Lewis Ginter workers hold one-day unfair labor practice strike, after registering negotiation issues with National Labor Relations Board
Dozens of unionized workers at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden protested outside the gates of the attraction all day Wednesday in a one-day "unfair labor practice" strike.
Chanting ‘Boycott the garden’ and holding up signs saying ‘Livable Wages Now,’ the horticultural staff called on the public to pressure the 50-acre destination to raise the salaries for staff who prune, groom, weed, mulch, water and fertilize the plants.
“Today we're out on a one-day unfair labor practice strike, which is over an Unfair Labor Practice that we filed back in April for regressive bargaining with the National Labor Relations Board,” said Eryn Boyle, a Ginter Botanical Garden horticulturist who was protesting outside of her workplace and serves on the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, on the negotiating committee.”
Workers also are calling on Ginter Botanical Garden members to cancel their memberships in support of the workers, until they receive a pay boost on par with other similar institutions, reaching a living wage.
“We've decided we have to take more serious action, and we need to affect their profit and their bottom line in order to hopefully push them into giving us a more fair wage offer,” said Boyle.
Protests outside Ginter started in April. Wednesday’s protest was the workers’ eighth picket this year. The protesting workers took breaks to get out of the heat, with temperatures reaching into the high 80s.
On Wednesday afternoon, musician Jesse Welles, who was scheduled to play to a sold-out crowd that evening as part of the "Groovin' in the Garden" series announced on social media that he was cancelling the show in solidarity with the workers and that he would reschedule it for Sept. 25 at The National in Richmond. (See link below)
Tom Lappas, Citizen Publisher
Boyle pointed to Norfolk Botanical Garden as an example of an attraction that pays their horticultural staff appropriately.
“They also unionized after us with the same union and they make on average about $2 more per the same job title than us. So we're still below the industry standard,” said Boyle. “The average for a horticulture salary, which is what I do, is about $59,000. And I make $39,000. And the livable wage in Richmond is $25 and nobody in the unit makes that much. So while we do make a little bit more than Maymont or the VMFA, we're the biggest botanical garden and the only one in Richmond. So there's not a ton to compare it to. And I believe we should be setting the standard for the industry.”
Ginter IAMAW filed the Unfair Labor Practice charge in the spring, because a second wage offer from the Garden administration was a 75-cent raise for the workers.
“And then they have since lowered that to 3%, which the average for everybody here would be about 51 cents. So obviously that's less than 75 cents. So that's why we filed the charge. And since then, they haven't budged at all or been bargaining in good faith, in my opinion, and are maintaining the 3% raise.”
The IAMAW lowered its counter stance to $2 for everybody across the board.
“Three percent just isn't enough since we haven't had raises for the past two years since we unionized. So, we're out here today trying to fight for fair wages for everybody here,” said Boyle.
The approximately 60 IAMAW union members at Ginter maintain the diverse planting of annuals, perennials, tropical, woody, and edible plants. Horticulturalists like Boyle are required to hold a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife conservation biology or possess landscaping experience.
Staffers decided to unionize two years ago to help get safer working conditions.
“We wanted a clothing or gear stipend for those who work outside – horticulture, custodial and operations,” said Boyle. “We had written that and proposed it to the garden as an article, and they struck it down over and over again, even when we lowered the amount for workers. Then we decided to change it to a 20-cent raise for those people instead, but they didn't agree to that either. So we've agreed to drop that clothing stipend in hopes that they'll give us just more money across the board. But they haven't been very receptive to any of our asks so far.”
Ginter staffers who work outside go through at least one pair of $100 boots a year, Boyle said.
“We need steel-toed boots when doing tree work and chipping so that people can avoid injuries to your feet,” said Boyle. “Working outside and the extreme heat and extreme colds, it's important to have the right clothing and that clothing can be expensive. Good socks, good gloves, good hats, overalls are over a $100. I've spent at least $300 to $500 on clothing in the three years since I've been here that's necessary for the job and should be reimbursed.”
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden recently wrapped up a two-year expansion project which nearly doubled the size of the existing Conservatory, added 7.5 acres of new gardens, and incorporates an additional lake into the Garden experience, according to the garden’s website.
“They've raised the admission prices and Garden Fest prices almost every year since I've been here,” Boyle said. “When I started it was $20. It's now $24. We just opened the new expansion that was $31 million to raise that money and now we're getting more visitation than ever. So in theory, they're bringing in more revenue than in the past two years.”
To the IAMAW workers, that expansion adds to their duties and they contend that their salarie should reflect the increased demands.
Boyle said the reason the Garden has given the staffers as to why they haven't gotten raises in the past two years since they unionized is because they said that legally they're not allowed to because they have to maintain status quo.
“But the status quo has been, we've gotten raises every year until we voted to unionize. And it's ranged from a 5% raise all the way up to a 10%,” said Boyle. “ So them saying that is inaccurate and it's just a way to keep us down and not allow us to get any raises while we're negotiating.”
Mary Heather Parch Ginter Botanical Garden chief marketing and experience officer wrote in an email to the Henrico Citizen Chief Marketing and Experience Officer that the Garden is open for normal business and operations today.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden remains committed to the bargaining process with the IAM Union and continues to negotiate in good faith. Throughout this process the interests of all of our stakeholder groups – staff, volunteers, members, donors and guests – have remained our primary focus. That is particularly true of our staff who have received 4 pay raises in 5 years, internal promotions, 35 paid days off per year, and additional benefits in successive years. The Garden is a special place to work and we will continue to do everything we can to invest in our staff—without compromising the Garden’s future or our mission.
A lot of false information has been shared regarding the circumstances surrounding negotiations. Claims that the Garden has engaged in regressive bargaining are simply untrue. We value our employees and believe we have shown that through our actions over the years. At the same time, we also respect our employees’ right to choose union representation and have consistently negotiated in good faith.
As the staff continued chanting ‘Workers On Strike!“ Wednesday as the sun bore down, they pledged to continue to stand in front of the entrance, visible to visitors at the Groovin’ in the Garden programming during the next few days.
The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Workers United staffers also are asking the public to join their pickets in support. Boyd and her colleagues are also asking the public to sign an online petition to help advocate for the workers.
Dina Weinstein is the Citizen’s community vitality reporter and a Report for America corps member, covering housing, health and transportation. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.
