For culture workers in the Hudson Valley and the Berkshires, the relationship with their employers is changing. Some entry and mid-level workers in the arts are unionizing, while others are participating in a pay equity project with their employers.
But passion doesn’t pay the rent. The struggle for a livable wage is real for these workers, generally starting at a salary under $20 an hour. This makes it difficult for the entry and mid-level employees running gift shops and visitor services, facility upkeep, education and administration to find affordable housing.
Working at a job in the arts without health insurance, retirement plans, dental insurance, and paid time off cause some entry and mid-level employees to juggle multiple jobs for benefits. Unable to make ends meet, others leave their beloved field of work for greener-paying pastures.
Three Columbia County cultural institutions—Ancram Center for the Arts, Art Omi, and The Hudson Eye, are connecting with their Berkshire neighbors in a pay equity project that has grown its coalition from six to 18 participating institutions in the past year.
Meanwhile, other entry and mid-level workers are unionizing. In recent months, contract agreements have been made at two large arts and culture institutions—Storm King Arts Center in New Windsor and MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. Both art institutions attract 200,000 visitors annually.
The Pay Equity ProjectThe Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project is inspiring a change to a livable wage and benefits as the preferred business model for workers in the arts and culture. The coalition continues to grow, receiving regional and national attention. “This is not a fringe group anymore,” says Aron Goldman, co-project lead. “The project is now a movement.”
The project started moving forward in 2022, when six art and culture employers in Berkshire and Columbia Counties asked entry and mid-level arts and culture employees about their experience with current compensation provided through the workplace. It was part of a leadership program facilitated by Multicultural BRIDGE (Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups and Education) and supported by Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
In June 2023, the coalition, comprised of six arts and culture employers, publicly released the findings of their first project report. Since then, a second report has been released in 2024, and a growing coalition of arts and culture employers are implementing the report recommendations, attempting to improve pay equity in their organizations.
By uniting employers in a coalition with regular input from employees, the project’s hope is to inspire organizations to create a business model that improves wages and benefits for workers in the arts. “The kind of change we’re looking for takes time,” says Goldman. “We’re looking for structural long-term change in the arts and culture sector.”
Goldman was selected to guide the initiative based on his combination of regional and national experience as an organizational development consultant, nonprofit manager, board leader, facilitator, trainer, writer, educator, and activist focused on root causes, structural change, and long-term sustainability.
Project co-leads Goldman and Kristen van Ginhoven regularly approach boards of trustees at art institutions hoping to promote a “culture change” for workers. “The culture shift of the board buy-in and being more transparent with staff—that goes a long way,” says van Ginhoven.
Some boards are quick to join the project coalition, others are not. “It can be hard to get board members to agree to spend more money on people,” says van Ginhoven, “and to understand what people are going through.”
Van Ginhoven is the co-founder of WAM Theatre, also Producing Artistic Director from 2010-2023, where she focused on producing and directing plays reflecting issues affecting those who self-identify as women and girls. Still a Massachusetts resident, van Ginhoven began her tenure in June as Executive Director of Project SAGE in Lakeville, Connecticut.
Columbia County’s Art Omi was the first Hudson Valley institution to join the coalition. A nonprofit arts center, it welcomes over 45,000 visitors annually to engage with contemporary art, sculpture and architecture on more than 120 acres of field and forest. Art Omi employees some 15 entry level and 10 mid-level workers over the course of a year.
Photo Courtesy of Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project” class=”uk-display-block uk-position-relative uk-visible-toggle”>
Photo Courtesy of Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project
The Omi Art staff at the park in Ghent. The were the first organization to join the coalition.
The pay equity project helped Art Omi form a comprehensive proposal to improve employee compensation, says Jeremy Adams, Art Omi co-executive director. Art Omi was also helped to improve flex schedules and partial remote working for staff, and paid time off for employees.
“We are currently looking at options to address the increasing costs of health insurance,” says Adams. “We understand there is still more work to do.”
One of the latest Hudson Valley organizations to join the pay project coalition is the Ancram Center for the Arts. This 70-seat theater in Columbia County’s rural Ancram produces contemporary theatrical performances from April to November.
“We’re a relatively small organization in comparison with other organizations in the coalition, but we are trying to create sustaining relationships with those who want to work with us,” says Jeffrey Mousseau, co-director of the Ancram Center for the Arts. Over the course of a season, close to 50 artists are hired on a project by project basis to fulfill performance, design and production roles.
With a budget of $200,000, the Ancram Center hires independent contractors for marketing, communications, management, and production positions. Mousseau is the only full-time employee. Codirector Paul Ricciardi is an independent consultant. “So, the question is: How do we grow and moved these folks who are working independently to salaried positions?” says Mousseau. “As we continue to grow, it makes sense for us to be part of this coalition.” Entry and mid-level workers are paid an hourly wage ranging from $20 to $25 an hour, Mousseau says.
Also new to the coalition is The Hudson Eye. This annual 10-day public program and urban showcase starts during the final week of August and runs through Labor Day weekend. Artist-driven with a focus on dance, music, performance, film, visual art, dining out, and nightlife, it closes out Hudson’s two peak summer tourism weekends. The Hudson Eye employs nine full-time and 14 entry and mid-level workers, adding more during the two-week festival.
Participating in the project helped The Hudson Eye begin a cost of living adjustment analysis specific to city, county, and region. “It went well,” says Jonah Bokaer, founding director and choreographer. “We have kept our headcount, and we are steadily and mindfully growing.”
Bokaer says The Hudson Eye is “deeply aligned” with the project as a new member of the coalition and “extremely well-positioned to act as a bridge between the diverse populations” in the Hudson Valley.
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What Entry and Mid-Level Workers Are Saying
Employee testimonials have been a major factor in motivating decision makers —board members of art institutions with the power to create pay equity. “That’s been very impactful and illuminating for folks, to walk in other people’s shoes,” says van Ginhoven.
The 2024 pay equity report includes 51 anonymous employee survey responses from entry and mid-level arts and culture workers surveyed in July, asking them if they had experienced meaningful changes to their benefits within the last year.
Responses were mixed:
“I received a raise, and my employer is paying a higher percentage of my health insurance premium.”
“Our staff was given a bonus last year so we are actually set to earn less this year. I feel the bonus approach was a way to avoid a permanent raise.”
“No, the improved compensation that was received in the form of a 2% pay raise this past July does nothing to help with the increase in cost of living when it pertains to rent, food, utilities, and other necessities.”
“I am brand new to this organization but the full covered benefits package was a large incentive to taking the job.”
Photo Courtesy of Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project” class=”uk-display-block uk-position-relative uk-visible-toggle”>
Photo Courtesy of Berkshire/Columbia Counties Pay Equity Project
A slide from the 2024 Summit shows that 80 percent of arts and cultural workers are unsure about their future in their field.
Arts & Culture Workers Unionize
Union workers at Storm King Arts Center in New Windsor, made their first contract agreement with SKAC Board of Trustees in July. A modern and contemporary art museum, Storm King features large-scale sculpture in an 500-acre parklike setting.
Storm King has two union-represented staff units, one for full-time and part-time workers and another for seasonal staff in Visitor Services. Not all Storm King staff are part of the union. The average hourly wage for SKAC workers before unionizing was $18.28. It jumped to $20.16 when they announced their plans to unionize.
“Right away, we’re all benefiting from an immediate wage increase following our contract vote,” says Maureen Spaulding, a negotiating committee member from CSEA Local 720 in a statement. Now, the average wage for CSEA-represented SKAC workers in the first year of their contracts is $23.31 per hour.
“Before we organized our union, there were no guarantees year to year,” Spaulding stated, adding that having a contract gives employees “a written guarantee” for wage increases, health insurance costs, and other benefits for the next several years.
“We’re proud that this agreement has immediate benefits, such as institution-wide wage increases, as well as enduring policies and procedures that ensure Storm King is a positive and supportive workplace for all staff,” says a spokesperson for Storm King.
Union workers at MASS MoCA ended a three-week strike after accepting a new contract in March. For these employees in the performing arts and workers at festivals, their minimum wage is going up—from $16.25 to $18 an hour, with new holiday benefits and overtime rules.
Future Prospects
“What we hold so dear about the Berkshires and the Hudson Valley region is the creative economy, a destination around the world for arts and culture” says Goldman. “It’s increasingly obvious that it can’t be sustained unless we pay more attention to the entry and mid-level workers who make it possible.”