Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Workers represented by AFSCME at the Please Touch Museum (PTM) in Philadelphia have voted to approve their first-ever collective bargaining agreement at the institution.
Staff voted to form Please Touch Museum United in April 2023, becoming the city’s first children’s museum to form a union and yet another organizing victory forged through the AFSCME Cultural Workers United campaign. Wins in the agreement include a 13.3% immediate increase in minimum pay—with guaranteed raises up to 24% over the lifetime of the contract—the ability to rollover sick time and vacation, reductions in health insurance cost-shares and more.
“Museum and cultural workers have traditionally accepted low pay and precarious conditions as a trade-off for doing mission-driven work,” said AFSCME District Council 47 President April Gigetts. “But those conditions aren’t sustainable for people who need a paycheck to live. As museums become more racially and economically diverse workplaces, workers are increasingly demanding the same rights and protections as those in other industries.”