As the fiscal year comes to a close, the Cal Academy is facing a significant budget deficit of $100 million. In order to address this issue, the institution is looking to reduce labor costs by $4 million across all departments. This has caused concern among workers at the academy, particularly those in the CalAcademy Workers United union, who are calling on trustees to reject any budget that includes involuntary layoffs.
The union, which was formed last year and is still negotiating its first contract, believes that executive pay has been on the rise and new non-public-facing positions have been added. They question the justification for job cuts when top leadership continues to receive substantial compensation.
Public tax records reveal that high executive salaries at the academy, with bonuses reaching substantial amounts. For example, Executive Director Scott Sampson received a $145,000 bonus on top of his already generous annual salary and housing allowance. The union points out that executive compensation has doubled as a percentage of the labor budget since 2007.
The union has challenged the notion that cutting executive pay would not make a significant impact on overall budget savings. They argue that it is unfair to ask staff to bear the burden of cost-cutting measures when top leadership continues to receive substantial compensation. The union believes that there must be other ways to address the budget deficit without resorting to job losses for workers across all departments at the Cal Academy.
