More than 400 AGO workers to go on strike Tuesday

More than 400 employees at the Art Gallery of On‐ tario (AGO) will be on strike as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).

In a post on social media, the union said workers had voted to reject the art gallery's latest offer. In a statement issued March 13, the union said workers are fighting for wage increases to keep up with the cost-of-liv‐ ing.

Those striking include cu‐ rators, researchers, techni‐ cians, designers, electricians, carpenters, instructors, and other roles.

"If we claim the arts mat‐ ter, we must allow value the workers that make that pos‐ sible," said Paul Ayers, presi‐ dent of OPSEU Local 535, in the statement.

"Some of us have worked here for decades. Over time, we have seen the gallery turn towards contracting out labour and increasingly rely‐ ing on part-time, precarious work. It's getting harder to make a decent living as an employee of the AGO," Ayers said.

The job action comes af‐ ter about 10 months of bar‐ gaining between the two sides.

The union said the strike comes as the AGO prepares to expand with the Dani Reiss Modern and Contem‐ porary Gallery. It's a 3,700 square metre expansion that's being partially funded by a $35 million donation from Canada Goose founder Dani Reiss and is expected to cost around $100 million in total, according to the gallery's website.

In the March 13 state‐ ment, OPSEU president JP Hornick said expansion should not come at the cost of employees.

In the AGO's most recent publicly available financial documents, which covers April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, the gallery reported a deficit of $3.8 million.

In an emailed statement Tuesday morning, AGO spokesperson Laura Quinn said the gallery "is closed to‐ day due to a labour disrup‐ tion."

Quinn said operational updates will be available on the AGO's website. "We re‐ main hopeful that we will reach a negotiated agreement with OPSEU soon," she said.