DECEMBER 17, 2021
Subject: Bargaining Update
Subject: Bargaining Update
Greetings Everyone,
This is Shawn Watrous, co-chair of your Bargaining Committee with our final update for 2021. It’s been quite a year working at the Carnegie Museums. For the first half of the year like most of you, I was just a Union member who had voted yes and then proceeded to go about my workdays with a new sense of hope that things would get better. In August I had the opportunity to accept a nominated position on the Bargaining Committee and since then I have had a front row seat to the very challenging experience of Bargaining with CMP. I am still in awe of the work done by the Bargaining Committee before my time as a member.
We have had three Bargaining sessions since our last update. The focus of our November 30th meeting was a continuation of non-economic contract negotiations, working with CMP to develop a language that we can agree upon between our proposal and theirs. Our meetings on December 13th and 15th were two intense days of trying to find an agreement on how CMP raises will play out in 2022. Through much deliberation we have secured the standard 1% across the board increase for all in-unit members that will be in effect for the first full pay period of 2022 (which we will receive a check for in February). We will continue working toward a shared goal with CMP to secure an additional wage increase in the Spring of 2022.
I am also happy to report that we are close to finalizing the proposed ACE and AWM Educators Re-org. In addition to all that, we are continuing to work with CMP to find solutions for problems frontline staff are facing. I want to thank the frontline workers who bring these issues to our attention so that we can make our workplaces safer.
Having made it through the first full year of this Union, one Union among the many unionization efforts happening in this country right now, I want to give all of us something to consider: We are the United Museum Workers. We are the Union. It’s not something outside of us that we look to for help; we have staff from the United Steelworkers helping us, but it is us museum workers setting the priorities and making the decisions. And of course there are members of this Union on committees and in leadership roles, but the Union isn’t something separate from us, out there, working for us. It is us, all of us. My fellow co-chair, Jenise Brown, said it best in her opening remarks for our first Bargaining session with CMP.
We have all come here today as a community of people intent on working for the common good, to improve this institution for everyone. We love this institution. We want it to thrive. But this cannot be accomplished without workers having a voice.
We must all collectively be that voice. If you want to make a change, consider getting involved with our Union in whatever way you can, toward making these Museums better. Better for each other and better for ourselves.
In the coming months we will be looking to add a member to our Bargaining Committee, consider nominating yourself or someone you know to fill that role. There will be a meeting addressing this. Also, in early 2022, we will hold training on our rights as Union members and for those interested in becoming union stewards. I encourage everyone who can to participate in these and all future Union meetings and events.
We will return to bargaining in January to continue our non-economic contract negotiations and other previously mentioned endeavors. If you have questions, concerns or just want to see how you can become more involved, always feel free to contact a member of CAT or one of us on the Bargaining Committee. In the meantime have a joyful Holiday Season, and know that we are honored to have the opportunity to serve you.
In Solidarity,
Shawn
Bio:
Shawn Watrous has been employed at CMOA as the Associate Preparator since 2016. Raised in CA, he received his BFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2002. He moved to Pittsburgh in 2004 and became active in the Pittsburgh art community. He has worked as a Scenic Painter as a member of the IATSE Union on a number of films shot in western Pennsylvania. He received his MFA in painting at Kent State University in 2013 and returned to the Pittsburgh region in 2014. He has taught studio art and lecture courses as an adjunct instructor at Kent State University and Penn State New Kensington. He finds his work in exhibitions and collections at the museum to be a delightfully perfect fit for his skills and interests. He is proud to have the opportunity to be a member of the United Museum Workers and honored to represent his fellow members as part of the Bargaining Committee.
He has a home and art studio with his wife and two children in Springdale PA. In his spare time he keeps a garden, studies and practices Zen Meditation, and plays guitar and banjo. He continues to make and show his paintings.
This is Shawn Watrous, co-chair of your Bargaining Committee with our final update for 2021. It’s been quite a year working at the Carnegie Museums. For the first half of the year like most of you, I was just a Union member who had voted yes and then proceeded to go about my workdays with a new sense of hope that things would get better. In August I had the opportunity to accept a nominated position on the Bargaining Committee and since then I have had a front row seat to the very challenging experience of Bargaining with CMP. I am still in awe of the work done by the Bargaining Committee before my time as a member.
We have had three Bargaining sessions since our last update. The focus of our November 30th meeting was a continuation of non-economic contract negotiations, working with CMP to develop a language that we can agree upon between our proposal and theirs. Our meetings on December 13th and 15th were two intense days of trying to find an agreement on how CMP raises will play out in 2022. Through much deliberation we have secured the standard 1% across the board increase for all in-unit members that will be in effect for the first full pay period of 2022 (which we will receive a check for in February). We will continue working toward a shared goal with CMP to secure an additional wage increase in the Spring of 2022.
I am also happy to report that we are close to finalizing the proposed ACE and AWM Educators Re-org. In addition to all that, we are continuing to work with CMP to find solutions for problems frontline staff are facing. I want to thank the frontline workers who bring these issues to our attention so that we can make our workplaces safer.
Having made it through the first full year of this Union, one Union among the many unionization efforts happening in this country right now, I want to give all of us something to consider: We are the United Museum Workers. We are the Union. It’s not something outside of us that we look to for help; we have staff from the United Steelworkers helping us, but it is us museum workers setting the priorities and making the decisions. And of course there are members of this Union on committees and in leadership roles, but the Union isn’t something separate from us, out there, working for us. It is us, all of us. My fellow co-chair, Jenise Brown, said it best in her opening remarks for our first Bargaining session with CMP.
We have all come here today as a community of people intent on working for the common good, to improve this institution for everyone. We love this institution. We want it to thrive. But this cannot be accomplished without workers having a voice.
We must all collectively be that voice. If you want to make a change, consider getting involved with our Union in whatever way you can, toward making these Museums better. Better for each other and better for ourselves.
In the coming months we will be looking to add a member to our Bargaining Committee, consider nominating yourself or someone you know to fill that role. There will be a meeting addressing this. Also, in early 2022, we will hold training on our rights as Union members and for those interested in becoming union stewards. I encourage everyone who can to participate in these and all future Union meetings and events.
We will return to bargaining in January to continue our non-economic contract negotiations and other previously mentioned endeavors. If you have questions, concerns or just want to see how you can become more involved, always feel free to contact a member of CAT or one of us on the Bargaining Committee. In the meantime have a joyful Holiday Season, and know that we are honored to have the opportunity to serve you.
In Solidarity,
Shawn
Bio:
Shawn Watrous has been employed at CMOA as the Associate Preparator since 2016. Raised in CA, he received his BFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2002. He moved to Pittsburgh in 2004 and became active in the Pittsburgh art community. He has worked as a Scenic Painter as a member of the IATSE Union on a number of films shot in western Pennsylvania. He received his MFA in painting at Kent State University in 2013 and returned to the Pittsburgh region in 2014. He has taught studio art and lecture courses as an adjunct instructor at Kent State University and Penn State New Kensington. He finds his work in exhibitions and collections at the museum to be a delightfully perfect fit for his skills and interests. He is proud to have the opportunity to be a member of the United Museum Workers and honored to represent his fellow members as part of the Bargaining Committee.
He has a home and art studio with his wife and two children in Springdale PA. In his spare time he keeps a garden, studies and practices Zen Meditation, and plays guitar and banjo. He continues to make and show his paintings.
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