FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 3, 2003
Layoffs and program cuts accompany Art Gallery of Ontario expansion
TORONTO - In the midst of a massive fundraising campaign to support a Frank Gehry-designed building expansion, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has announced the layoff of 25 staff.
The AGO has told laid-off staff that it will close the second floor of gallery space, cut school educational programs, and eliminate traveling exhibitions within Ontario.
“The AGO is still paying off a multi-million dollar debt from the 1992 expansion,” said Brian Gravestock, a cabinetmaker at the AGO and Chair of the contract bargaining committee for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. “If the Gallery can’t even manage its current budget, how can we expect it to manage a $500-million building expansion?”
The layoffs and program cuts will provoke an angry response from AGO staff in the days and weeks ahead, said Lisa Walter, Visitor Services Representative and president of OPSEU Local 535.
“This is an inexplicable move at a time when Toronto is trying to rebuild its tourism industry,” she added. “The AGO can’t cut vital jobs and programs and not expect a response, both at the bargaining table and in the community. This story is not over.”
OPSEU represents 345 full and part-time employees at the AGO, who work in almost all areas of the operation, including technical services, special event services, curatorial, and education. They have been without a collective agreement since Nov. 30, 2002.
A strike was narrowly avoided during the 1999 round of negotiations after the AGO backed down on demands for concessions to wages, benefits, and job security.
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For more information:
Brian Gravestock (416) 979-6660, ext. 420
Lisa Walter (416) 443-8888, ext. 677
