Ellie Waltman, Managing Editor
Union workers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden voted to go on an Unfair Labor Practice strike on Tuesday, Sept. 1 after 80% of union members voted in favor.
The strike vote comes after “two one-day strikes, a call for a boycott and increased public support as workers hold their ground for meaningful wage increases from the Garden,” LGBG Workers United stated in an Instagram post.
The union has raised $11,569 for their strike fund since the union’s GoFundMe creation on July 30. A petition supporting fair wages for the workers at LGBG has collected 1,153 signatures.
Workers said that they want a first contract that makes LGBG a sustainable career rather than a job that the employees cannot afford to keep. The union remains ready to reach a fair agreement as they wait for a fair proposal from LGBG, according to the post.
Workers at the garden announced they rejected their employer’s “last, best and final offer” on Aug. 12 after nearly two years of unionizing for increased wages and benefits, according to a previous report from the Commonwealth Times.
The workers voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union in Nov. 2024 with 65% voting in favor of union representation. They began bargaining for their first contract on Feb. 6, 2025, according to the IAM Union website.
The IAM Union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on April 30. after alleging that the Garden had failed to bargain in good faith and pushed regressive wage proposals, the website stated.
The average wage for bargaining unit workers has remained at $17.52 per hour, which is “far below” the $25-per-hour living wage for the Richmond area. Workers say that wages remain the central unresolved issue, according to the website.
LGBG Workers United will begin their strike outside the front gates of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
This is a developing story. For further information visit the CT’s website.