Working people across the United States have stepped 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.
More than a year and a half after winning voluntary recognition, workers at the Academy Foundation—the nonprofit arm of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that is dedicated to protecting film history—ratified their first collective bargaining agreement.
The Academy Foundation Workers Union (AFWU) is an affiliate of AFSCME Local 126, which also represents workers at the Academy Museum. AFWU is composed of 86 archivists, film preservationists, librarians, curators and other staff members who operate outreach and educational initiatives, including the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Margaret Herrick Library and the Academy Film Archive. Members voted last week to accept the new three-year contract that includes a wage increase between 11% and 27% over the next three years and annual wage increases that will be at least 3% minimum. Additional wins include another four weeks of paid parental leave, protections against subcontracting and language that will create more professional development opportunities for workers.
“Our first contract signals to our bargaining unit and management that a new era at the Academy Foundation has arrived—an era of a more fair and equitable partnership with management and workers,” said film archivist and AFWU bargaining team member, Jessi Jones. “As we move forward, the bargaining unit will benefit from wage increases, health care and benefits stability and a system of checks and balances. I’m proud to be a member of AFWU and proud of our accomplishments.”