On Monday, Sept. 23, two different red signages mingled with the crowds outside of Citizens’ Bank Park. There was the typical Philadelphia Phillies red, donned by excited fans to cheer their team on against the Chicago Cubs; and then there was the bright scarlet of solidarity and unity, displayed on shirts and signs of striking Aramark workers. Even under gray, rain–threatening skies, the spirits of fans and striking workers alike were undampened. Chants of “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!” and “What do we want? Contracts!” rang through the air, all under the watchful eye of the iconic, inflatable Scabby the Rat.
Stadium workers are only some of the latest to join Philadelphia’s picket lines: The city has historically been a leading city when it comes to labor militancy, and the past few years have seen a reawakening of worker organizing. A few recent examples include transit workers striking against SEPTA, the six–week strike by Temple University graduate students in January 2023, and Pennsylvania’s first union of training doctors (and the largest union the city has seen in decades!) formed by fellows and residents in the Penn health system. Even the favorite local coffee shop/study spot, the Green Line Cafe, unionized with PJB/WU Local 80 this past summer.
Perhaps some of the most remarkable progress has been made on the steps on the Philadelphia Art Museum: After an epic 19–day strike in 2022, the PMA Union ratified its first contract and secured essential rights like parental leave, minimum hourly wages and salaries, and longevity pay (though the $500 raise for every five years employed at the museum came into question this past summer when the contract was interpreted differently by museum management).
The movement sparked in 2019 with simple worker–to–worker communication. A Google Spreadsheet, created by Michelle Millar Fisher of the PMA, listed the title, organization, salary, and benefits of museum workers not just in Philly, but at museums worldwide. It highlighted the vast differences in what workers earn for very similar jobs, and created the kind of transparency essential to questioning the system and making change.
“I’m sure it’s not unique to us, but the departments were very siloed. So if you’re having problems with your job, you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, it’s just that my manager is kind of crappy or my situation.’ And I think people started talking cross–departmentally and realized, ‘Oh, this is like happening with you guys. Oh, the same issues are happening.’ And I think that started a broader conversation about the systemic issues,” says Matt Carrieri, executive board member at large at the PMA Union.
Stagnant pay was one of the most glaring issues at the PMA. Employees who had dedicated years to the museum weren’t seeing that reflected in their paychecks, even as the cost of everyday necessities skyrocketed around them.
“[They weren’t] rewarding people for years of service and dedication. I mean, people worked through the pandemic. People worked through the financial crisis of 2008. … They have institutional knowledge that stays in the museum,” says Carrieri, who has seen a more than $5 raise in the past few years with union negotiations, compared to a mere 55 cent raise in the three years before.
So what do workers do when raises and benefits are being withheld, and employers are slow to negotiate? They actually don’t go on strike just yet; there’s a very specific process to make sure that the majority of union workers are on board and that employers are aware.
Strike votes are an essential first step: Unions need to make sure that enough workers are willing and prepared to walk off the job and possibly go without pay for a little while. If the majority vote in favor, they’ll go on strike watch, and maybe hold a one–day strike. All of this is done in full view of management and the public, to garner support and show management that they’re serious.
“That one–day strike lets them know what the museum is going to function when the workers aren’t there. [It] shows them our labor is valuable," explains Carrieri. "All those things are to avoid a strike. That's the last thing you want to do. No one wants to strike."
It’s a big risk for workers. There’s a temporary loss of income, and the potential for losing the job entirely. Luckily, the fight for workers’ rights in Philadelphia is not a lonely one. Even before PMA workers officially went on strike, they had $35,000 pledged from the Teachers’ Union, the Firefighters’ Union and AFSCME.
What followed was two–and–a–half weeks of picketing and continued back–and–forth contract negotiations, all leading up to the grand opening of the museum’s Matisse in the 1930s exhibit.
“That was on purpose; you want to disrupt as much as possible,” says Carrieri. And the pressure paid off: PMA workers walked away with basically all of their demands met, from paid parental leave to minimum hourly wages and salaries and longevity pay.
What’s behind this sudden uptick in worker activity? The pandemic certainly set things off, but there were murmurings of labor organizing even before that.
“I think young people have seen the benefit of collective bargaining and being able to speak with one voice,” says Yvonne Harris, president of Local 590, which represents workers at Penn Libraries. Especially in more professional, white–collar fields, which might not have been associated with union organizing in the past, people are seeing the advantages of unionizing: Following in the footsteps of PMA workers, cultural workers across Philly and the nation have begun unionizing and negotiating contracts.
Philly’s cultural institutions, from the Philadelphia Zoo to our very own Penn Museum, have seen workers form unions and begin negotiating contracts in the past few years. In 2023, the Please Touch Museum (where 95% of union workers make less than Philadelphia’s living wage) became one of the nation’s few unionized children’s museums. Other unions, specifically those in Philly Cultural Workers United, have voiced support for workers fighting for a fair contract.
“I think it’s helped other people realize their worth and their value and what they can accomplish together. … Seeing all these other institutions joining with us, that just gives us that much more power and ability to advocate for ourselves. I’m pretty hopeful. I mean, it’s an endless fight, but yeah, I’m hopeful," says Carrieri.
“It is the goal of the union movement to grow the union movement. So a lot of energy and funds and efforts are being put into actually moving that goal forward. I do see this as being just a beginning and that we’re going to see a lot of growth,” Harris adds.
The resurgence of local labor organizing makes it clear: Philadelphia remains a city of the worker.
