{"id":11575506,"date":"2025-07-23T20:26:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T00:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11575506"},"modified":"2025-07-25T11:08:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T15:08:47","slug":"walters-art-museum-workers-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/23\/walters-art-museum-workers-agreement\/","title":{"rendered":"Walters Art Museum workers in Baltimore ratify collective bargaining agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

About 80 Walters Art Museum staff members voted unanimously Wednesday to ratify their first union contract more than four years after they announced their intention\u00a0to unionize.<\/p>\n

Both sides heralded the agreement, which provides for nearly 14% raises during the three-year contract, eight weeks of paid parental leave and a $750 annual health stipend for part-time staff members \u2014 the first time that some workers will get funds from their employer to help cover health expenses.<\/p>\n

Sarah Freshnock, a preventive conservator at the Walters and a member of the bargaining committee,\u00a0 said that the paid parental leave \u2014 a benefit the staff has never had before \u2014 is especially meaningful to her, since she is getting married in September, and she and her fiance have been discussing starting a family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a long process and some people wondered if this contract was ever going to happen,\u201d Freshnock said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a huge win. We started out really far apart, but people on both sides of the bargaining table worked hard over many months to find a way to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate Burgin, the museum’s Andrea B. and John H. Laporte director and CEO, wrote in a statement that management is committed to a relationship that is “grounded in mutual respect and shared goals in support of our team members.”<\/p>\n

She added: “With the [collective bargaining agreement] now ratified, we look forward to moving ahead together with renewed commitment to the museum\u2019s mission to bring art and people together.”<\/p>\n

The contract ratification is the most recent example of burgeoning unionization efforts nationwide, which increased dramatically following the coronavirus pandemic-induced job losses and worker protection concerns. Cultural workers locally who have unionized in the past three years include staff members at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Howard County Library System and the Anne Arundel County Public Library.<\/p>\n

But at the Walters, unionization efforts proved especially contentious and drawn-out.<\/p>\n

“I’m ecstatic that this day has finally come,” Will Murray, who has worked for the Baltimore museum for 27 years and is now its lead maintenance technician, said in a news release. “The Walters is now on par with other progressive institutions who are willing to reward their very deserving employees for their hard work throughout the years with all that this contract entails.”<\/p>\n

The long impasse began shortly after staff members who called themselves Walters Workers United announced April 30, 2021, that they planned to organize to address such issues as pay equity, workplace safety and career advancement.<\/p>\n

The dispute centered on whether the Walters would have one union or two and which employees would be included in them \u2014 issues that took two years, a lawsuit<\/a> and the introduction of bills into the state legislature to resolve. (The bills were withdrawn once the union election was scheduled<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Bargaining began shortly after workers voted<\/a> June 15, 2023, to organize a single union under the auspices of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The contract includes security guards, educators, conservation staff and gift shop employees, among others. Managers, supervisors, confidential employees and members of the leadership team remain outside union jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

The workers said \u00a0highlights of their new agreement include:<\/p>\n