After weeks of rallies against expected layoffs at the Brooklyn Museum and even a special oversight hearing at City Hall, District Council 37, one of the unions representing employees, said in a statement that it has reached a deal with the museum to offer buyouts to impacted workers.
In an email press release today, March 10, a week before the staff cuts were set to go into effect, DC 37 said the museum agreed to voluntary separation packages and retirement incentives — alternatives the union has long been advocating for.
Depending on how many workers accept these offers and pending a possible increase in city funding, layoffs may still occur, Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak said in an email to staff on Tuesday, March 11.
The Brooklyn Museum did not respond to a request for comment.
The voluntary separation packages will also be available to workers represented by UAW Local 2110, the museum’s other union, DC 37 said. It is unclear whether they will be offered to the six non-unionized workers included in the group of 47 expected to be laid off. Hyperallergic has contacted DC 37 Local 1502 and UAW Local 2110 for comment.
“The outcome of these negotiations is a testament to the power of union representation — when we fight together, we win,” Henry Garrido, executive director of DC 37, said in a statement. “We will continue pushing for sustainable funding for the city’s cultural institutions.”
This development comes in the midst of a one-month saga that began with unions learning of expected layoffs just days before Pasternak confirmed the news in an all-staff meeting on February 7.
Citing a projected $10 million budget deficit, Pasternak laid out a plan to address the institution’s “significant cash flow problem,” including programming reductions and salary cuts of 10 to 20% for senior leadership. But she stressed that layoffs were unavoidable, with salaries making up a significant portion of the museum’s operational budget and city funding that “has not kept pace” with DC 37 salaries in particular.
Last week, after the second union rally outside the museum drew over 100 people, Pasternak informed staff that the timeline for layoffs would be extended by one week pending a possible financial boost from the city, buying workers a bit more time to bargain.
It’s not immediately clear whether the museum will secure a funding increase. A City Council spokesperson told Hyperallergic that the lawmaking body is “well aware of the budget challenges experienced by our Cultural Institutions Groups like the Brooklyn Museum.”
“We remain committed to being a partner to help them address some of their operating deficits in the city budget,” the spokesperson said.
Editor’s note 3/10/25 9pm EDT: A previous version of this article cited a union announcement that the layoffs had been definitively averted. The article was edited to reflect that negotiations remain ongoing.
