Academy of Sciences Workers Say Unionizing Efforts Are at A Breaking Point

Photo of the Cal Academy by Denis Jarvis via Wikimedia Commons

The workers in the CalAcademy Workers United have taken to papering telephone poles throughout San Francisco. That’s because the union says the California Academy of Science, which began bargaining with the group in December 2023, has made a slew of decisions in recent months that have pitched tensions between management and workers to a fever pitch. As the half-year of negotiations to secure a first union contract proceed, the union is raising the stakes by pointing to what they call bad faith tactics on the part of the Academy. 

Holly Rosenblum, a senior biologist, and Marie Angel a curatorial assistant in the geology department, are on the Cal Academy Workers United bargaining team. Angel was on the original organizing team before being elected to the bargaining committee. The Academy has let staff know more lay-offs are in the future; some staff have been offered buy-outs in advance. For the workers, it’s not just the lay-offs and the money. The Academy’s shaky ground puts the heart and soul of the entire institution in jeopardy.

The Academy did not respond to requests for interview before publication.

It was just last July the union successfully formed under the SEIU 1021, the same guild that represents the de Young and the Asian Art Museum amongst other institutions. The incepting vote saw a 77 percent voter turnout with another 77 percent of those voters affirming the union. Since bargaining began, only one tentative agreement has been reached, and that’s regarding time-off options. The union contends the slow bargaining is due to no-warning decisions from management; in the winter, the Academy announced they’d get rid of the COVID policy, leaving staff to scramble to push back. “Now we’re bargaining over lay-offs,” Angel says. “We lose time to write articles for the contract as we deal with all manner of things thrown at us.”

Front row from left to right: Marie Angel, Holly Rosenblum, Gabby Farrer. Back row from left to right: Victoria Langlands, Nat Kramm, TR Malcom (Not pictured: Kelley Prebil & Clea Matson)

Originally, the group formed to tackle the way furloughs and lay-offs were handled during COVID. Many staff were either furloughed or laid-off, and the union representatives said those those decisions were made in nontransparent ways that didn’t align with the organization’s mission. Moreover, those lay-offs impacted what the union calls the “most diverse” departments. The organization’s mission is all about regeneration, and CalAcademy Workers United say that goal is at risk of being fumbled.  “I think I speak for a lot of workers when I say we were drawn to the Academy because of the mission,” Angel says. “We feel strongly about that mission, and we feel those working everyday toward that [mission] deserve a seat at the table.”

Funding is a relevant concern for the union, too, dovetailing with the lay-offs. Rosenblum says the Academy has been running a deficit since 2018. COVID’s impacts only amplified those issues, and in 2024, in the midst of bargaining a first contract, staff were laid off. The research diversion — the Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability — has lost numerous curators, losing four or five roles which makes for the smallest the team’s been since the 1960s. That team is not within the union, but the union is concerned with the exits. The Teacher Development Program, which supports Bayview youth, has been eliminated alongside the planetarium presenting team, according to the union. “I believe it’s the first time the planetarium has been without live presenters in 72 years,” Angel says.

These decisions concern the union as they notice leadership budgets rising and new HR positions added to the suite. By their count, bonuses have come in for execs while 11 new roles at the executive or director level have been added since forming the union. The union contends about $2 million dollars have gone to those roles and salaries. 

Jim Gohari, in a Budget & Appropriations Committee meeting held at City Hall on Thursday, June 13, said he joined the Academy in January. The organization has received funding from the city since 1923 to help fund its aquarium. In the presentation, Gohari tells Supervisor Connie Chan amongst others the Academy is still recovering from the impacts of the pandemic. “The Academy, like many nonprofit and cultural organizations, is facing a significant structural budget due to a number of factors including low levels of tourism in the city, rising healthcare costs, and the end of federal pandemic assistance,” Gohari said. “To address this, we have implemented cost saving measures, new revenue ideas, and offered voluntary severance programs.”

To make matters stranger, after the union vote, but before negotiations began, the Academy offered a three-and-a-half percent raise to all staff. The union didn’t fight the decision as the Academy claimed it was a normal part of the budgeting process. Then, when another round of lay-offs hit, the Academy blamed the salary increase, citing a lack of foresight on their part in a recent town hall to staff. “These choices are not in line with the Academy’s mission,” Rosenblum says. “It was disingenuous and manipulative.”

“These choices are not in line with the Academy’s mission,” Rosenblum says. “It was disingenuous and manipulative.”

Decisions about lay-offs are so far not labor violations, but that doesn’t mean unfair labor practices haven’t been committed. One worker had a health care issue come up that would’ve flagged unfair practices, but the Academy quickly and quietly figured out the issue with the employee. Further, now that bargaining has formally begun, unilateral lay-offs could be violations; in a best case scenario, the Academy and the union would find severance options and other roles for workers as a part of the negotiations.  

A worker of eight years at the Academy, who chose to remain anonymous, said it’s disheartening and appalling leadership remains disconnected from the work that makes the academy a renowned and respected organization. They agreed that larger budget conversations can feel inauthentic when money seems available to high-ups, but not for the staff who interact with the public. “Especially given that several members of senior leadership making these decisions were hired in the last year,” they said.

(Paolo Bicchieri)

The leafleting and posters ask not only Academy workers but community members, guests, and donors to reach out to staff and the board of the legendary organization to express concern. They want no new lay-offs. “We’ve been a scientific research institution since our founding 171 years ago,” Angel says. “To cut from our science and education divisions before trying to save money anywhere else is antithetical to the mission of the museum.”

Editorial disclosure: The journalist has known various Academy workers on the presentation and research teams for years.