Education
We continue to approach tentative agreements on both issues. Your Bargaining Team responded to management’s counters on these proposals.
Zipper Clause
This article, presented by management, would limit our power to interpret and enforce our contract. Your Bargaining Team respectfully verbally declined this clause.
AI / Machine Learning
Management verbally declined CAWU’s recent AI proposal, stating that since the future use of AI is unknown they do not want a “blanket ban.” Their proposal is to keep their October counter found here.
Our proposal was not a blanket ban. It proposed limits on how AI would be used. Our Bargaining Team had hoped that the discussion on AI would be about where and how limits or boundaries could be established and negotiated over time: management’s counter proposal is deficient because it refuses to negotiate any agreement about limits at all with our union. Management's proposal is to retain as much unilateral control as law enforcement will allow. The commitment to talk about how AI use aligns with the Academy’s mission in the Joint Labor Management Committee is nice, but gives us no decision making power at all.
While there may be a few areas where the use of AI is useful, we value the work of Academy scientists, educators and artists, and believe that the environmental impact of AI is antithetical to the Academy’s mission.
Have thoughts about AI use in the workplace? Reach out to the Bargaining Team! bargain@calacademyworkersunited.org Attend our all-unit meeting on Tuesday, December 17th at 12pm in the Moss Room to share your ideas.
Health and Safety
During caucus, your Bargaining Team worked on the Health and Safety Proposal and it will be ready to introduce by the end of December.
Finance Presentation
Jim Gohary, the Academy’s CFO, gave a presentation on management’s costing process for our economic proposals. This is the beginning of talks about wages and benefits. Management estimates a comprehensive economic response in 2 weeks, at our Dec. 19th bargaining session.
🐝 The Organizing Corner 🐝
Board meeting report
On November 21, over 40 of your colleagues and community supporters showed up at the semi-annual public Academy Board of Trustees virtual meeting. Our union insignia were very visible as we made up about 40% of those in attendance. We filled the comment time with questions and comments about management’s top-heavy administration and the effect of this year’s program cuts. We also informed the board of management’s repeated rejection of non-discrimination, transparency, and shared decision making proposals; actions that fly in the face of management's publicly professed value of collaboration.
YAP debacle
Many members of the public have reached out to us after reading about the sudden termination of the Youth Action for the Planet program published by Mission Local on November 21 (since updated with an official response by Academy management). We are working collaboratively on a detailed statement and will share it with you shortly. In the meantime, we have been directing folks who want to express their disappointment to message SLT using the email tool on our website. You can share the link with your networks!
All-unit meeting
Join your colleagues on December 17th 12:00-1:00PM in the Moss Room.
Remember: Success in negotiation depends on your support and engagement!
Be on the lookout for colleagues with our Fair Contract Now petition
Wear your union button always and CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership here and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker, read the proposals and counters and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns
Your 1021 Staff field representative is Jessica Inouye. Her contact info is: Jessica.Inouye@seiu1021.org 415-717-8135. Please reach out to Jessica if you have questions or concerns about your working conditions.
Bargaining update: 10/31
Reminder
We have a new Field Representative, Jessica Inouye. Her contact info is: Jessica.Inouye@seiu1021.org
(415) 717-8135
Please reach out to Jessica if you have questions or concerns about your working conditions.
New Director of Labor and Employee Relations
Our Bargaining Team was joined by Saba Kraja, the Academy’s new Director of Labor and Employee Relations.
Management’s original negotiator, Gina Roccanova, returned and our Bargaining Team had productive discussions with management over the course of the session.
Benefits Presentation
We were given a repeat benefits presentation from Liliana Salazar, a representative from HUB International (our benefits broker) regarding benefit plans for the FY 24-25 year. She was flown up from Southern California to present to us again today.
During this time, we were joined by members of CAT and the bargaining unit to observe the presentation together. If you’re interested in observing a bargaining session, please reach out to the Bargaining Team or Contract Action Team.
Our Bargaining Team was able to ask questions, but did not receive a counter to our Benefits proposal. Management is countering all non-economic proposals before bargaining over economic proposals.
Movement at the Table
Our Bargaining Team and management had further discussion over seniority and layoffs. Both sides came to a Tentative Agreement on Seniority. Scan of official TA to come.
Counter to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Management countered Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. They added language about discussing these topics in the Joint Labor Management Committee. Additionally, they added language about management being able to retain the right to place limits on the use of intellectual property in connection with AI technology. Our bargaining team will work on a counter proposal.
Counter to Decolonial Education
Management countered our proposal by striking out the stipulation that in-unit staff be provided one day off per quarter with pay to participate in educational events on these topics and to provide paid time equivalent to 10% of full time employment for up to four bargaining unit employees designated by CAWU to plan and develop such educational events for the bargaining unit. We will continue to negotiate how to address the legacies of white supremacy and colonialism, both at the bargaining table and within the Joint Labor Management Committee.
Counter to Remote Work
Management countered our remote work proposal and altered the language to state that employees may request hybrid work schedules but removed our wording stating that these requests will not be unreasonably denied. The counter also states that current hybrid and remote work schedules will not be altered without discussion by the Labor-Management Committee and any changes will not go into effect without two week’s advance notice.
Counter to Layoffs
Managements’ counter includes removing sections providing for severance and health benefits during layoff, rejecting our proposal to not propose or implement any layoffs unless the Executive Director and Senior Leadership have taken at least 20% cuts in pay, reducing the notice period from 60 days to 30 days, changing seniority date from date of hire at the Academy to start date of current job title, and reducing the recall period from 24 to 12 months.
Personnel Issues
Discussion continued over the one remaining involuntary layoff and another personnel issue, and we are waiting for management’s responses.
Remember…
Success in negotiation depends on your support and engagement!
Be on the lookout for colleagues with our Fair Contract Now petition
Wear your union button always and CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker, read the proposals and counters and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns
VOTE TODAY (if you haven’t already)
Bargaining updates: 10/24
We have a new Field Representative, Jessica Inouye. Her contact info is:
Jessica.Inouye@seiu1021.org
(415) 717-8135
Please reach out to Jessica if you have questions or concerns about your working conditions.
Unfair Labor Practice Filed
On October 23rd, the day before the last bargaining session, SEIU 1021’s attorneys filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) against management on the basis of not responding to our proposals in a timely manner.
On management's side, a new attorney, Melissa Kelm, from Jackson Lewis – the notorious union busting law firm management employs – has brought a more aggressive and hostile attitude to the table. Our Bargaining Team’s questions have been met with much more contention.
Read more about Jackson Lewis in a 2019 essay by an historian at the University of New Mexico. You can also read about the firm in their own words, where they tout their book, Winning NLRB Elections. (Expand the section on "Additional Services Provided to Non-Union Employers" to find the citation.)
In bargaining, the day after the ULP was filed, there was movement at the table on the following articles:
Discipline and Discharge
Management provided a counter on Discipline and Discharge, and we reached a TA. This article establishes just cause and allows us to assert our rights without fear of retaliation. Additionally, this article states that management will provide non-disciplinary coaching, counseling, and/or feedback before initiating formal discipline. Scan of official TA to come.
Vending Machine
Your bargaining team and management reached a tentative agreement on the purchasing and maintenance of the vending machine. Scan of official TA to come.
Seniority
Management provided a counter to the article on Seniority. Your bargaining team countered with a proposal that incorporates language from the recall and layoffs article. Management asked some questions and we are waiting for a counter from them.
Remote Work
Management provided a counter to our Remote Work policy. During our caucus, we wrote a counter and provided it to management. We are waiting for a counter from them. We had to provide specific examples of how remote work is currently approved and implemented by various departments, as management did not understand current practices.
Leaves of Absence
Management provided a counter on our Leaves of Absence article. In caucus, we discussed their counter, and will work on writing a response.
Despite this sudden progress, management is still pushing hard to limit your ability to have a say in what your working conditions are like.
Management again asked if our Bargaining Team would agree to tie the Union Security and No Discrimination articles to the Management Rights article, which seeks to secure management’s maximum unilateral authority over our working conditions. Our Bargaining Team declined to do this, but is willing to reach Tentative Agreements on Union Representation and No Discrimination individually.
Our Bargaining Team wants to bargain over management rights after the rest of the contract has been tentatively agreed to, which is a common practice.
Remember…
Success in negotiation depends on your support and engagement!
Be on the lookout for colleagues with our Fair Contract Now petition
Wear your union button always and CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker, read the proposals and counters and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns
Bargaining updates: 10/21
Reminder about our monthly union lunch tomorrow, Tuesday 10/22, at 12pm in the Classroom!
Management Makes Bid to Preserve Maximum Unilateral Power
Management provided a “mini-package” of counters, which included Article 2 Union Security, Article 3 No Discrimination, and Management Rights. They want the three articles to be accepted together, and are not willing to sign any as individual Tentative Agreements. They refused multiple times to elaborate on their reasoning or provide any kind of justification on why they want to group these proposals together. Management is clearly using our rights as a bargaining chip to get us to agree to their overly prescriptive Management Rights Article.
Your bargaining team rejected management’s mini-package, and we are not willing to tie Articles 2 and 3 to the Management Rights article.
Management said that they will not be responding to our Governance and Financial Transparency article because they don’t view it as a mandatory subject of bargaining. Nothing stops management from agreeing to put things into the contract that are outside mandatory subjects of bargaining.
Selection and Hiring
Your bargaining team offered to have an open conversation at the table on Selection and Hiring rather than shuffling proposals back and forth with management, and asked again for management to provide their definition of what a promotion is. Management did not have an answer. Management said they are unsure how to begin to have a conversation with us on this topic.
Academy Management Dissolves Youth Action for the Planet
The program will not be renewed and management is working to restore the grant money that had already been awarded to the institution to fund this program.
Gender Inclusive Workplace
Management asked a clarifying question on the language about the changing room in our article Gender Inclusive Workplace.
Vending Machine
After counters from management and from our Bargaining team, we reached a tentative agreement and will sign it next week.
Finance Update
Jim Gohary, Chief Financial Officer, and Mathew Lau, Senior Director of Finance, gave your bargaining team an update on the FY24 and FY25 budgets. Reminder that they are giving a finance update to all staff tomorrow morning, 10/22 at 9:30am. We look forward to hearing if this is the same update we received in bargaining, and will send out a separate email with details after Tuesday.
Remember…
Success in negotiation depends on your support and engagement!
Be on the lookout for colleagues with our Fair Contract Now petition
Wear your union button always and CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership here and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker, read the proposals and counters and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns.
Bargaining updates: October 2
On Our Union Contract
Your Bargaining Team received counters from management on Article 4 Union Representation and Article 6 Discipline and Discharge
Management introduced a new article titled Zipper Integration Clauses which is a provision that would place strict limits on how the contract is interpreted in any disputes and arbitration proceedings. It would also allow management (and our union) to unilaterally refuse to bargain over any subject until the contract expires. Bargaining could occur between contracts, but both sides would have to agree to begin negotiations.
After our first caucus, we received an additional management counter on Article 1 Recognition
We countered on Union Representation and Discipline and Discharge
After our final caucus, we were able to reach a tentative agreement on Article 4 Union Representation! Key highlights of this article include:
We won the right to have 9 shop stewards, including at least 1 Chief Shop Steward. A shop steward is a colleague–it could be you–who helps their co-workers defend their rights and interests at work.
Newly designated shop stewards will be allowed 8 hours paid release time in their first year as a steward to attend Union Shop Steward training
Up to 3 union stewards will have the right to provide new bargaining unit hires a 30 minute union orientation
Any union member elected to or selected for office or as a delegate for specific union activities necessitating a leave of absence will be able to request a leave of absence no less than 2 weeks in advance
Personnel Issues
Richie Lipton joined our session to highlight his promotion process. The purpose of this was to illustrate the importance of outlining a clear promotion process in the contract, as Richie’s experience has been a yearlong journey that ended with him receiving the wrong title, and although he received a salary increase, his new job changed him from non-exempt to exempt, which has resulted in his pay being essentially the same as it was prior to the long awaited “promotion.” If you’d like to share your experience, contact us: bargain@calacademyworkersunited.org
Negotiations continue over Aleks Liou and one proposed involuntary layoff
Labor Movement News
East coast dockworkers won a significant raise of 62% over 6 years (which comes out to an average of 8.4% a year) in a tentative agreement reached on Thursday after a 3-day strike.
Remember…
Success in negotiation depends on your support and engagement!
Be on the lookout for colleagues with our Fair Contract Now petition
Wear your union button always and CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership here and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker, read the proposals and counters and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns
Bargaining updates: September 25th
Your bargaining team received no counters proposals from management. This is the third week in a row with no counter proposals.
Management had the following questions on our economic proposals:
They questioned members’ interest in the tuition reimbursement proposal. Your bargaining team said that we do not have an exact head count of interested members. Rather, the intent of this article is to address an issue we’ve heard from many of you, which is that you want to expand your skill sets, knowledge, and expertise while continuing to work at the Academy.
Management questioned how we decided on an 8% raise. They asked: did we come up with it by comparing it to the “market rate”? What other contracts have an 8% raise?
Our response: the museum job structure historically underpays and undervalues workers, but we can be a leading institution by providing a living wage to staff working to better the environment and their communities. Management replied that “we can’t solve capitalism at this table”
We can solve capitalism one contract at a time! The graph below shows the inverse relationship between union power (measured by union membership rates) and income inequality, from the Economic Policy Institute.
Operations Department Organization
Leah Van der Mei and Tony Promessi came to discuss the future of the maintenance department. There is a need to restructure positions, and they proposed the idea of a working group on the future of the department, or to have the bargaining team negotiate on their behalf. Your bargaining team will be reaching out shortly to the affected members to discuss further.
Academy Finances
Your bargaining Team also received a presentation from Jim Gohary, the Academy’s Chief Financial Officer, on the Academy’s bond. Jue Wang, a researcher with SEIU 1021, joined us to ask questions.
Academy management created a financial investment portfolio called the “Campaign Fund” where it has set aside $267M (in the form of financial investments) for the new building. Jim said the Campaign Fund is earning a 5% fixed return, which is higher than the 3.25% interest rate the Academy currently pays on its $281.5M bond. At this rate, the Campaign Fund will accumulate enough money to repay the principle of the bond in a few years, and the Investment Committee of the Academy Board of Trustees is planning to consider repaying the principle of the bond in 3-4 years. Jim said because the campaign fund is separate from operating funds, labor costs cannot be paid by investment incomes generated in the Campaign Fund.
Youth Action for the Planet and Aleks Liou
We proposed a counter on the termination of Aleks Liou and are still in negotiations with management. More details to come.
Contract proposals
Hello Cal Academy Workers United!
Per the bargaining team's announcement yesterday, our proposals (except for Health and Safety) currently on the table for our first contract are now available for your review:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FGyOyzTplC5EpOYQ_HMp_WicJVNklu-sxABe9IiF9wY/edit?usp=sharing
In an effort to lean into transparency, we have opted to give everyone full access to these proposals along with management's counters.
Once the bargaining team and management reach Tentative Agreements on all articles (or withdraw any outstanding ones), the bargaining team will refer the whole tentative contract to CAWU members for a vote to either approve or reject by majority vote.
Your feedback and participation is crucial to winning a strong contract we can all be proud of. Please take a look, discuss with your colleagues, and get involved!
Bargaining updates: September 12
On the Contract
Management did not have any counter proposals, saying again that they will need some time to work on the economics for some proposals because “labor costing is new to us.”
On Accountability
Our time in negotiations recently has been taken up by representing one of your colleagues, Aleks Liou, and their work for the Youth Action for the Planet program. Read Aleks’ description of the program here, where you’ll also see a great photo of an exhibit on environmental activism that the youth put together.
We’re sharing this with you because the Academy management team’s conduct constitutes a threat to all of our rights as union members. It is not just a personnel matter, but an instance that highlights how a lack of management accountability endangers the Academy’s mission, and how our union can help management to become more accountable.
Aleks was hired as Program Manager for Youth Action for the Planet which was funded by a grant and set out to recruit and train a group of fourteen local youth to become strong activists to address climate change. Aleks has a PhD in youth organizing, and is one of the individuals responsible for securing the grant which funded the program.
During our June 25th solidarity break, some of the young people in Youth Action decided–on their own–to take action in solidarity with us by creating a leaflet about Scott Sampson and the wage inequalities that exist within the Academy, and distributed them on the public floor of the Academy. The next day, management prevented the youth from coming into the building, and they were told to not come onsite. Aleks was placed on leave the following day as well.
In short, the Academy created a program to train young people to be organizers and then, when the young people decided to organize around wage inequalities and the budget crisis at the Academy, the Academy shut down the program and now seeks to fire Aleks as Program Manager. This is, of course, not the stated reason the Academy wants to fire Aleks. They went on a fishing expedition to come up with a variety of flimsy pretexts on obscure policy grounds to justify the termination.
How does abruptly ending a program for fourteen young people of color advance our mission to regenerate that natural world through science, learning, and collaboration? If management thought that the flier that the youth put out was harmful or in bad taste, wouldn't it have been more productive to sit with them and discuss the pros and cons of their actions as a valuable learning experience in activist and solidarity work rather than banishing them from the building? Shouldn’t the connection that they made between economic and environmental justice be celebrated and encouraged?
So, how are you and your union holding management accountable?
First, by reading this update and learning about what happened. Talk about it with your colleagues and forward any questions you have for management over the incident to our bargaining team or CAT activists.
Without our union, Aleks would have already been fired. With our union, management has to turn over information justifying their desire to terminate Aleks’ employment to our bargaining team and field representatives. They will have to listen to your questions about the incident at the bargaining table, and the impacts of their actions on the Youth Action program–and our mission–won't remain a secret.
Bargaining updates: September 11th
CAWU presented counter proposals on Management Rights and No Discrimination.
Management did not have any counter proposals, saying that they will need some time to work on the economics for some proposals because, “labor costing is new to us.”
Discussion on Article 3: No Discrimination
The Bargaining Team is committed to maintaining rights for all employees by turning the non-discrimination language from the Employee Handbook (pg. 13) into a binding agreement in the contract. We made our initial No Discrimination proposal on December 19th, and have gone back and forth with management on the language (see the Article Tracker for dates).
The Bargaining Team proposed this language (taken nearly verbatim from our Employee Handbook) for Article 3, Section 1 of the contract:
The Union, the employees, and the Employer agree that conduct which constitutes unlawful harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, AIDS/HIV status, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, marital status, sex, gender identification or expression, political belief, family status, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, citizenship or immigration status, status as a victim of domestic violence, and any other category protected by federal, state, or local law will not be tolerated.
In addition, the Employer will not discriminate against or harass any Employee on the basis of their union activity or union support. Those violating this policy may be subject to disciplinary action. It is understood that the Employer is an equal-opportunity employer, consistent with all applicable laws.
It’s unclear why management doesn’t want us to enshrine these rights. Instead of being specific about characteristics that should not be discriminated against, management wants the Bargaining Team to agree to this instead:
“Neither the Employer nor the Union will discriminate against any person on any basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local laws.”
Management's proposed language is insufficient because local, state, and federal laws protecting people from discrimination can change. Recent dramatic reversals of precedent by the Supreme Court, and the documented hostility of the first Trump administration to the National Labor Relations Board, which enforces labor law, are reasons why agreeing to specific conduct in a contract is so important.
While in bargaining, Gina (management’s negotiator) repeatedly told the Bargaining Team that our thoughts on this section were only “strong feelings,” and dismissed our overall concerns about the changing landscape of protections, telling us “feelings are not facts.” This felt very demeaning and belittling, and out of alignment with the reality of rollbacks on previous protections.
Whether or not you believe California is a state where all relevant protections will remain in place, there shouldn’t be any problem with enshrining this language into our contract when it already exists in our handbook. It’s clear management plans to use this as a bargaining chip—but we don’t believe this should be up for debate. Tell the Bargaining Team and Contract Action Team what you think, and talk with your coworkers about it.
Expect more of this kind of game-playing from management as negotiations progress. You can put an end to it by building power together:
Sign up for membership
Talk to your colleagues about our union, our contract campaign, and why they should sign up for membership
Follow negotiations on our article tracker and updates page
Make our union visible by wearing your pin (real or virtual) every day and union t-shirt on Thursdays
Bargaining updates: September 4th
New Article Proposals Introduced on August 29
Educational Benefits - professional development and educational assistance stipend
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - AI/machine learning will not replace bargaining unit work/jobs, and the Joint Labor Management Committee will convene at regular intervals to assess AI as it relates to our mission
Uniform Allowance - a stipend for those required to wear a uniform
Pipelines to Museum Careers - establishes a pilot entry-level jobs program for sectors of work that typically require applicants to have volunteer experience which will in turn promote equity
Gender Inclusive Workplace - enshrines access to pronoun pins, menstrual products, and access to gender neutral changing rooms/bathrooms
Decolonial Education - establishes in-service day for employees to learn about the colonial legacy of museums, scientific collections, and issues impacting our communities; implementing some of the Mosaic Collaborative recommendations
Parking - parking for staff in the garage
Health and Safety - placeholder proposal
The Bargaining Team will be attending a Health & Safety contract language workshop at the Berkeley Labor Center on September 12th. Due to the multi-faceted, dynamic nature of our institution, we understand that health and safety risks vary greatly from department to department. We want to hear from you: what do you want to see change in order to make the Academy a healthier and safer workplace?
Email your health and safety concerns to the bargaining team right now, bargain@calacademyworkersunited.org, or reach out to your bargaining representative in person.
Your bargaining team has finished introducing proposals! Now we await counter proposals from management.
No Strike No Lockout Article Introduced by Management
Management doesn’t want you to strike, stop, or slow down work during the term of the contract. Why do you think that is?
It’s because strikes, work stoppages, and slow downs are some of the most powerful tools we have as workers to enforce our contract and to counter the power imbalance inherent in the employer-employee relationship. During the struggle over the threat of mass layoffs this spring, many of you discussed whether or not a strike would be an effective tool to prevent layoffs. It was a tactical and strategic question that we could seriously consider together. With a no-strike clause in our contract, we could not strike without violating our contract: it would be illegal.
Management will say that we don’t need strikes or slow-downs–that any serious disagreements can be worked out through arbitration–but what that actually means is that if management decides to act unilaterally, they will be free to do so without serious immediate consequences. The matter would be taken to arbitration…and if a violation were eventually found by the arbitrator, the finding–and the remedy–would come weeks or months or years later.
Read this excellent article that discusses the history of no strike clauses, and why they are important – especially in first contract negotiations – here:
https://www.labornotes.org/2023/02/no-strike-clauses-tips-first-contract-bargainers-0
As you’ll read in the linked article, employers and their anti-union legal advisors like Jackson Lewis have come to expect to win no-strike clauses, and we can expect this to be a sticking point that we will have to overcome as negotiations progress.
It is imperative that we are able to organize and demonstrate our power as we continue to go back and forth with management about this and all of our outstanding proposals. Signing up for membership and wearing your CAWU shirts on Thursdays are simple and easy and important ways to do this.
Personnel Issues
The Bargaining Team continues to bargain over one outstanding involuntary layoff.
Discipline and Retaliation issues
If your wages, hours, or working conditions have been changed without your agreement; if you believe your rights are being infringed upon, or you’re experiencing retaliation, please reach out to our 1021 staff field representative Genevieve Vigil. Weingarten Rights ensure represented employees have the right to request assistance from union representatives during investigatory interviews or if you have reasonable belief that a meeting could result in discipline.
Contact: genevieve.vigil@seiu1021.org, (415) 361-1994.
Bargaining updates: August 29th
Read the Tentative Agreements
PDF’s of tentative agreements are linked in the article tracker. Printed copies are available in a three ring binder in the L3E breakroom.
New Articles Introduced
Our bargaining team introduced the Hours of Work article.
Our opening proposal defines rates for overtime pay, states that an employee’s work schedule will not be changed without a two-weeks’ notice, and that non-exempt employees are allowed meal and rest periods. The article also defines travel time for non-exempt employees as work time, if they are traveling for Academy business.
Our bargaining team introduced the Leaves of Absence article.
Our opening proposal states the Academy will continue to provide leaves to employees in accordance with the Employee Handbook and the law, and that all benefits will continue to be provided while on leave. We also proposed that employees may request full-time or part-time leaves for educational purposes.
Your Rights
Our bargaining team was told that a staff member was told to not wear their union shirt. If anyone comes up to you and tells you to remove your union shirt or pin, please let the Bargaining Team or CAT know ASAP. As a reminder, wearing your union shirt and pin is a protected activity, meaning management cannot retaliate against you or tell you to remove these. This warranted a conversation amongst the bargaining team about the uniform policy at large.
Upcoming Articles
Our bargaining team spent time reviewing the remaining articles we still need to introduce, including:
Health and Safety
AI Usage at the Academy
Educational Compensation and Professional Development
Uniform Policy
Education about the Colonialist History of the Academy
In caucus, the bargaining team spent time discussing DEAI topics, and reviewed the TMC recommendations from their final report. How would you like to see this approached in our contract?
Do you have questions or comments about the articles we’ve introduced so far? Ideas about DEIA topics? Do you have ideas or concerns related to workplace health and safety? Please share with us!
What else can you do?
Wear your CAWU button every day
Wear your CAWU shirt on Thursdays.
Sign up for membership here and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns
Share our community letter writing campaign with your friends, family, and community connections
Bargaining updates: August 19th
Please attend your monthly all-unit union meeting this Tuesday, August 20, from 12:00pm to 1:45pm in the Moss Room. Formal updates and discussions end at 1:00 pm, but the room stays open for informal chats and discussions afterward. Pizza provided.
At the meeting we’ll review progress so far, and talk about what’s coming up in negotiations. Nato Green, 1021 staff member and CAWU’s lead negotiator, will join us to discuss our wages proposal and review the tentative agreements we have so far.
If time permits, we’ll also discuss our hours of work and vacancies proposals.
August 15th Bargaining Session Update
We introduced the wages proposal
Our opening proposal includes a starting wage of $25/hour, regular annual across the board increases for every position, extra pay based on years of service, and bilingual pay.
We introduced the vending machine proposal
Management asked us to write a proposal about who will be responsible for the maintenance and restocking of the vending machines.
We received no counter proposals from management.
Dues deductions discussed
Lisa Bui, Membership Director from SEIU 1021, and Rudy Morales and Cuc Ly from the Academy joined this session to discuss how membership dues and contributions to the Committee on Political Education (COPE) deductions will be administered once our contract goes into effect. Read more about COPE deductions below.
Here’s info about COPE From SEIU’s website:
The Committee on Political Education (COPE) is made up of SEIU members, staff, and retirees who contribute monthly to ensure that we have the political power to protect our hard-earned political and legislative victories that improve public services and the lives of working families.
We know that who we elect and what they do when they are in office determines much in our everyday lives: from our livelihoods to our health and safety. We know when we speak with one voice about what working people need, our elected officials listen.
Once we ratify our contract, membership dues will be 1.74% of your wages.
Bargaining Team Office Hours, Wednesday August 28 12:00-2:00pm
The bargaining team wants to hear from you!
Attend office hours in the L3E breakroom and share what is important to you for our first contract. What would a promotion policy look like to you? Do you like our current benefits? Do you have ideas or concerns related to workplace safety? Please share with us!
What else can you do?
Wear your CAWU button every day
Wear your CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership here and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns
Share our community letter writing campaign with your friends, family, and community connections
Bargaining Updates: August 2024
Bargaining news from August 8
New Article Introduced
Our bargaining team presented a proposal on layoffs, which will be part of Article 7, Seniority and Layoffs.
Tentative Agreement reached on Article 17
Our bargaining team and management reached a tentative agreement on Article 17, Grievance and Arbitration. This article defines and describes processes for addressing problems that cannot be solved with regular, open communication. Additionally, this article guarantees members’ right to union representation during any step of the grievance procedure, and lays out the steps of the grievance procedure.
Discussion on Pay Grades and Promotion Policy
We asked management questions about the current pay grade structure and what, if any, promotion policy exists. We received no clear answers from management.
Personnel Issues
Management accepted our proposal regarding 2 on-call employees and were able to secure the preferred outcome for both staff members.
Bargaining Team Office Hours
The bargaining team wants to hear from you!
Attend office hours Wednesday August 14 12:00-2:00pm in the L3E breakroom and share what is important to you for our first contract. What would a promotion policy look like to you? Do you like our current benefits? Do you have ideas or concerns related to workplace safety? Please share with us!
What else can you do?
Wear your CAWU button every day
Wear your CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership here and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns
Share our community letter writing campaign with your friends, family, and community connections
Bargaining news from August 1
New Articles Introduced
Our bargaining team presented the following new proposals on:
Benefits (Article 9)
Seniority (Article 7)
Holidays (Article 11)
Remote work (article number TBD)
Negotiation on Discipline and Discharge
Back and forth counter proposals were made on Discipline and Discharge (Article 16). This article will describe what just cause for termination is, and also describe steps of progressive discipline.
Remember to visit our bargaining proposal tracker here for information on proposals and the pace of negotiations.
Bargaining Team Office Hours
The bargaining team wants to hear from you!
Attend office hours Wednesday August 14 12:00-2:00pm in the L3E breakroom and share what is important to you for our first contract. What would a promotion policy look like to you? Do you like our current benefits? Do you have ideas or concerns related to workplace safety? Please share with us!
Management Rejects Article 6
Academy management rejected our proposal on Selection and Hiring (Article 6). Our proposal includes the following:
Information included in job postings and the minimum amount of time a job posting has to be open
How vacancies are filled
How long a probationary period lasts
A definition of temporary employment
Limits on subcontracting out work typically completed by bargaining unit employees
At this time, management is insisting on unilateral control in all of these areas. Our bargaining team is working on a counter to management and hope to have this ready to present to management on Thursday, August 8th.
What else can you do?
Wear your CAWU button every day
Wear your CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership here and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Follow the CAWU article tracker and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns
Share our community letter writing campaign with your friends, family, and community connections
Bargaining Updates: July 2024
Bargaining news from July 25
Joint Labor Management Committee
Our Bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with management on this article! Read more about it in our Article Tracker.
Our bargaining team introduced four new articles:
Vacation, Sick Leave, Retirement, Governance and Financial Transparency and also introduced counter proposals on Article 1, Recognition and Article 2, Union Security.
Want to know more about these articles? Discuss them, and anything else relating to contract bargaining with members our bargaining team at drop-in office hours on Wednesday, July 31 from 12-2PM at the B1 Africa break room/conference room area.
Layoffs
Discussion continued over 3 involuntary layoffs, 1 person has decided to take VSP.
Bargaining news from July 18
Who was there
Our bargaining team: Marie Angel, Jasmine Bost, Gabby Farrer, Nat Kramm, Victoria Langlands,TR Malcom.
SEIU 1021 staff: Phil Ybarrolaza, Claude Joseph, and joining for the first time at a negotiating session, SEIU 1021 staff members Nato Green (as lead negotiator) and our new field representative Genevieve Vigil.
Contact Genevieve if your wages, hours, or working conditions have been changed without your agreement, or you are in need of representation for a disciplinary action.
genevieve.vigil@seiu1021.org, 415-361-1994.
Present from Academy management were:
Gina Roccanova (lawyer from Jackson Lewis), Michael Costanzo, Elayne Graylow, Ayat Elnoory, Melissa Felder, Elise Lindstrom.
Appendix A
We have reached a tentative agreement on what positions are represented by our union. The TA includes union representation for 5 positions in accounting, which management opposed prior to our representation election.
Article 4 - Union Representation
This article deals with the role of shop stewards, union access to the building, and leave for union business. Management brought a counter proposal to the table and walked our team through each change; our team asked clarifying questions.
In caucus, we formulated a counter to Article 4, and we provided it to management before the end of the session.
Layoffs
We discussed the involuntary layoff list once again and gained more clarity on paths forward.
We will continue to be in communication with the 4 individuals affected by layoff notices and remain committed to negotiating the best outcome for them.
Vending machine update
Management says it will be replaced in approximately 3 weeks. In the meantime, please keep using the honor system!
Bargaining news from July 11
Layoffs
We discussed potential pathways to resolution and it was a productive negotiation. We will be in contact with the four folks facing involuntary layoff regarding next steps. No final decisions have been made and we remain committed to the best outcome for each individual.
We discussed the effects of the planetarium changes and expressed concerns about health and safety, and negative impact on guest/member/donor experience.
Contract
Appendix A - Recognition. This is the list of all positions that are union eligible. Still in negotiation; hope to have a tentative agreement (TA) soon.
We introduced language about a Joint Labor Management Committee; this committee will be composed of representatives from management and the bargaining unit to informally resolve issues, and you can learn more about them in our article tracker.
Management told our bargaining team that they were unaware that they had not given us their Finance Committee approved budget for FY 24-25 (the Finance Committee is a sub-committee of the Board of Trustees). We asked management for the budget on May 23 and again on June 13th. At negotiations on July 11, they promised to provide this information expeditiously.
Other issues
Multiple personnel issues were discussed and resolved.
We discussed the broken vending machine in the L3E break room. Management said they would look into the issue to see if it needs to be repaired or replaced, with us emphasizing that we need to get the machine working as soon as possible, because some staff rely on the vending machines as an important source of affordable nutrition on site. Management asked the bargaining team for a proposal to include in our contract regarding its funds and management. In the interim, staff are stocking drinks in the fridge and payment is on the honor system. We would like for staff to continue to staff this project and are discussing options for the future. What would this look like in an ideal situation to you?
A successful unity break
We really enjoyed seeing the unity break on the 11th and you lifted our spirits. It was such a success and we’re so proud of all of you and what an amazing turnout it was! Please check in with us if you have any concerns.
And remember:
Wear your CAWU button every day
Wear your CAWU shirt on Thursdays
Sign up for membership here and talk with your colleagues about why it matters
Share our community letter writing campaign with your friends, family, and community connections
Follow the CAWU article tracker and speak to your representative on the bargaining team or a CAT activist about your issues and concerns.
July updates
TL;DR
Share our email campaign to management with your communities!
Four colleagues called managements’ bluff to lay them off: they are still employed.
Solidarity break this Thursday, July 11th, 3pm at the Swamp; wear your shirt every Thursday
Important surveys to fill out
📰 Contract & Campaign Updates
Honoring Departed Staff ✨
Last month we lost ~40 staff members who took the VSP, and we know many said it didn’t feel “voluntary.” We recognize this is a huge loss for our institution and we are missing our cherished colleagues. Thank you to everyone who joined in honoring our co-workers by writing & posting stars in our collective art piece.
Moving Forward ➡️
We have yet to see management acknowledge the departure of our colleagues and present a strategic plan for how to move forward. We are hearing that remaining staff members are impacted with increased workloads, despite SLT’s insistence that eliminating programs would have minimal impact on workloads. We are working to understand the full extent of these changes. Has your workload and/or conditions changed due to staffing losses? Please let us know in this survey.
We’re also working on gathering and analyzing data on the VSP. If you took the VSP, or applied for the VSP and did not take it, please fill out this form. The information will help us understand the process, document potential labor violations, and aid in contract negotiations.
Successes 🙌
Despite this tumultuous time, we have some success to celebrate as well! We had great turnout for our Solidarity Break on June 25th and we even had some folks joining from the field! We are visually seeing our collective power grow. Will you join us this week for another demonstration of our strength and put pressure on management to bargain in good faith?
We’re aware youth activists also joined the solidarity break by distributing flyers they made on their own initiative, in support of our organizing efforts. While the flyers were not consistent with CAWU’s organizing strategy and our communication ethos, we stand in solidarity with the rights of youth activists to participate and speak in a manner authentic to them.
Another bright spot in the midst of all this: four of our CAWU members refused to take the VSP and called management on their bluff to lay them off on June 28th. Despite being threatened with illegal layoffs, they remain on payroll with their benefits while their positions are bargained over.
Lastly, we have new t-shirts!! Don’t they look great? Alanna in Creative Studio designed the new shirt, so give them some major props for this fresh design!
Public Campaign 📢
We’ve started an email campaign and published an OpEd in the San Francisco Standard. Our demands are clear: Poor financial stewardship of the Academy must not be compounded by cutting mission-critical programming. Academy executives must share the details of their budget, and then commit to negotiating solutions with our union in good faith.
If you attended the last union lunch, you heard research conducted by SEIU 1021 staff on Cal Academy’s finances that suggests that the Academy’s structural deficit is a result of rising debt service costs and questionable financial investments. We believe that transparency and accountability are vital for our workers and our institution. Help us put public pressure on SLT and the Board by sending and sharing our public campaign!
Bargaining Updates
There have not been any bargaining sessions since June 10th. Bargaining will resume on July 11.
🤝 Movement events & news
We’ve been following the worker experience of the Science Museum of Minnesota who won their union in January 2023 and faced layoffs in March. Sound familiar? Alison Rempel Brown, former Chief of Staff at the Academy, is now the President and CEO of SMM. You can support a fair contract for our SMM colleagues by signing this petition.
The story above highlights how the issues we face are common in our field and why connecting with other unionized museum workers can help us. Interested in learning more? You can connect with colleagues at the Asian Art Museum, Exploratorium, deYoung and other museums at the next SEIU 1021 Museum Workers Committee Meeting on Tuesday, July 9 from 6-7pm at 350 Rhode Island Street or virtually (the zoom link will be added to the calendar when available).
🐝 Actions to take right now
Join our email campaign and send it to your community!
Sign up for union membership if you haven’t yet! Encourage your colleagues to sign up and discuss why it matters.
Fill out our two active surveys or nudge someone to do so
Make our union visible!
Wear your CAWU shirt every THURSDAY (switching from Tuesday) until we have a contract.
Wear your CAWU button every day until we have a contract.
Make your Academy profile picture our union emblem until we have a contract. Get it here.
🐱 CAT can use your help!
Contract Action Team is an informal group of CAWU members (like you!) volunteering to keep staff connected with one another. Are you looking to get more involved? Have a specific skill set to offer? Email us or join us at the next meeting to learn more.
📅 Upcoming Events
July 9 (Tuesday) 8:00 - 9:30 AM
The new t-shirt has dropped! Stop by our tabling station on the way into the office to pick one up.
July 11 (Thursday) 3:00 PM Solidarity Break
At the Swamp
Wear your *new* t-shirt and show support for the Bargaining Team as they negotiate with management. Questions about Solidarity Breaks? Read our FAQ!
July 17 (Wednesday) 12:00 - 2:00 PM Bargaining Team Office Hours
L3 Breakroom/Balcony
What’s going on with contract negotiations? Something important to you that you’d like to see in our first contract? Bring any and all questions/ideas to office hours with a member from the Bargaining Team. Check our contract tracker to see what’s on the table.
July 23 (Tuesday) 12:00 - 1:45 PM All Unit Lunch
Moss Room
Grab pizza and our new t-shirts! Hear the latest updates about bargaining and contract advocacy actions and connect with your other union members.
July 31 (Wednesday) 12:00 - 2:00 PM Bargaining Team Office Hours
B1 Africa Breakroom
What’s going on with contract negotiations? Something important to you that you’d like to see in our first contract? Bring any and all questions/ideas to office hours. Check our contract tracker to see what’s on the table.
For more up to date event information, meeting times, and locations, check/subscribe to the Cal Academy Workers United Google Calendar.
Get in touch with our SEIU field rep
Hours, or working conditions changed without your agreement, or in need of representation for a disciplinary action? Our interim staff field representative is Claude Joseph Claude.Joseph@seiu1021.org.
📫 Send a clear message to management
Congratulations on turning out for our first Solidarity Break last Tuesday. You were awesome in your CAWU t-shirts and pins!
Only coordinated, collective actions like these will move Academy management to do the right thing: stop unilateral, illegal layoffs, stop withholding the details of their budget, and commit to negotiating in good faith at the bargaining table. We all have an interest in negotiating a strong contract to set a financially sustainable, equitable path forward for the Academy. But, as it stands now, management seems more focused on delaying, obfuscating, and eliminating beloved programs that serve educators and museum guests.
The next step is to mobilize your friends, family, and community – anyone you know who cares about the Academy and its mission – to support us by writing to Academy management. Let them know our demands and why they matter to you. Use this link to send an email imploring Academy management to reverse program cuts and layoffs, and work with our union to find equitable solutions to the Academy’s current budget challenges.
When you’re done, forward this action to at least five of your friends, family, and colleagues!
In solidarity,
Contract Action Team
Important layoff & bargaining news
Layoff talks
In bargaining on Monday June 10th, management provided our bargaining team with a list of job descriptions for in-unit positions that have been proposed for elimination.
Management agreed to inform the 5 people (in 4 job descriptions) targeted for elimination that their positions are in jeopardy, and that management would be bargaining over the effects of eliminating those positions with our union, CAWU, before any layoffs take effect.
Our bargaining team’s position is that involuntary layoffs should not happen until our contract has been settled.
Budget information
Academy management appeared at the annual City and County of San Francisco appropriations committee budget hearings on Thursday morning, June 13th.
You will note in this year’s hearing that the city contribution to the Academy’s budget has not decreased by the 10% that management has said it would. We know that in the mayor’s February budget, there was in fact a 10% reduction proposed. That reduction had disappeared in the revised budget, (page 85) officially released on June 1.
Management might say that they didn’t know for sure that the revised budget would include a modest increase over last year’s city contribution until June 1, but we also know that on May 1, when we met with our sibling SEIU 1021 union chapters in the park to celebrate International Labor Day, that management at the Asian and the de Young had let their staff know that there would be no decline in city contributions to their institutions.
Currently the proposed fiscal year budget for 2024-2025 from the city is $7.7 million. The proposed budget for 2025-2026 is $8.6 million. Last year’s budget (FY 2023-2024) was $7.5 million.
You can watch the hearing for this year here (scroll to minute 23). Last year’s hearing is here (scroll to 1:26).
Ahead of the hearing on Thursday, we sent this letter to our San Francisco supervisors.
All unit meeting
Attend the all-unit meeting this Thursday at noon in the Classroom. We’ll have a very important presentation on the Academy’s finances, and talk about what we need to do to win a contract that helps to protect the future of the Academy and the people who make it what it is.
BT composition changes
Clea Matson is leaving the bargaining team. Gabby Farrer will take Clea’s place representing Education. Taking Gabby’s place representing GE will be Toby Felix and Jasmine Bost.
As always
Our petition is still relevant. Sign the petition: No involuntary layoffs!
Make our union visible. Wear your CalAcademy Workers United button at work every day until we have a contract.
Wear your CalAcademy Workers United t-shirt every Tuesday until we have a contract.
Make your Academy profile picture our union emblem until we have a contract. Get it here.
Sign up for union membership if you haven’t yet! Encourage your colleagues to sign up… and discuss why it matters.
We’ll see you on Thursday in the Classroom!
June Newsletter – 🚫 No Layoffs 🚫
TL;DR
Involuntary layoffs without bargaining are illegal and irresponsible. They will be opposed with every tool at our disposal by staff and the community.
Learn more about administrative bloat and inflated executive pay at the Academy.
Actions to take now!
We will bargain over layoffs.
Freshly hired senior leaders may not realize we won our union in a landslide victory after a hard-fought organizing drive and despite management’s efforts to undermine staff’s desire to build a more democratic workplace. We are now recognized by the National Labor Relations Board and leadership is legally obligated to negotiate in good faith over layoffs with our bargaining team.
However, many of us watched in disbelief at May 30th’s town hall (password: 1923-steinh@rt) as management framed position eliminations and program “pauses” as inevitable and non-negotiable. We consider this both an intimidation tactic and unfair labor practice. It’s also an insult to the staff members that have worked tirelessly to further the Academy’s mission and are now facing the prospect of losing their livelihoods.
In the last few weeks, while many of us try to pick up the pieces of our departments in the wake of the Voluntary Severance Program, management decided to flout the law and undermine the bargaining process by informing at least one of our colleagues that their positions are being eliminated. It’s irresponsible and illegal to inform people that their layoff is a forgone conclusion until the bargaining process has played out, let alone have employees “report to SEIU” for answers to questions about when they will lose their job and where they should turn in their Academy property. Read our full response to management on the topic of illegal, unilateral layoffs.
According to management, the Academy needs to close a budget gap (surprise!) and the only ways to do that are to pressure staff to quit “voluntarily” and to eliminate positions that many of us have dedicated our careers to foster. We do not accept the premise that the Academy’s budget should be balanced on the backs of workers. Our city leaders, our community, and most importantly, the people that actually run the institution, will not allow management to treat our friends and colleagues as disposable.
Of course, we are willing to negotiate in good faith to set the Academy on a sustainable path and have several proposals to do so. This is not an “us vs. them” situation—we all have an interest in making the Academy a more equitable, financially-sound institution. Read more about our thinking below, which has developed over the last year via research, extensive discussions, member surveys, and one-on-one meetings. If you have additional ideas, thoughts, or want to get involved, show up to union events and reach out. Let’s organize and build power together!
HR hiring numbers
Despite the proposed cuts to our Education, IBSS, and Planetarium departments among others, Academy management has found room in our budget to significantly increase the size of our human resources department, aka PACT, to fifteen full-time staff members. Entirely new, highly compensated roles have been created that did not exist prior to this year. For example, Jim Gohary presented in May’s town hall that a new “labor liaison” will cost the Academy an additional $200,000 annually. This role was presumably created to assist management’s lead contract negotiator, a paid legal consultant from the notorious union-busting law firm Jackson Lewis. In total, PACT accounts for nearly $2 million in labor costs, not including consulting fees.
If you’re interested in looking at the numbers yourself, we tracked salary ranges from PACT job postings and put them in a spreadsheet. You may be familiar with a visualization of this data which we presented in a pie chart in the May newsletter.
Executive pay
Over the past 17 years, executives, directors, and other highly paid employees have taken an increasing share of the Academy’s labor budget. Total funds allocated toward bonuses, housing stipends, and salaries for our top fifteen earners came to $5,024,643 last year. When issues of pay equity are raised by staff, vague justifications about the necessity of maintaining “lifestyles” and “competitive salaries” have been given. Management’s dismissive attitude is especially abhorrent when many of us are struggling to make rent while at the same time facing layoff threats. Executive pay must be a serious part of negotiations.
Our analysis of executive pay is based on a charting of compensation data from the Academy’s IRS filings. This is a straightforward apples-to-apples comparison over time of data derived from the Academy’s 990s, which all nonprofit organizations are required to file and publicize annually. (Source: ProPublica)
If the task at hand is to balance the budget, does the financial bloat described above seem sensible or sustainable, let alone equitable? Should an overstuffed HR department, expensive legal consultants, and lavish executive pay take priority over education and research? Like our Chief Financial Officer mentioned in the last town hall, “everything is on the table.” If we take management at their word and they’re serious about rebuilding trust, at a bare minimum they can start by negotiating with our elected bargaining representatives in good faith.
Movement events & news
Attend the SF Museum Worker Committee meeting tomorrow night! Strategize together and build solidarity among SEIU 1021 San Francisco museum chapters at the union hall on the evening of June 11th or via Zoom. Details and RSVP here. CalAcademy Workers United is on the agenda
This past March, OMCA Workers United won their union via voluntary recognition. Congratulations to our colleagues across the Bay at the Oakland Museum of California!
A study from Stanford about misperceptions of what those in the labor movement call “the union difference”.
Actions to take right now
The petition is still live and relevant. Sign the petition: No involuntary layoffs!
Make our union visible. Wear your CalAcademy Workers United button at work every day until we have a contract.
Wear your CalAcademy Workers United T-shirt every Tuesday until we have a contract.
Make your Academy profile picture our union emblem until we have a contract.
Sign up for union membership if you haven’t yet! Encourage your colleagues to sign up and discuss why it matters.
Stay tuned for more actions you can take on our website or Instagram.
CAT can use your help
The Contract Action Team is a group of union members (like you!) volunteering to keep staff connected throughout contract bargaining to build the power of our union. We have a fairly loose and fluid organization; everyone on CAT is a volunteer activist. There is a lot of work to be done, and we need your expertise! Whether you’re up for a small but important research project or an ongoing time commitment, get in touch if you’d like to help:
Welcome new hires to our union
Interface with the bargaining team
Tabling and flyering
Organize events and actions
Calendar
11 June, Tuesday 6:00pm-7:30pm
SF Museum Worker Committee Meeting
Strategize together and build solidarity among SEIU 1021 San Francisco museum chapters! Details and RSVP here.
12 June, Wednesday 12:00–1:00pm
Contract Action Team general meeting
L2-E large. Making connections, bargaining support, and more.
18 June, Tuesday 12:00–2:00pm
Bargaining Team office hours
L3 Breakroom or Balcony. Drop-in and connect with a bargaining team member and learn more about the ongoing contract negotiations! Share what's important to you and your department.
20 June, Thursday 12:00–1:45pm
All-Unit Lunch Meeting
In the Classroom this month (near the Naturalist Center). Our monthly opportunity for in-person bargaining and organizing updates and discussion. Lunch provided.
23 June, Sunday 2:00–3:00pm
Zoom Gathering
Can’t meet in person? Attend your monthly union meeting in cyberspace! Get the latest news about bargaining and have your questions answered by members of your bargaining team. Share your thoughts. Join here: https://seiu1021.zoom.us/j/6818350315?pwd=ODN5WjlmRUV5dCt4aGdsL0M1TUxvUT09
Meeting ID: 681 835 0315
Passcode: 1021
Ongoing events
For more event information, meeting times, and locations, check (or subscribe to) the CalAcademy Workers United Google Calendar.
Get in touch with our SEIU field rep
Hours or working conditions changed without your agreement? In need of representation for a disciplinary action? Our interim staff field representative is Claude Joseph, claude.joseph@seiu1021.org.
Board Meeting 5/22: Staff Testimonials
Staff members shared testimonials on behalf of themselves and their colleagues at today’s board meeting. Read two of them below.
If you haven’t already, please sign the petition to the board demanding no layoffs.
I am a success story of the Planetarium’s impact on visitors to the Academy. I first visited in the summer of 2018, when I was struggling with realizing that, three years into a physics degree, I did not want to get into research. Watching the presenter speak so passionately inspired me to enter museum education, and, through a twist of fate, work here myself.
We presenters are a key part of the Academy’s mission. The connections we forge enable our guests to learn about science together, collaboratively. We provide opportunities many of our guests would never otherwise experience, whether it is being able to view the moons of Jupiter through a telescope or simply touch a meteorite. These experiences, which cannot be automated, and do not exist at many planetaria, develop curiosity and inspire the kind of awe which they will share with countless others.
The live presentations we deliver in Hohfeld Hall allow us to cater to a wide range of audiences. We are able to update the programming more frequently than in the full dome, because a new feature presentation requires two years to produce, allowing us to keep the Academy’s astronomy content fresh for our members. We are also able to cater to young learners and their families as it is open to all ages, unlike the Planetarium. Our show designed for preschoolers, shown in Hohfeld Hall, has, in the past week, attracted an audience of 200 on one day and 155 on another.
On a final note, I want to share a pair of comments from guests. This past Friday, a guest approached me after viewing our multiple-award-winning program Spark: The Universe in Us. She had seen it before without the live science update we perform in nearly all presentations of Spark, and expressed that the additional information added a lot to the experience. And, I think most importantly, this past Sunday, a guest remarked that my presence added a soul not found in other Planetariums he had visited.
By ending the work my colleagues and I do, the Academy loses that soul, and everything that comes with it.
— Teddy Vollman
Planetarium Presenter
Speaking on behalf of education programs: Our ask is that you delay voting on a budget that cuts Teacher Professional Development and Science Action Club. We want to share data and other considerations that may not have been shared with you.
For over 25 years, the Academy’s teacher programs have provided educators with transformative professional development that increases the quality and quantity of science taught in PreK-12 classrooms.
Over the past decade Teacher Professional Development programs have impacted more than 8,000 teachers and one million students, primarily in the Bay Area. Much of this work aims to increase access to high quality science learning for students and teachers in systematically excluded groups, such as Black and Latine students and English Language Learners.
Students from systematically excluded groups are also more likely to attend after-school and out-of-school-time programs. This is the community Science Action Club serves. Just this last quarter of FY24, Science Action Club trained 65 Educators, and engaged with over 2000 youth in 100 clubs in California and beyond.
Finally, the Bayview Science Institute or BSI has a mission focused on environmental, place-based learning and building trust and community through science. The Bayview Science Institute serves teachers at 14 schools in Bayview Hunters Point and the Southeast corner of San Francisco. San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has been funding BSI since the program began in 2017.
When we asked teachers about their main Bayview Science Institute takeaway, a third grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary shared:
“Place-based learning is so important if we are serious about mentoring this next generation of environmental stewards in the Bayview. They need to know about the problematic history and be connected enough to the environment to want to do something about it.”
Some questions we have at this point that we hope you’ll also be curious about:
The Academy has core values that include advocacy, collaboration, and diversity & equity. What will it mean to the Bayview Hunters Point community when they hear we are abruptly abandoning teacher support?
Given that the BSI program is funded through SFPUC, would ending this program put our relationship with SFPUC at risk, as well as any other funding opportunities from them in the future?
Will these decisions impact our relationships and image with the many funders and communities who are interested in environmental justice work?
Since the Teacher Professional Development programs are earmarked in the Thriving California grant from the state, could eliminating these programs put the larger 2.1 million grant at risk?
These cuts would create both instability and drastically reduce our scope of work in education. How will this impact the ability of Development and Govt Affairs to generate funding under those conditions?
Our education programs are intrinsically tied to the mission of the Academy. We urge you to get some of the answers to the questions we’ve shared today, and delay the budget vote until you have all the information.
— Larissa Walder
Senior Associate, Teacher Professional Development
Teacher and Student Engagement