Hundreds of workers at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) recently went on strike in one of Canada’s most expensive cities in an effort to get higher wages.
After ten months of negotiations, members of Local 535 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) officially went on strike on March 26 after the museum’s latest offer was rejected.
The union said the AGO’s “final” offer did not offer livable wages and included protections against hiring part-time workers, who make up 60 percent of the museum’s workforce.
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Events co-ordinator Mark Thornberry has worked at the museum for 15 years, but said museum salaries are not keeping up with Toronto’s rapidly rising cost of living. “At the moment it’s huge. It’s the bottom line, and it’s a tough hat because people love working at the Art Gallery of Ontario,” said Thornberry. CBC News. “It seems more and more that employers don’t care about them.”
OPSEU local president Paul Ayers says public service workers have battled the Covid-19 pandemic and three years of wage freezes, and cannot keep up with inflation.
“The AGO Foundation paid its CEO, Stephan Jost, more than $390,000 in ‘consulting’ fees between 2020 and 2021 alone, in addition to his $406,000 salary,” Ayers said in a press release. “Still no money for wages? The gallery can fully afford to make a better offer.’
In an emailed statement, AGO spokeswoman Andrea-Jo Wilson said ARTnews, “AGO hopes that we will soon reach a negotiated agreement with OPSEU. The Museum remains open to negotiation and fully prepared to work constructively with employee representatives to reach a reasonable and fair agreement. When operations resume, updates will be posted on ago.ca.
The AGO labor strike also follows news of a major expansion expected to cost CAD$100 million ($740 million). The five-story, 40,000-square-foot expansion dedicated to modern and contemporary art will be named after Canada Goose founder Dani Reiss, who donated CAD$35 million ($25.9 million). The Canadian government has invested $25 million ($18.5 million).
The museum’s latest financial statements, ending March 31, 2023, show a deficit of CAD$3.8 million ($2.86 million). Although administrative expenses were down from the previous year, food and beverage and art purchase costs (gifted and purchased) were up significantly from the previous year.
