SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 - UPDATE FROM OUR BARGAINING COMMITTEE
Wednesday, September 1st was UMW’s very first bargaining session! This was a huge step that we have all been working toward since organizing began. I am excited to give you a quick snapshot of how the day went.
Your entire bargaining committee was present. This included Jenise Brown (CMNH), Jeremy Moore (Central), Jim Kappas (CSC), John Watt (CSC/Central), Pam Curtin (CMNH PNR), Ethan Gladding (AWM), Tom Fisher (CMOA), Gabi DiDonna (CMOA), Shawn Watrous (CMOA), Mariana Padias (USW), and Kelly Weaver, our chief spokesperson from USW.
CMP’s bargaining committee consists of Bob Cameron (outside legal counsel for CMP), Brian Harkins (CMP - HR), Erin Kenavey (CMP - HR), Frank Cardiello (CMP - Chief Financial Officer), Ed Motznik (CMP - Vice President of IT) , Kelly Thorton (CMP - Director of Special Events), Jesse Rodriguez (Deputy Director of CMNH) , Kim Amey (Deputy Director of CSC), Yvonne Maher (Vice President of ACE), Clarissa Morales (Director of Collections & Exhibitions of CMOA), Rachel Baron-Horn (Deputy Director of AWM), Lori Braszo (CMP - General Manager of Retail Operations) and Jason Segreti (Director of Visitor Services).
Introductions were friendly, and many individuals on both teams expressed excitement to be involved with the collective-bargaining process.
As you will recall, earlier this year the Bargaining Committee asked members to fill out a bargaining survey. We have spent numerous hours between then and now synthesizing your priorities and concerns. Your guidance on what you wanted to see changed and what you wanted to maintain advised us in creating the proposal that we presented to management. It is common in collective-bargaining negotiations to address non-economic items first and then move to economics, so the proposal that we presented was focused on your non-economic priorities. We are looking forward to addressing economic issues (which we know are important to everyone!) in the future.
Upon completion of their initial review of our non-economic proposal, CMP’s bargaining team had no immediate questions or clarifications. They thanked us for our commitment and time spent drafting the document. We are scheduled to have our next session in three weeks, at which time CMP will provide us with their own counter-proposal.
During this session, I had the privilege of giving an opening statement on behalf of our Union to set our intentions for bargaining. I would like to share it with you.
Your entire bargaining committee was present. This included Jenise Brown (CMNH), Jeremy Moore (Central), Jim Kappas (CSC), John Watt (CSC/Central), Pam Curtin (CMNH PNR), Ethan Gladding (AWM), Tom Fisher (CMOA), Gabi DiDonna (CMOA), Shawn Watrous (CMOA), Mariana Padias (USW), and Kelly Weaver, our chief spokesperson from USW.
CMP’s bargaining committee consists of Bob Cameron (outside legal counsel for CMP), Brian Harkins (CMP - HR), Erin Kenavey (CMP - HR), Frank Cardiello (CMP - Chief Financial Officer), Ed Motznik (CMP - Vice President of IT) , Kelly Thorton (CMP - Director of Special Events), Jesse Rodriguez (Deputy Director of CMNH) , Kim Amey (Deputy Director of CSC), Yvonne Maher (Vice President of ACE), Clarissa Morales (Director of Collections & Exhibitions of CMOA), Rachel Baron-Horn (Deputy Director of AWM), Lori Braszo (CMP - General Manager of Retail Operations) and Jason Segreti (Director of Visitor Services).
Introductions were friendly, and many individuals on both teams expressed excitement to be involved with the collective-bargaining process.
As you will recall, earlier this year the Bargaining Committee asked members to fill out a bargaining survey. We have spent numerous hours between then and now synthesizing your priorities and concerns. Your guidance on what you wanted to see changed and what you wanted to maintain advised us in creating the proposal that we presented to management. It is common in collective-bargaining negotiations to address non-economic items first and then move to economics, so the proposal that we presented was focused on your non-economic priorities. We are looking forward to addressing economic issues (which we know are important to everyone!) in the future.
Upon completion of their initial review of our non-economic proposal, CMP’s bargaining team had no immediate questions or clarifications. They thanked us for our commitment and time spent drafting the document. We are scheduled to have our next session in three weeks, at which time CMP will provide us with their own counter-proposal.
During this session, I had the privilege of giving an opening statement on behalf of our Union to set our intentions for bargaining. I would like to share it with you.
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“Good morning, everyone. We are excited to begin work towards a first contract that will be fair to both sides of the table.
I am personally honored to stand here as a representative of the United Museum Workers. Myself and my fellow bargaining committee members have been elected by our peers and we take the responsibility of representing their interests very seriously. Therefore, we come to these negotiations with the shared principles of respect, inclusion, and empowerment. During these talks, we will actively work toward positive change and intersectionality. All work that we do will be through the lens of honoring the shared and varied perspectives of our diverse workers across departments and components. 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. UMW is serious about elevating the voices of the most marginalized workers and making structural changes to create equity. These issues are systemic, longstanding, and are not the fault of anyone currently here negotiating, but it is our responsibility to solve them. UMW acknowledges and appreciates the progress CMP has made toward this, but there is substantially more to be done. So our intentions will be clear and resolute as we work in good faith to achieve a contract that creates: An institution that is stable, robust, and more connected with the community. And workers that are diverse, financially secure, both heard and respected, and are afforded the opportunity for meaningful work. We look forward to working with all of you in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you.” |
Our work is not done yet, but we have come very far together, and I am so proud to be your Union sibling. Wishing you all a very happy Labor Day and be on the lookout for a UMW-related op-ed in this weekend’s Trib!
Love,
Jenise
Bio:
Jenise Brown works as a part-time educator at CMNH and has been in her position for three and a half years. She is an ecologist with degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of South Florida, where she spent a lot of her time in a pond looking for frogs. Her favorite part of her job as an educator is to take students to ponds... to look for frogs! When she is not working at the museum or on Explorer working for Rivers of Steel, you can find her gardening, hanging out with her partner Jason and their two cats, doing union stuff, or helping out with other community and civic engagement.
Love,
Jenise
Bio:
Jenise Brown works as a part-time educator at CMNH and has been in her position for three and a half years. She is an ecologist with degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of South Florida, where she spent a lot of her time in a pond looking for frogs. Her favorite part of her job as an educator is to take students to ponds... to look for frogs! When she is not working at the museum or on Explorer working for Rivers of Steel, you can find her gardening, hanging out with her partner Jason and their two cats, doing union stuff, or helping out with other community and civic engagement.
@UMWpgh
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@UMWpgh
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@umwpgh
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