The Fantastic Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), the umbrella establishment overseeing the de Younger and Legion of Honor museums within the metropolis, laid off 12 staff, citing a 20% drop in museum guests for the reason that pandemic and “increased operational costs.”
The layoffs affected roughly 3.5% of FAMSF’s whole workforce, which includes roles funded by town and others supported by a personal nonprofit that oversees the museums. Service Workers Worldwide Union 1021 (SEIU 1021), the unit representing some FAMSF positions, knowledgeable Hyperallergic that 4 union positions have been affected: a public applications coordinator, a museum technician, a knowledge companies affiliate, and a publicist.
“The union stewards were deeply saddened to learn about these layoffs impacting our members and have been working to ensure our colleagues are compensated correctly for their years of service,” a spokesperson for SEIU 1021 stated in a press release.
The union stated imminent layoffs weren’t talked about throughout current negotiation conferences, and stated pay cuts to management positions ought to be thought-about sooner or later as a substitute of layoffs.
A spokesperson for the FAMSF advised Hyperallergic that the layoffs didn’t influence city-funded positions, which embrace safety and upkeep employees, however declined to state which jobs have been terminated. The cuts have been made “across the organization,” CEO and Director Thomas Campbell stated within the assertion.
Nevertheless, these funds suggestions weren’t the explanation for FAMSF’s current cuts, a spokesperson from the group clarified to Hyperallergic, including that metropolis appropriations will not be being lowered in Fiscal Yr 2026.
“San Francisco has experienced a prolonged period of softening tourism, which has led to reduced attendance at our museums,” Campbell stated. “We faced a financial gap that could not be closed without this action.”
Set up view of the 2023 De Younger Open (picture John Seed/Hyperallergic)
Daniel Lurie took workplace in January as town’s new mayor, changing Breed, and proposed slight will increase to the museums’ funding in his funds signed into legislation yesterday, July 24. FAMSF’s metropolis appropriations elevated by 3% this yr, the FAMSF spokesperson stated, however can be directed principally towards utility and insurance coverage prices.
SEIU 1021 opposed FAMSF’s preliminary plan to chop employees as required by town, which might have included the elimination of 19 city-funded safety guards and lowered working hours. The cuts would have additionally predominantly affected staff who’re individuals of coloration, the establishment stated.
The Legion of Honor and de Younger museums are removed from the one establishments to report a post-pandemic squeeze. In Could, the San Francisco Museum of Fashionable Artwork laid off 29 staff, accounting for 7.5% of the establishment’s whole staff, citing a $5 million deficit worsened by a post-pandemic vacationer stoop. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum laid off 20 employees members abruptly in April, citing related pandemic-related constraints. Additionally in New York, the Brooklyn Museum narrowly averted additional employees cuts because of a $2.5 million windfall from town final month.
