The California Academy of Sciences celebrated its 172nd birthday on April 4 (“Academy Day”) with a wide array of special programming and activities. Yet in front of the museum, members of the Cal Academy Workers United (CAWU) chapter of SEIU 1021 expressed their frustration and disappointment with their senior leadership team’s refusal to settle a fair first contract. And they shared those feelings not just through bullhorns, but also with guerilla street art.

With active participation from museum guests, including numerous small children, CAWU members painted two large murals on the sidewalk. One featured their logo with worker bees that said “Invest in Staff” and “Fair Wages Now,” and one with dinosaurs carrying picket signs reading “Save the Humans” and “Living Wages Now,” that read “Hear Us Roar! Transparency Now!” 

“We’re hoping that this will demonstrate to management that we are in community with each other, we have the ability for collective action,” Cal Academy worker and contract action team member Grace Kim said in an interview with SFGATE after leading the noontime rally.

“A lot of our team here is not even paid a wage that is livable here in San Francisco,” said Teddy Vollman in an interview with ABC 7 News right before the rally kicked off. “So one of our biggest demands is to put a $25 minimum wage at the Academy, which is what City employees get.”

Other top priorities for their first union contract include: clear pathways to promotion; fair hiring practices; transparency and accountability in finance and governance; and fair, regular pay increases for all employees.

Cal Academy Workers United have been in negotiations for their first contract for over a year since they won their union with SEIU 1021 in July 2023. While progress has been made, management continues to insist they cannot afford raises for staff that would keep up with cost of living, let alone reduce inequality. Meanwhile, Executive Director Scott Sampson’s pay was increased by 21% in one year to $629,458. Sampson’s salary by itself would pay for a raise of over 3% for the entire membership. Over half of the workers in the union bargaining unit currently earn less than the living wage for San Francisco.

Last month, SEIU 1021 sent a letter to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee requesting they audit the Academy’s finances, as the Academy receives city funding. The financial decisions made by past and present administrations and board of trustees have prioritized executive compensation, investors, and fund managers over the public-serving mission of the institution and the educational and scientific programs — representing a possible breach of their fiduciary duties. 

In February, about 60 Academy workers gathered to deliver a petition for a fair first contract signed by over 70% of the bargaining unit to Executive Director Scott Sampson at the Academy Board of Trustees meeting. But, in a display of the dismissiveness and disrespect that has been frustrating workers, Sampson refused to come out to accept the petition from his staff.

Disappointingly but unsurprisingly, the beautiful murals had been defaced by the following morning.

Read more about the action in the San Francisco Chronicle here and SFist here.