Sotheby’s: Bad for art?
Last year, art auctioneers Sotheby’s sales increased by 74% to more than £3 billion. And recently, the firm reported its most profitable quarter in its 267 year history.
But despite the record profits and growth, Sotheby’s in New York is refusing to negotiate fair working conditions with its art handlers – the people who care for and transport the extremely valuable items they auction.
Please help lobby the senior management of Sotheby’s in Europe now, to reach a settlement in the US.
Instead of recognising and rewarding the contribution these workers have made to the company’s success, Sotheby’s look to be trying to make a quick buck on their staffing bill by cutting corners in the art handling department.
The company has presented the workers with new contract terms including shorter hours, lower pay, no pensions, and some skilled art handling staff being replaced by unskilled and cheaper temps.
The workers (members of the US Teamsters union) refused the new terms, but rather than negotiate, Sotheby’s decided to lock out all their art handlers, without pay, and outsourced all the jobs to unskilled temps.
Meanwhile, Sotheby’s rewarded its New York based CEO, William Ruprecht, by doubling his annual salary to almost $6 million.
Is Sotheby’s putting irreplaceable and fragile pieces of art at risk? Auctioneers may sell the art, but art handlers are responsible for the transportation, preparation and display of each piece.
Some of the locked out art handlers have more than 40 years of experience protecting art. Replacing these individuals with temporary workers is a risk not worth the comparatively small savings this unfair move will make.
The Teamsters at Sotheby’s (Local 814) have asked for help from the UK, as the company was founded here, and London remains a key market for them.
Please join us in writing to Melanie Clore, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, and The Hon James Stourton, Sotheby’s UK Chairman, asking them to put pressure on Sotheby’s New York to negotiate a fair new contract with the locked out workers. The company need to:
- End the unfair lockout
- Drop demands to replace professional art handlers with untrained temps
- Remove the insistence on severe pension and pay cuts, despite record profits
Please help lobby the senior management of Sotheby’s in Europe now.
Comment made by jane smith on Oct 1st 2011 at 8:34 am:
don’t put profits before people
Comment made by Rosemary Sargent on Oct 1st 2011 at 1:33 pm:
If this is true, it’s a disgrace to all honest, loyal staff who take pride in their work and commitment. It really shows how little the bosses know of what the “little man” does. It’s a kick in the teeth to any hard working person to be locked out of their place of work when wanting to negoiate a decent wage, especially after being told about cuts to their conditions. It’s a double insult for the CEO to receive such a sinful amount of money for doing his job that he’s supposed to be doing!
This should not be allowed to happen, I hope that management can see sense. If one piece of artwork is damaged by the unskillful replacements, I bet that money would have covered part if not all of the costs that these workers should have received!
Comment made by John on Oct 1st 2011 at 3:09 pm:
‘People, communities, work, society’. 11th Commandment.
Comment made by Shane on Oct 2nd 2011 at 4:08 pm:
Can we find one or two progressive consignors or purchasers to back the campaign up? I’ve emailed as a regular follower of Sotheby’s auctions (contemporary art and Chinese ceramics!) but I don’t have any leverage as a customer…
Comment made by dave marchbank on Oct 4th 2011 at 6:07 am:
What a shocking way to treat your employees
Comment made by John Jones on Oct 4th 2011 at 10:28 am:
This issue needs resolving ASAP to the satisfaction of the affected employees
Comment made by Pedro 2310 on Oct 4th 2011 at 2:51 pm:
How is that if an employee robs a company it’s a criminal offence. But when a company robs its employee’s it’s called astute business?
Comment made by Damian Ibison on Oct 5th 2011 at 8:05 pm:
We are in the 21st Century, not the dark ages. Wise up Sotherby’s
you can’t scare the justice out of the opressed.
Comment made by Show Solidarity at Sotheby’s | STRONGER UNIONS on Oct 12th 2011 at 10:24 am:
[...] And if you haven’t yet done so, you can send an email to Sotheby’s senior managment in the UK, asking them to pressure their US colleagues to negotiate fairly – Take action here. [...]
Comment made by Sotheby’s customers get the message about workers’ rights | STRONGER UNIONS on Oct 14th 2011 at 6:08 pm:
[...] The campaign for justice continues, and you can make your protest heard by sending Sotheby’s UK management an email. [...]
Comment made by Alan Shearn on Oct 15th 2011 at 11:36 am:
This one has got the lot. Massive increase in profits and a doubling of the CEO’s salary, workers who refuse to accept a reduction in their terma and conditions being locked out, unskilled agency workers being lined up to replace some of the jobs and the involvement of union busters rather than negotiation.
If you want to know why you shhould support Occupy Wallstreet, look no further.
Comment made by Unions bid up for Sotherby’s workers rights « 21stcenturymanifesto on Oct 15th 2011 at 2:34 pm:
[...] for justice continues, and you can make your protest heard by sending Sotheby’s UK management an email. 0.000000 0.000000 Share this:StumbleUponDiggRedditLike this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]
Comment made by Sotheby’s discovers the costs of being anti-union | STRONGER UNIONS on Oct 19th 2011 at 2:28 pm:
[...] or something more modern – to the Teamsters strike fund should get in touch! Alternatively, send Sotheby’s UK a message about how they should settle their dispute with the [...]