The Buffalo AKG Art Museum has faced protests and picket lines over the last two months from laid-off workers who accuse the museum of union busting.

The museum has experienced a surge in success welcoming over 325,000 visitors within its first year reopening on June 2023, more than double its previous average of 125,000. It even earned a spot in TIME’s “World’s Greatest Places 2024.” Renovations to the facility also allowed AKG to expand its staff to over 200 workers.

Despite this momentum, the museum laid off 13 union workers in March from its Visitor Experience Department—roughly 60% of that team. The layoffs came just months after AKG ratified a union constitution in December 2023, covering visitor experience staff, retail associates, facilities workers, and employees at the museum’s in-house restaurant, Cornelia.

Soon after the layoffs, AKG posted 11 new job openings for “Preservation and Safety Associates,” a non-union role. This raised concerns that the layoffs were not financially motivated but were instead an attempt to weaken the union’s presence.

In response, Buffalo AKG Workers United—the organization representing the laid-off employees—has taken to social media to call attention to the museum’s actions. In a recent Instagram post, they disputed the museum’s justifications point by point and highlighted the broader impact the layoffs could have on workers and the surrounding community.

These frustrations have fueled ongoing picketing outside the museum’s entrance. Union members and supporters have spent weeks informing visitors of the situation, while larger protests—drawing former staff, local labor advocates, and allies—have brought public scrutiny to AKG’s leadership.

To gain a better understanding of the situation, we spoke with Zaned Colón Barreto, a former AKG employee who was laid off in April. They shared their firsthand perspective on how the situation has unfolded:

What led you to become involved in the protests?
“I started working at the museum in September 2023. I loved working there—I loved the people I worked with. I got involved in March 2024 when bargaining between the museum and the union began. My involvement was out of solidarity for my fellow workers. After we ratified the contract, the museum began engaging in what I’d call ‘malicious compliance.’ They enforced it very harshly, with little flexibility, even though the terms we negotiated emphasized flexibility. It felt like our working lives became harder, not better.
I was elected AKG Union Steward by my coworkers. That experience showed me how leadership and management kept us at arm’s length. They wouldn’t communicate directly, and issues that could have been resolved in one conversation would be dragged out for weeks. Then, in early March, they pulled everyone into the break room and told us that 13 Visitor Experience staff members were being laid off. It was completely unexpected and showed a total lack of transparency.”

Have the protests created any change?
“I think they’re cracking, I’m not going to lie. They’re losing memberships rapidly. Their latest exhibition has had the lowest attendance since reopening. They’ve been receiving a flood of emails and scrambling to respond.
They’ve never faced this kind of public pressure before. It’s hitting them hard. If anything, I hope this encourages more people to speak up. Keep the pressure on.”

Do you think this will end soon?
“They can be stubborn. But I’m not ready to give up. I don’t have a definite prediction. I hope it doesn’t last too long because it’s exhausting.
But if they’re willing to be in this for the long haul, so are we. We don’t want it to be this way, they can stop this at any time.”

We reached out to the Buffalo AKG Museum for comment on the ongoing situation, but they did not respond by the time of publication.

The controversy has also drawn reactions from artists whose work is currently on display at the museum. Painter Charles Clough shared the following statement:
“The optics of the situation of the AKG and the Buffalo AKG Workers United lays bare the master/slave relationship of patronage and art. I spent 8 years in western New York presenting a public painting workshop that cost me much, and possibly provided no benefit to anyone, but, expressed my love of “art for all.” For years I have noted “spiritual generosity” in the efforts of people I knew: Dr. Edna Lindemann, Robert T. Buck, Dr. Gerald O’Grady… “Artwashing” was coined in 2017 to describes the use of art and artists in a positive way to distract from or legitimize negative actions by an individual, organization, country, or government. Unfortunately, the idealistic hopes of society, as codified, in, say, The Constitution, or the by-laws of museums are subverted by greed…”

Another artist, who asked to remain anonymous, shared:
“I am very saddened to hear of the move by AKG to lay off unionized workers. I, of course, don’t know the situation well and from my faraway, limited research, only able to glean the gist of the situation but any form of union busting is egregious. At a time when workers’ rights are at an all-time precarious state, a cultural institution with such historical and contemporary importance as the AKG, should be a beacon in protecting these rights. Culture needs preserving but the shaky ground on which all human rights stand needs preserving now more than ever, and worker’s rights are human rights.”

As tensions continue, Buffalo AKG Workers United remains active in organizing and updating supporters. You can follow them on Instagram and visit their GoFundMe to support the laid-off workers.