By MIKE LEE

Last November, DC 37 and Local 1502 President Wilson Souffrant negotiated a settlement with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum on behalf of Supervising Custodian Michael Graham after the union discovered he was underpaid in comparison to his predecessor.

The action followed months after a significant grievance was settled between the local and the institution regarding pay and longevity issues for employees. However, Graham was left out of the settlement, with management refusing to include him.

“Afterward, President Souffrant and I tried to make the member whole and told the Museum, ‘Well, while this is resolved, you didn’t agree to anything for Graham’,” said Daniel McCabe, Council Representative for DC 37’s Parks, Cultural, and Higher Education Division.

The union set up a labor-management meeting and explained that Graham does the work of the person who formally held a similar position, but is paid less.

Armed with his predecessor’s last pay stub and other evidence, Souffrant convinced Museum management that the union was in the right since Graham was doing the same work and was entitled to retroactive pay for his promotion to Supervising Custodian.

In the victory, Graham received two salary increases, paid in 14 installments, retroactive to his promotion to Supervising Custodian on July 1, 2022.

Local 1502 represents a variety of titles at the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

“At the darkest hour, we must never give up fighting for our members,” Souffrant said. “Our members deserve recognition and fair pay for the work they do. When management says no, we say ‘yes!’”