As thousands of Lollapalooza fans descended on Grant Park on Thursday afternoon, members of the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United handed out bilingual fliers to them that read, “Give AIC custodians their jobs back.”
Last month, the Art Institute decided to outsource the jobs of approximately 23 custodial workers starting Aug. 15, and the museum has faced strong backlash over the move.
“We’re out here to say it’s not fair,” said Cameron Day, staff representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, the union’s bargaining unit. “We want to have a conversation. Let’s keep these workers in-house here at the Art Institute of Chicago.”
Cameron Day, staff representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, attends Thursday’s protest by custodial workers at the Art Institute. “Let’s keep these workers in-house here at the Art Institute of Chicago,” he said.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
A dozen or so members of the workers’ union distributed leaflets about an hour before leadership from the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United sat down with the museum’s human resources department for their first bargaining session.
“We made the decision to shift our custodial services to a contractor model to better support daily museum operations, and we prioritized choosing a partner that would commit to offering employment to our custodial staff,” the Art Institute said in a statement. “Each member of our team will have the opportunity to join our custodial partner after completing their employment screening process.”
The decision to outsource the jobs through third-party contractor GDI Integrated Facility Services is “better for daily operations” at the cultural institution, the spokesperson said.
Custodial staff were informed of the change on June 29, according to Day.
“Aug. 1 is the deadline that they have to apply for GDI, [which] was given by the museum in the last two weeks,” Day said. “So as of right now, on Aug. 14, their positions at AIC will be terminated, and then on Aug. 15, GDI will start staffing the custodial team at the museum.”
Art Institute spokesperson Megan Michienzi said the Aug. 1 deadline is flexible and workers will be offered a position with GDI. She said the museum is “ensuring everyone has a job.”
But the union claims that the workers’ jobs aren’t guaranteed. It has filed an information request and a grievance against the museum, saying the timing of the decision violates the agreement between the institution and the union.
“We 100% did not violate the agreement,” Michienzi said. Per the contract, “we are required to give a 30-day notice, and we gave them six weeks,” as the change will officially take effect Aug. 15.
Day said in addition to the potential loss of benefits such as paid time off, tuition remission, seniority and student loan forgiveness, the employees are also losing out on the relationships they’ve built with their colleagues.
On the union’s Instagram page, it is running a campaign featuring artwork made by the custodians, which is displayed on their trash bins and carts. The goal is to build a larger sense of “camaraderie” and “support,” Day said.
Most of the custodians have worked at the institution for at least two decades, and many of them speak Spanish as their first language, said G. Vicente Robinson, executive board member of the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United.
As the only Latino member of the union’s executive board, Robinson said his Spanish skills have helped their unit organize the workers affected by the outsourcing decision.
“I knew as soon as the affected employees started talking to me about how they felt and how they didn’t want this move to happen that I could use my knowledge to help them coordinate and to help bring their concerns to the board, and to make sure that their voices are heard,” Robinson said.
Day added that “a lot of them [are] first-generation immigrants to this country. … We think it is a direct attack on these workers to go after them and to say that they are the ones that are OK to balance some budget on their backs.”
When union leadership met with the Art Institute for their bargaining session, they also delivered a copy of a bilingual petition opposing the staffing decision, which has received more than 3,000 signatures as of Thursday evening.
Day said management told the union they would respond to its proposals soon. The union’s priority is keeping its current contract, but the museum previously told the Sun-Times that the custodial workers hired by GDI will be represented by the Service Employees International Union. That union has contracts to protect wages, paid time off and benefits.
At a July 22 all-staff meeting, Art Institute President James Rondeau answered questions from employees about what’s next for the institution after the change.
A video of the meeting showed things got heated after Rondeau told staff, “Do you want a promise of job security and a raise today or no? Does that work? Is that a good thing? Only 15 of you seem to say that’s a good thing.”
But Rondeau sent an apology email to staff two days later, which was viewed by the Sun-Times. He said, “I also want to sincerely apologize, as my tone in the Q&A did not foster for everyone the open dialogue I always want us to have.”
Rondeau was appointed president and director of the Art Institute in 2016. He has received more than $1 million in salary, according to recent tax records.