Uptown Hispanic Society Museum Workers Go On Strike Over Contract

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The Hispanic Society Museum & Library in Washington Heights has one of the world's largest collections of Spanish art and literature — but it has been closed since 2017 due to renovations — and now its workers are on strike just a month before it is set to finally reopen.

The staff of the museum near Broadway and West 155th Street voted to go on strike beginning this weekend after they say the museum terminated the pension plan and certain healthcare premiums without raising wages.

"The Hispanic Society's offer to us is unfair," the staff wrote in a statement. "We're a small, dedicated staff that has worked under difficult physical conditions with constant staffing shortages."

"We've accepted lower wages than we could earn at other institutions because of the benefits," the staff, which unionized as part of UAW Local 2110 in 2021, added. "The contract they are offering makes our employment truly unsustainable."

On the other side of the bargaining table, the Hispanic Society told Patch it has been "striving to reach a fair contract for more than one year" with the staff.

The uptown museum said that it offered its most recent rendition of the contract on March 3, but hadn't received a response or counter proposal until it learned that workers would go on strike.

In terms of the contract changes, the Hispanic Society says that it included a $4,000 signing bonus and retroactive wage increases of 5 percent in its most recent offer to the union.

For health insurance, the Hispanic Society's says its most recent proposal asked employees to cover between 2.5 percent and 12.5 percent of the premiums based on income, while the union is calling for the museum to cover 100 percent of the premiums and deductibles.

The staff says these premiums and deductibles were previously completely paid for by the museum.

The union also accused the museum of "trying to remove as many positions as possible from union eligibility by threatening to subcontract our positions and by misclassifying positions as temporary."

The striking workers have received support from multiple uptown elected officials this week, including uptown Council Members Carmen De La Rosa and Shaun Abreu.

"From the beginning of their (staff) organizing for better pay, health care, and working conditions until now, they have been met with shameful union-busting tactics from the Hispanic Society, who would rather resort to intimidation and misinformation than treat their long-term staff with dignity and respect," Council Member Shaun Abreu told Patch. "The Hispanic Society is funded by city government — their trustees better think twice if they think they can disparage the working class and still receive public assistance."

"Thank you Council Member Carmen De La Rosa for your support of striking workers," the union tweeted this weekend.

Representatives from the Hispanic Society told Patch that the museum opening is still planned for May, but there are construction delays with an ADA ramp installation.

The museum remains optimistic that an agreement will be reached in time.

"Most recently, parties have returned to the bargaining table," the Hispanic Society wrote. "The Hispanic Society remains optimistic that an agreement will be reached in the near future, and we are committed to keeping an open line of communication with our devoted staff."