Employees rally as nearly 50 are being laid off by the Brooklyn Museum
BROOKLYN (WABC) -- More than four dozen employees at the Brooklyn Museum are about to be laid off.
The museum is making cuts as it faces a $10 million deficit.
The workers and unions held a rally at the museum on Tuesday.
The layoffs were supposed to happen on February 7th but now the unions and museum are actively negotiating for the next 30 days.
They have yet to come to an agreement.
The museum says the wages make up about 70 percent of their operating budget and about 50 workers will be laid off.
"The treatment of the staff through the layoff was a very messy process. The museum did not honor our UAW contract by not giving us 30 days agreed upon," said Liz St. George, a curator of the Brooklyn Museum.
The museum also says senior leadership will take 10 to 20 percent pay cuts and the museum will cut back on some exhibitions.
According to the unions that represent some of the employees, the layoffs will impact a wide range of jobs including clerical workers, educators, guards, and curators.
The museum says it respects the right of the employees to organize and rally.
Some of the people at the rally had dedicated years to the museum and say they are now the ones who are paying for a deficit they didn't even cause.
"We basically put this museum where it is today. We are the backbone of this museum we are barely making 50,000, 60,000 a year and you look at the museum. It's wrong," said Wilson Souffrant.
Employees said they rallied Tuesday because of an invite-only dinner held at the museum celebrating the 200th anniversary.
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