FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2006
Possible strike at
Art Gallery of Ontario could disrupt summer tourist season
and delay gallery’s “Transformation” project, OPSEU warns
Toronto – Unionized staff have
voted almost 96 per cent in favour of a possible strike at the
Art Gallery of Ontario this summer, raising the prospect of
major disruptions at one of Toronto’s top tourist attractions
and delays in the gallery’s $250 million construction project.
“Our members didn’t make this
decision lightly,” said Marcie Lawrence, chair of the OPSEU
Local 535 bargaining team and an AGO employee for almost 29
years. “But after six months of bargaining, we have made no
real progress. If the employer doesn’t start negotiating
seriously, a strike may be our only option.”
Job security is the key issue
for the 266 full- and part-time AGO staff, who are represented
by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. Unionized AGO
workers include artists, assistant curators, conservators,
designers, preparators, educators, technical and maintenance
workers, and visitor services, retail and restaurant staff.
Since 2003, the AGO has
eliminated more than 120 union positions. At the same time,
the gallery has launched an ambitious $250 million expansion
project called “Transformation AGO.”
“AGO management is spending
hundreds of millions on a new building, but they are ignoring
the staff whose work makes a visit to the gallery such a rich
experience,” Lawrence said.
The union’s demands include:
alternatives to further layoffs as AGO renovations proceed,
recalling laid off employees before new staff are hired,
limits on contracting out and the use of temporary staff, a
process for converting part-time jobs to full-time, and
improved job protection for part-timers. Workers are also
seeking a realistic wage settlement.
AGO management and the OPSEU
bargaining team will meet with a provincial conciliation
officer on May 23, 26 and 29. If no agreement is reached, a
legal strike could take place starting in late June. OPSEU
members have been without a contract since November 2005.
“It’s time for AGO management
to recognize how serious the situation is and start
negotiating a fair collective agreement,” Lawrence said.
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For more information, please
contact:
Twila Marston, OPSEU
negotiator, (416) 346-7766
Myles Magner, OPSEU campaigns, (416) 443-8888, ext. 8777.
