Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and IUOE Local 30 Complete Negotiations for First Collective Bargaining Agreement

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 signed their first collective bargaining agreement.

The three-year contract covers 22 full-time employees of the Guggenheim including engineering and facilities professionals and art services, preparation, and fabrication specialists, as well as 145 on-call staff who perform a variety of functions relating to exhibition preparation, installation, and maintenance. These employees voted on June 27, 2019 to be represented by Local 30 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).

This agreement is the product of over a year of negotiations between the Guggenheim and Local 30. The terms of the agreement include an increase in wages for covered employees, as well as formalized standards and increased parity for scheduling and work rules, job levels, and other terms.

William Lynn, IUOE Vice President and IUOE Local 30 Business Manager & Financial Secretary, said of the agreement: “Local 30 committed to these workers that we would relentlessly pursue an agreement where their talents and skills were justly recognized. We are proud to announce today that such an agreement has been reached with the Guggenheim. Our collective struggle to unionize led to negotiating a historic contract that raises working conditions and gives the members a powerful voice in the workplace. With the Guggenheim, we will continue to improve standards together.”

Richard Armstrong, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation said “We are pleased to have reached a contract agreement with IUOE Local 30. I am grateful to our skilled colleagues who are members of IUOE Local 30 for their contributions towards fulfilling the museum’s mission. I look forward to an ongoing productive relationship with these talented employees and their union representatives.”

The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 represents 6,000 working men and women throughout New York and Connecticut. The International Union of Operating Engineers, founded in 1896, has well over 400,000 members in the United States and Canada. IUOE Local 30 members power and maintain the infrastructure of New York and Connecticut and represents workers in hospitals, entertainment venues, healthcare facilities and municipal buildings. Local 30 members also work in cultural centers including the Museum of Modern Art, Broadway Theaters, Whitney Museum, MoMA PS1, the MET and Lincoln Center. For more information about IUOE Local 30 visit our website at iuoelocal30.org

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was established in 1937 and is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The international constellation of museums comprises the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. An architectural icon and “temple of spirit” where radical art and architecture meet, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is among a group of eight Frank Lloyd Wright structures in the United States recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. To learn more about the museum and the Guggenheim’s activities around the world, visit guggenheim.org.