By ACACIA RODRIGUEZ

With light from the setting sun illuminating the front of the historic Brooklyn Museum, members from Local 1502 and United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110 rallied to protest the reckless layoff of more than 40 staffers, including curators, assistants, conservators, retail workers, educators, and security guards.

More than 200 people chanted on the picket line outside, while inside, the executives’ invite-only “Chairman’s Dinner” honored trustees, donors, and their guests.

Under Director Anne Pasternak’s leadership, the museum faces a looming $10 million deficit. Management is seeking to cut costs by laying off union members making between $42,000-$80,000 while taking just a 10% cut to management salaries, the highest of which is more than $1 million. In 2024, the museum celebrated its 200th anniversary with extravagant events, an overhaul of branding, and the opening of a new restaurant. There is currently a 2026 renovation planned for its Arts of Africa collection.

Local 1502 President Wilson Souffrant noted the museum recruited management with high salaries to oversee the new developments, but their lack of success meant cuts to workers who make the museum run.

“We are the backbone of this museum,” Souffrant said. “This was a deficit management created, not the workers! They need to resolve it without sacrificing us. I got a phone call on Feb. 4 where they told me that just three days later, they would go forward with layoffs but I should keep it ‘confidential’ as to not cause chaos among staff.”

The union intervened to postpone the layoffs for the contractual 30 days. In 2016, when the museum faced a similar funding issue, management worked with the union to avoid layoffs by offering buyouts and voluntary furloughs to save jobs and add savings.

“My colleagues and I are saddened by the museum’s decision to cut back on high-impact, low-cost educational and public programs,” said June Lei, a Public Programs Producer Supervising Instructor in Local 1502. “Brooklyn is considered the creative capital of the world, and in a city with a $110 billion cultural economy, there’s no reason that art workers should be out of jobs.”