<div>*UPDATE 10/19: On October 5th we put forth our 11th wage offer of $1.75 equity raise. On October 10th, the Garden refused our offer and attempted to unilaterally declare an impasse. They are maintaining their regressive offer of a 3% equity raise. In an honest effort to compromise, we have reduced our ask by 50%, while the Garden has not meaningfully changed their offer at all. Instead of showing us and the community that they're willing to negotiate, the Garden has terminated striking workers' health insurance, attempted to shut down our picket line in court, hired expensive temporary workers, and now attempted to declare impasse. We will not give up. We know that the Garden is an important community resource for visitors and staff alike. We believe that the only chance of a sustainable future for the Garden lies in the community's support and the ability to retain a thriving, knowledgeable workforce. This sustainable future will not be possible if the Garden continues to reject their stated values and fight their own employees. To maintain the strike, we are raising the goal to $40,000. The generosity shown by our community gives us strength to carry on. Thank you for believing in us and seeing a better future for LGBG and its workers. If you don't have the means to donate, please continue to boycott the garden and share this fund with others. Thank you, solidarity forever.
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<div>*UPDATE 10/3: Beginning October 1st, the garden has taken away striking workers' health insurance. The garden gave only four days notice. This is a textbook union-busting move to further degrade their already struggling employees. If the garden wanted to end the strike, they could have come back to the table and negotiated in good faith. They could have offered a fair, non-regressive wage offer. Instead of acting on their professed core values, which include organizational sustainability and community support, the garden is attempting to forcibly crush the strike. If they truly valued organizational sustainability, why wouldn't they act to prevent high turnover? If they viewed their employees as valuable members of the community, why would they cut off their access to life-saving medications? Striking workers have demonstrated extraordinary resilience, bravery and determination, and we could not sustain this strike without the beautiful outpouring of support from the Richmond community. Your solidarity gives us the strength to continue standing up for ourselves and for workers everywhere. In light of the additional financial hit striking workers will inevitably face without health insurance, we have raised our goal to $35,000. Thank you for your generosity, solidarity, and demonstrated love for the working people of Richmond. It means everything.
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<div>*EDIT 9/11/26- With the overwhelmingly generous support from our community, we have reached our original fundraising goal of $20,000! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who contributed, be it $5 or $500, your generosity keeps us standing strong. We are now raising our goal, as it seems we will need to continue fighting to win a fair, non-regressive wage offer. On Labor Day, the garden said they wished to hear our next offer. We came back to the table asking for a mere $1.90 increase across the board, but the garden rejected this, writing "given the parties' positions, I'm not sure another meeting would be productive. That said, the garden is always willing to meet if the union has anything new to discuss." It is clear they are trying to win a war of attrition by refusing to increase their regressive 3% offer (equating to about 50c for the average union member), and we must continue holding the picket line to win a fair contract. Because the garden continues to prolong negotiations, we are raising our fundraising goal to help sustain our strike. Together we work, together we fight, together we win.
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<div>*EDIT 9/01/26- <strong>As of today's vote, we are now on a prolonged strike, </strong>with an overwhelming majority of the unit voting yes. We intend to strike until the garden offers a decent contract.
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<div>Please join us on the picket line from 9-3 starting Wednesday 9/02, and 9-5 every day after. We will be in front of the garden gates.*
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<div>We, the unionized workers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, need your support.
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<div>We are fundraising in case we have to go on a prolonged strike while we negotiate our first contract. If we are forced to strike, this fundraiser will help reward us for our unpaid time. If we do not have to strike, the funds will be distributed equitably throughout the unit of 58 workers.
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<div>We are NOT currently on a prolonged strike<strong>.</strong> We have had two separate one-day Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Strikes. We are raising a strike fund because most of us seriously struggle with the loss of even one day’s pay, <strong>as the average in-unit wage at the garden is $17.52/hr.</strong> Should we engage in a prolonged strike, we can’t start an official fund through our union until the strike begins.
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<div>We need a safety net.
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<div>We organized in November 2024. After the holidays, we began negotiations in early February 2025. We have not had an increase in wages in 2 years, even though there is nothing in the law that prevents the garden from giving cost-of-living raises, merit increases or other financial improvements. For more than 4 months, we have been negotiating over the issue of wages.
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<div>Our initial proposal was an equity adjustment of $3.50 per hour wage increase. We would still be earning an average wage that is <strong>less</strong> than the MIT calculated living wage in Henrico County of $24.98/hour (single, no children). The garden countered with 50 cents per hour wage increase. We lowered our proposal to $3 per hour, to which the garden offered an increase of 75 cents. During our third proposal pass, the garden changed their offer from discussing dollar amounts to percentages, and offered 3% for the initial increase. That amounts to an average of 52 cents per hour. That is a regressive proposal, which is not bargaining in good faith. We have filed an unfair labor practice charge that is being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.
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<div>Currently, we are asking for a $2 equity increase across the board, with 3% raises in 2027, 2028, and 2029. The garden has countered back with a 3% initial equity increase (again it’s only 52 cents an hour), with 2.9% raises in 2027 and 2028, and 2.75% in 2029. Accounting for inflation, if we accept their offer, union members would be <strong>making less each year. </strong>
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<div>If the garden makes this proposal their “Last, Best and Final” offer, we will be forced to choose between ratifying the contract and accepting a wage we cannot live on, or vote it down and then have to vote to strike.
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<div>We are skilled workers. Many of us have education, certifications and trainings we need to do our jobs. We toil every day to ensure Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a safe, beautiful and flourishing space for the public. The garden’s offer is insufficient and does not reflect the respect our labor deserves.
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<div><strong>We cannot and will not accept it. </strong>
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<div>For years, the Garden has used the excuse that they cannot afford to pay us more due to visitation being down. Yet, they had no issue spending upwards of $100k on union busting labor consultants. Those funds could have otherwise gone towards workers’ raises.
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<div>There is also a huge wage disparity between lower and middle level employees compared to the garden’s leaders who are making over 6 figures. For example, page 7 of 990 tax forms found on LGBG’s own website shows CEO Brian Trader earned $220K plus an additional $16K in other compensation. So, if he receives the 3% raise that is being offered to workers, that is a $6,000 increase. Surely if they can afford to pay their CEO well above the average for a nonprofit CEO in Virginia, then they can afford to pay their workers above average too.
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<div>To be clear, we’re not suggesting we all make CEO pay, but we need to earn closer to a living wage, and we know the garden can afford it. We all deserve better!
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<div>We have been negotiating our first contract for <strong>over 500 days. </strong>That exceeds the average length for a first contract negotiation. The garden has been very slow to respond to our emails, requests for counters, and in person meetings. They have been maintaining the same abysmal offer of 3%, despite us lowering our asks. It appears they are not trying to compromise, as we are, to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
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<div>All of the workers care deeply for the garden and want to see it flourish. However, working at an organization that has demonstrated time and time again that they do not actually value their staff is extremely disheartening. We have seen so many hardworking people leave the garden because they cannot afford to work here any longer. We want to keep working at the place we love and help it become more sustainable. We want working at the garden to be a career path, not a footnote on a resume. We want the core values of the garden–hospitality, integrity, inspiration, innovation, and responsibility- to actually ring true so we can work here with pride. We need the garden’s actions to speak louder than their words because as one of our coworkers put it, “Thank you’s don’t feed our families.”
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<div>We greatly appreciate your attention and support! Here are some other ways you can help:
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<li>Boycott the garden! Withhold your support until we have a fair contract. If you are a member, we urge you to cancel, letting the garden know that you stand in solidarity with the workers. You can use the following message:
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<div>To Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden,
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<div>I am writing to cancel my membership in support of the unionized workers. I do not want my money supporting a campaign of union busting and unfair labor practices, rather than be used to provide a fair living wage for all employees. I encourage garden leadership to return to the negotiating table in good faith with a wage proposal that reflects the work and dignity of their employees.
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<div>Sincerely (Your name)
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<li>Sign our petition for fair wages: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/support-fair-wages-for-the-workers-who-make-lewis-ginter-botanical-garden-thrive?nowrapper=true&amp;referrer=&amp;source=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/support-fair-wages-for-the-workers-who-make-lewis-ginter-botanical-garden-thrive?nowrapper=true&amp;referrer=&amp;source=" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/support-fair-wages-for-the-workers-who-make-lewis-ginter-botanical-garden-thrive?nowrapper=true&amp;referrer=&amp;source=</a></a>
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<li>Call and email CEO Brian Trader
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<div>Office: [phone redacted] ext. 343 or [email redacted]
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<li>If you are a donor, you can allocate donations exclusively to wages for unionized staff, or threaten to withhold donations until we reach a ratified agreement.
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<li>Get on our email list to stay updated on our fight: <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/support-lewis-ginter-botanical-garden-workers?source=direct_link&amp;utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/support-lewis-ginter-botanical-garden-workers?source=direct_link&amp;utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://actionnetwork.org/forms/support-lewis-ginter-botanical-garden-workers?source=direct_link&amp;utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio</a></a>
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<li>Follow our Instagram, Facebook and reddit, @lgbgworkersunited
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<li>Attend our pickets!
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<div>Thank you. We are so grateful to the community for the outpouring of support. Worker’s rights are human rights, and your solidarity means the world. We look forward to welcoming you back to the garden once we have a collective bargaining agreement that reflects the dignity and skill of our labor.
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<div>Thank you to @slow.poke.sam for the graphics!
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Caitlin Pierce

Anonymous

Northern Virginia Labor Federation

Kelly Dalton

Gabriel Harris

Jesse Frye

Maya Flores

Kayleigh Webster

Justin Gammon

Benson Kaminski

Jeremy Dirr

Sean Biacan

E Fishman

Ken Norris

michele smolensky

Alejandra Sullivan

Jen Koca

Strike Fund for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Workers

Strike Fund for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Workers

Nog $2,708 te gaan. Help ons de vaart erin te houden.