Museum Finances
Dear Colleagues,
We're coming together to form our union motivated by a desire to have a voice in the decisions that affect us. By forming our union, we can improve pay and benefits, expand professional development and advancement opportunities, and make the museum a place to develop a rewarding career, not just struggle to merely get by.
Increasingly it feels like the museum—which is supposed to be a mission-driven nonprofit—has its priorities out of order. Like there's a deep disconnect between the vast resources of the institution and the lavish pay and perks of senior leadership, and the low pay, layoffs, furloughs and pay freezes that many of us struggle with.
And that's not just a feeling. It's a fact. For instance:
Did you know . . . that just one month after the museum laid off 51 employees last June 2020, it reported $1.41 billion in net assets (including $480 million in unrestricted net assets), a $1.14 billion endowment and a total operating surplus of $68.5 million for the fiscal year*?
Did you know . . . that the museum pays president James Rondeau total compensation of nearly $1 million a year**? That a museum employee with a starting salary of $45,000 would have to work for more than 18 years—and get 2% annual raises throughout—to earn that much? That it takes Rondeau just 10 working days to make more than $37,000—an amount comparable to what many museum employees (such as research associates, project coordinators, visitor experience representatives, custodians and retail staff) make in an entire year?
Did you know . . . that Rondeau enjoys lavish perks including first-class airfare, spousal travel and $5,000 annually in social and athletic club fees, all paid by the museum***?
And did you know . . . that even as the museum has suspended employee raises and salary adjustments this year, it recently received a $10 million Shuttered Venue Operators Grant from the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan****? The government specifically states that these funds—the maximum grant award available—could be used for payroll costs.
To see and share these facts, visit AICWU today on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
The key to leveling the playing field is having a real seat at the table through our union. As we said in our public letter to you on the day of our campaign's public launch, “There can be no equity without true power sharing.”
Sincerely,
Your AICWU Organizing Committee
Sources:
**Rondeau’s total compensation was $980,688 in FY2019, the most recent year for which data is available. Source: Art Institute of Chicago IRS Form 990
***IRS Form 990
**** AIC All-Staff Email May 27, 2021; Small Business Administration data release July 12, 2021.
Clarification: An earlier version of this post referred to a $48,000 annual housing allowance. This perk is provided to the SAIC President not the AIC President.
