Bargaining update: 2/17

Feb 17

On Wednesday our members delivered a petition signed by 70% of our bargaining unit to Scott Sampson and the CAS Board of Directors during their board meeting in support of our top priorities for the first contract:

Fair, regular pay increases for all employees based on longevity. Also, to raise the minimum pay for the lowest paid employees.
Meaningful protections from future layoffs. Severance pay, if layoffs are unavoidable.
Clear pathways to promotion and fair hiring practices.
Transparency and accountability in financial and governance decisions.
Supporting the DEIA goals of the Academy by ensuring gender neutral bathrooms with menstrual supplies, pronoun pins for workers, and education for staff on the racist legacies of the Academy and science museums generally.

Executive Director Scott Sampson hid from his own employees instead of accepting the petition.

While we have made a lot of progress on our first contract, the Academy management has continued to refuse fair increases to pay.

Management has said they can’t afford bigger raises. According to publicly-available 990 tax filings through 2023, here’s what we know:

The Academy historically ran operating modest deficits every year and covered those deficits from other sources—fundraising, endowment, investments, etc. After we unionized, the Board suddenly decided that they had to have a balanced budget and started with layoffs and cuts.
One third of our members earn below $25/hour. The median annual pay for our members is $48,374—not enough to survive in the Bay Area.
If the Academy has financial problems, it’s not because we get paid too much, and the solution won’t come from the lowest paid people. As a share of total personnel costs, the Academy spends 42% more than similar institutions like the Exploratorium or the Monterey Bay Aquarium on executive compensation.
The Academy annual expenses are in the range of $80-100 million. In comparison, a 1% pay increase for our entire bargaining unit is about $164,954. This is a drop in the bucket of the overall cost of the institutions.
While our members work multiple jobs and struggle to survive, Scott Sampson’s pay has increased by 21% IN ONE YEAR to $629,458. Sampson’s salary BY ITSELF would pay for a raise of over 3% for our ENTIRE MEMBERSHIP.

Their proposal would mean that most of our bargaining unit would see raises of about 7.5% until 2028. Not 7.5% per year. Just 7.5%. That doesn’t keep up with the cost of living let alone reduce inequality. The Academy has hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, endowments, and other funds. They’ve just decided to prioritize paying senior leadership and fund managers instead of the workers who actually make the institution the amazing place it is. Our great petition delivery on Wednesday sent them a message that we will do what it takes and we will keep turning up the heat until we achieve a fair contract.

If you want to chat more about the action or get more bargaining updates please join us Tuesday the 25th at 12pm in the Moss Room for our all unit lunch.

And now week of Feb 17th, 2025 Bargaining Update

Tuesday Session:

CAWU countered