It was solidarity in action Wednesday when thousands of AFSCME members from around the country rallied with Council 31 members who keep Chicago’s renowned Shedd Aquarium running and are fighting to secure their first contract.
AFSCME members in town for our 47th International Convention spent the afternoon rallying shoulder-to-shoulder outside Shedd Aquarium. They demanded that management stop delaying and finish bargaining with members of Shedd Workers United.
“No one is getting rich working for this aquarium, and I don’t think anyone expects to. You do it because you love the work. You do it because you believe in the work. You do it because the work aligns with your values,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re going to let them walk all over us. We will never let them do that to us. We will never be pushovers. We will not be bullied. We won’t give up. We will not back down.”
Shedd workers formed their union through Council 31 two years ago after overcoming an anti-union disinformation campaign. But progress on a contract has been too slow. That’s why thousands of AFSCME members descended on the lawn across from the aquarium and called on management to negotiate a contract that provides fair wages and workplace flexibility.
“It’s not because Shedd can’t afford to pay its workers fairly. They have the money to do it. Shedd’s CEO is paid almost a million dollars a year!” said Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch, who’s also an AFSCME International vice president. “It’s about priorities. We’re saying to Shedd management, your priorities are wrong. Prioritize the workers. Workers come first.”
AFSCME members said the Shedd Aquarium is a great educational institution that should be an equally great place to work, with fair pay and a strong voice on the job for its workers.
AFSCME member Kirby Garcia, the marketing coordinator at Shedd, said employees on average are paid about 20% less than their peers at other cultural institutions, and they are struggling to keep up with rising costs.
“We are why Shedd is considered a world-class institution. We are the ones that make it happen,” Garcia said. “We want Shedd to be an even better place for our guests to visit and to learn, by becoming a better place to work.”
Nasr bin Safwan, a customer care representative at Shedd, said negotiations stalled over wages for four months, and then management’s first proposal for annual raises was below inflation.
“We work here because we love to be the person who brightens someone’s day … who helps them have fun learning in a setting outside of school,” Safwan said. “And for that work, we happen to think we deserve to be fairly paid.”
AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Elissa McBride said the massive public rally for Shedd Workers United is yet another example of our union’s members having each other’s backs.
“Solidarity is the engine for every fight we’ve fought in our 90-year history,” McBride said.
More than 50,000 workers in libraries, museums, zoos and other cultural institutions across the country have gained a seat at the table and a voice on the job through the AFSCME Cultural Workers United campaign, the largest organizing effort of its kind in the nation.
