{"id":369576,"date":"2026-10-10T03:24:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T03:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/369576\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T03:24:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T03:24:53","slug":"storycorps-workers-picket-at-their-employers-annual-gala-outside-brooklyn-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/369576\/","title":{"rendered":"StoryCorps Workers Picket at Their Employer’s Annual Gala Outside Brooklyn Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

After 10 months of negotiations, StoryCorps workers\u2019 bargaining comes to a boiling point. \n<\/p>\n

Union workers employed by StoryCorps<\/a>,\u00a0a nonprofit oral history organization, picketed on Thursday outside their employer’s annual gala at\u00a0Brooklyn Museum.<\/p>\n

For nearly 10 months, workers have been bargaining for provisions in their union contracts, including\u00a0a seniority-based layoff process, a fair disciplinary process and industry-standard wages and benefits for producers and video editors.<\/p>\n

According to Micaela Camacho-Tenreiro, bilingual facilitator and union organizer for StoryCorps\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a Brooklyn-based organization\u00a0\u2014\u00a0fewer than half of employees make living wages for where they live geographically.<\/p>\n

\u201cStoryCorps, as an institution that wants to instill narrative change, needs to know that narrative change starts from within,\u201d Camacho-Tenreiro told BK Reader. \u201cSo we\u2019re asking management, \u2018What story do you want to tell and have you told about how you treat your workers?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2025, Congress passed a rescissions package<\/a> that effectively defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including significant funding for StoryCorps. However, Tomas Laster, a staff representative at Communications Workers of America Local 1180, said that federal budget cuts are not the full story.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been going on for much longer than that,\u201d\u00a0Laster said, adding that financial changes to the organization have been responded to with measures that have disproportionately affected union workers, as the proportion of union workers to management has “shrunk significantly.”<\/p>\n

According to a social media post<\/a> from the union, StoryCorps spent more than $300,000 their\u00a0lawyer.\u00a0\u201cThey spent more in one year on an attorney than the cost of health care for the entire bargaining unit,\u201d Laster said.<\/p>\n

A press release from The Advance Group reported that the gala had tickets running as high as $100,000.<\/p>\n

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\nStoryCorps workers picketing outside the 2026 Brooklyn Museum StoryCorps gala, Oct. 8, 2026. Photo: Sidney Kuri Poor for BK Reader <\/p>\n

On Sept. 18, the CWA Union filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge<\/a> with the National Labor Relations Board against StoryCorps, alleging that the organization violated section 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to properly bargain collectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are people who are out here listening to the voices of people across America saying, you know, honor them and respect them,\u201d said Jey Born, a former six-year employee of StoryCorps and a union shop steward. \u201cAn employer should be able to do the same for their staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laster told BK Reader that after picketing, the union heard that StoryCorps CEO Sandra Clark acknowledged the demonstrations outside the museum during the gala.<\/p>\n

In response to request for comment, a spokesperson from StoryCorps issued the following statement to BK Reader:<\/p>\n

\u201cStoryCorps respects its union-represented employees and their right to express their views. The organization values the contributions of its staff and remains committed to the collective bargaining process. Negotiations are ongoing, and the parties have made meaningful progress, though important differences remain. StoryCorps’ goal is to reach a fair and sustainable agreement that supports its employees while ensuring the organization can continue fulfilling its mission for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

If management continues not to agree to the union\u2019s demands, Laster said, the union plans to go back to the bargaining table.<\/p>\n