AMHERST — Seasonal tour guides at the Emily Dickinson Museum are putting on hold a strike that had been scheduled to start Saturday, an action authorized in a vote by members of the United Auto Workers Local 2110.
While the union took a vote for a strike, a preliminary agreement with Amherst College,. which owns the museum, is averting the action, for now.
Organizers say the strike authorization came in response to both the bargaining position of the college, in trying to reach an initial contract since October 2025, and an unfair labor practice complaint lodged against the college for allegedly depriving workers of a standard July 1 cost-of-living adjustment.
“We’ve been bargaining with the museum for over a year now and have yet to achieve any meaningful commitment to a fair wage and other bread-and-butter issues that will allow the museum to remain a unique destination that amplifies Emily Dickinson’s revolutionary poetic voice to new generations,” Chris Fobare, a part-time guide at the museum since 2019, said in a statement. Fobare also works as a professor at Worcester State University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
The college issued a statement late Thursday afternoon about the preliminary deal it reached with the union.
“We are pleased to have reached a preliminary agreement with the bargaining unit representing the tour guides at the Emily Dickinson Museum, pending employee ratification. We appreciate the time all parties put into developing contract terms that reflect our shared values and reinforce our commitment to competitive compensation.”
Details of the preliminary agreement will be shared publicly if its successfully ratified, according to a union spokesperson.
The Emily Dickinson Museum Union, which has 20 members, formed in summer 2025 to improve pay and working conditions and to enhance the experience for the 12,000 to 15,000 visitors who visit the museum each year.
Leaders contend they are proposing hourly rates that meet the rising cost of living in the region, around $24.59 per hour, along with protections against the college subcontracting their work. The union also argues that unionized staff lost out on the July 1 wage increase.
Family Weekend at Amherst College is taking place Saturday, with discounted tickets for attendees and reduced prices for gift shop merchandise.
“Museum guiding is inherently seasonal, and usually part time, but its low wages are making it almost impossible for the Emily Dickinson Museum to retain experienced guides,” said Melba Jensen, a guide and former instructor at the University of Massachusetts. Jensen added that of the guides who trained in the last three years, more than half have already left.
Becky Lockwood, a guide who also works at South Hadley Public Library, said many workers need multiple jobs.
“The museum withholding the 3.5% increase that was offered to all other Amherst College employees hurts our members,” Lockwood said.
The tour guides all work under 20 hours per week and are not eligible for benefits at the nonprofit museum. Their work runs from the spring into the fall.
Other bargaining issues include health and safety and a fair and transparent scheduling procedure.
The Emily Dickinson Museum Union is the fifth museum union represented by UAW Local 2110 to authorize a strike since Sept. 1. The others represent employees at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum and the American Folk Art Museum.
