After a 19-day strike, workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Oct. 16 ratified a contract agreement with management that includes 14% raises over three years, a higher hourly wage, paid parental leave and reduced health care costs.

It is the first contract for the PMA Union, which formed in 2020 and is affiliated with AFSCME District Council 47. The 180 union members went on strike on Sept. 26. They alleged the museum had hired strikebreakers to install a major new exhibit of artist Henri Matisse’s works from the 1930s.

The tentative agreement was reached on Oct. 14, the day before the exhibit opened for previews.

The main areas of disagreement were wages and health care benefits.

“The museum caved on every single issue that we were fighting for,” union head Adam Rizzo said.

During the strike, the volume of visitors to the museum was cut in half, he said.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 14 and Oct. 17