Striking Art Gallery of Ontario Workers Gain Contract, Museum to Reopen

TheArt Gallery of Ontario(AGO), whichclosed to the publicon March 26 as more than four hundred unionized workers went on strike, is set to reopen on April 30. The employees, whose ranks included curators, archivists, designers, researchers, technicians, and front desk staff, are represented by Local 535 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) and had sought wage increases and protection for part-time workers after being “hit right in the paycheck during the pandemic,” according to union president Paul Ayers. Ayers additionally pointed to a “cost-of-living crisis” as driving the action, which followed the breakdown of ten months of talks.

“As public service employees, our wages were unconstitutionally capped at a one percent annual increase since 2020,” Ayers toldCBC News. “It stokes your fire, when members are struggling, to see management receive yearly pay bumps in the range of 10 to 59 percent.”

Early on the morning of April 25, following a sixteen-hour bargaining session, museum management and union representatives were able to reach a tentative agreement, which was subsequently ratified by union members, with 85 percent voting in favor of it. Among the concessions won are an 11.4 percent wage increase retroactive to December 2021 for both full- and part-time employees; expanded worker rights to hold employment in multiple positions; and the establishment of a joint committee meant to reduce third-party contracting out of part-time labor. Also included in the agreement are more substantial meal allowances and bereavement leave for full-time employees.

“The dedication of workers standing up together after years of deteriorating working conditions at the gallery was nothing short of inspiring,” Ayers said in a statement. “The relationships workers forge with each other through strikes are a mosaic of victories. We’re facing tomorrow together, as a stronger union who knows the full-time and part-time fights are indivisible. And we’re not done here—this is only the beginning.”

The contract is set to expire November 30, 2025, meaning workers will be back at the table in a year.