We, the undersigned, are artists, writers, and cultural workers standing in solidarity with the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) workers, represented by OPSEU/SEFPO Local 535. AGO workers are on strike fighting for a future at the gallery.

This first-ever strike action at the AGO is nothing short of historic, but the legacy being cemented by the gallery’s current leadership is not one to be proud of. The AGO has awarded generous annual raises to its management but has been unwilling to find a fair deal for its dedicated staff  – those who secure the gallery’s operations and reputation as a cultural cornerstone in this country. During this historic strike, the AGO has opted to hire external “scab” labour to perform bargaining unit work, rather than return to the table and negotiate with integrity.

If there was any doubt that it’s the workers who keep the gallery doors open, that doubt was quickly cleared up: the AGO has been forced to shutter its doors since the strike began. This is not a decision workers made lightly. Though their work may not yet hang on the gallery walls, many of these workers are artists with a deep love for their profession and a commitment to the local and international artistic communities forged around the AGO. But after surviving years of wage suppression, a global pandemic, and a worsening cost-of-living crisis, workers have struggled long enough, while elite executives live extravagantly.

Workers deserve a deal that carries them forward in a future at the gallery: protections against contracting out for part-time workers, ending two-tiered contracts; meaningful wage increases after years of wage repression; and improved scheduling and full-time opportunities for a workforce that has become mostly part-time and precarious.

The AGO may have the power of money on their side – money used to hire scab labour and private security in attempts to break our solidarity – but we have the power of the many.

We, the undersigned, are artists, writers, and cultural workers with a vested interest in the dignity of gallery workers, and we urge the AGO to get back to the table with a fair deal for workers.