The Brooklyn Museum will cut staff and exhibitions in the face of a $10 million budget shortfall, according to a letter from Anne Pasternak, the museum’s director. “Inflation has dramatically impacted our operating budget, adding millions of dollars to everyday costs and outpacing funding,” Pasternak said in her message to workers on Friday. “We also face challenges in growing our operating budget to align with growing compensation and institutional needs, leading to budgetary deficit and straining cash flow. These pressures are further compounded by slow post-pandemic attendance recovery across the field.”
The changes include laying off about 10% of staff (around 40 employees), reducing the average number of exhibitions from 12 to 9, and decreasing weeknight programs in favor of weekend events. Pasternak also announced salary cuts of 10% to 20% for the museum’s senior leadership team. “Wages comprise our largest operational line item — approximately 70% of our operating budget,” Pasternak’s letter reads. “And a financial realignment sadly requires reductions in our team.”
The Brooklyn Museum’s staff are organized under Local 1502, a branch of the public sector union District Council 37, as well as UAW Local 2110. Union leadership claims that Pasternak’s decision to announce the changes to the workforce could be in breach of contract stipulations that they must engage in negotiations and be notified of intent to cut staff, having sent a cease-and-desist letter to management on Wednesday. “We went to the National Labor Relations Board and started a process against them, but up to now we haven’t gotten any response,” said Local 1502 president William Souffrant to Hyperallergenic, an art and culture news outlet, a day before the announced cuts. “They’ve decided to keep the union in the dark and layoff anybody they want.”
Local 1502’s appeal to the NLRB comes at a time when the federal agency in charge of enforcing labor law is stymied by the White House, as President Trump has fired Gwynne Wilcox, a board member with the agency confirmed under President Biden who was supposed to serve a five-year term until 2028. With her gone, only two people remain what should be a five-member board, meaning that it lacks a quorum and therefore cannot rule on labor disputes. This essentially drives the agency’s work to a halt, as employers seeking to challenge the agency’s rulings can simply appeal them, leaving the issue frozen before a board that legally cannot resolve disputes.
While board members are presidential appointments, they do not serve at the pleasure of the president and can be fired only “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” There has been no claim from the White House that Wilcox was neglectful or malfeasant in her position to justify her ouster, which is the first of its kind in the agency’s 90-year history. Wilcox is suing the White House in federal court, seeking reinstatement on the board.
