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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2025

DC 37 Local 1502, UAW Local 2110 protest imminent layoffs at Brooklyn Museum

Nearly 50 essential museum workers set to be laid off on Monday

Photos from today’s rally available here.

NEW YORK— Hundreds of demonstrators joined DC 37 Local 1502, UAW Local 2110, elected officials and other unions at a lunchtime rally Thursday in front of the Brooklyn Museum to demand that management of the 200-year-old cultural institution cease the planned layoffs of nearly 50 workers. The layoffs, first announced unexpectedly on Feb. 5 as management’s solution to a $10 million budget deficit, are set to take place Monday, March 10.

The majority of the planned layoffs target union titles including clerical workers, assistants, educators, curators, conservators, guards, retail workers, and technicians.

In 2016, the museum faced a similar funding deficit. District Council 37 was a critical partner in helping identify cost savings and avoiding layoffs.

“We should have been invited to the table long before layoffs became the museum’s last resort,” said Henry Garrido, Executive Director of District Council 37. “We need the museum, the mayor, the city council and other elected officials to come together with our unions, demonstrate their commitment to these workers and this cultural institution, and hash out a solution to prevent these layoffs.”

DC 37 has since demanded multiple bargaining sessions with the Museum and requested the layoffs be postponed until alternatives, such as mandatory and voluntary furloughs, be considered.

“Brooklyn cultural workers must not pay the price for the Brooklyn Museum’s financial deficit,” said Wilson Souffrant, President of DC 37 Local 1502. “We will continue to stand up against unreasonable labor practices and fight for our members’ jobs.”

“This city and state should be a beacon of hope while Elon Musk and his cronies in Washington are trying to lay off all of the workers that they can,” said Brandon Mancilla, UAW Director for Region 9A. “We cannot let New York City institutions like the Brooklyn Museum do the same thing to us at the local level by normalizing the layoff of workers.”

“Our members love the Museum and provide core services to its visitors and the community it serves,” said Liz St. George, Union Chairperson of Local 2110 and Assistant Curator. “We provide essential care for the Museum’s incredible collection which will be jeopardized by these layoffs.”

District Council 37 is New York City's largest public employee union, with 150,000 members and 89,000 retirees.

UAW Local 2110, an amalgamated local union of the International UAW, represents thousands of museum, university and technical, office and professional employees in New York and New England.