After a three-week strike, on March 26, management of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass Moca) and its union (United Auto Workers Local 2110) reached a tentative agreement. Mass Moca union members voted the same day to ratify the new contract.
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Mass Moca that raises minimum wages and improves working conditions,” the museum union’s bargaining committee said in a statement. “We are eager to return to the jobs we love.”
The agreement establishes a new minimum wage of $18 an hour and includes annual wage increases. According to the union, 58% of unionized workers currently earn $16.25 an hour; they will immediately see a salary increase. The agreement also includes some changes to the salary scale and significant salary increases, which will be phased in.
Full-time workers will receive an average salary increase of 3.5% over the next two years. Some employees will also receive raises based on their roles, levels of responsibility and seniority. The general wage increase for workers ranges from 3.9% to 14.29%. On average, Mass Moca workers can expect a 12.1% pay increase by the second year of the contract. Other added benefits include holiday pay and overtime for shifts longer than ten hours.
Before agreeing to the new contract, the union and Mass Moca management met for eight bargaining sessions focused solely on employee wages. The new salaries will take effect within 30 days, retroactive to January 1. (A one-day strike at Mass Moca in 2022 also focused on wages.)
“Equity and pay raises for Mass Moca workers have never been about how, but how fast,” Mass Moca CEO Kristy Edmunds said in a statement. “The agreement marks another bold precedent for the union and Mass Moca willing and working together… Our goal was shared, but our boundaries and communication efforts to reach it were different. In Sunday’s final negotiation session, there was genuine, fruitful collaboration and clarity, and that allowed all sides to agree.”
