On a blustery evening at Chelsea Piers, union members from the Lower East Side Tenement Museum had the door slammed in their faces outside the museum’s 20th Anniversary Gala Dinner.

The Tenement Museum Union, affiliated with United Auto Workers Local 2110, has been trying to organize part-time and per diem workers at the cultural institution for more than a year. Museum management repeatedly has said it only will recognize a union that includes both full-time and part-time employees. Full-time workers, so far, haven’t organized.

As union members greeted arriving guests on March 4 and asked them to “Please support the union,” protest leaders struck a deal with police that would have allowed two union representatives to hand out fliers on Chelsea Piers property.

But Chelsea Piers employees told police that the protesters had to move to public ground, citing safety concerns.

Blocked View

“If they reach out to get a flier they could get hit by a taxi or whatever,” said a Chelsea Piers employee who declined give his name. “I just don’t want somebody to get hurt.”

Protesters complied and moved to one of the public walkways alongside the pier. As they continued chanting, three Chelsea Piers workers slowly closed several immense metal gates, effectively blocking the protesters from arriving guests’ view.

“Go home, man!” one of the Chelsea Piers workers yelled at part-time museum worker H.R. Britton. The protesters moved to a large, unobstructed window and pressed their maroon banner against it. Chelsea Piers workers parked a Dodge Ram pickup truck and a black SUV in front of the window, blocking the view.

Chelsea Piers staff also discouraged people from taking fliers, said museum worker Lily Paulina.

“It’s so childish,” Paulina said.

Ongoing Battle

The protest was the latest bitter chapter in a year-long fight pitting part-time workers against management at the Tenement Museum, located at 97 Orchard St.

The union has requested recognition through the so-called card check process, which would certify the union when a majority of workers sign support cards. But museum officials are refusing to recognize the union via the card check process, and are under no legal obligation to do so.

Management counters that the union should expand organizing efforts to full-time employees, and that it should go through the National Labor Relations Board for certification, a potentially costly move.

“We have always been committed to recognizing any union that is the choice of the majority of the staff,” said David Eng, Vice President of Public Affairs for the Tenement Museum.

Museum’s Terms

Several prominent supporters of allowing unions to form through the card check method are also honorary trustees of the Tenement Museum — including Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, and City Council Member Alan Gerson. But for management, the issue is about inclusion, not how the union is certified, Eng said.

“When you exclude somebody, that goes against the whole principle of a union,” Eng said. “The core issue is that they’re asking for a union that only is for part-timers and we are saying that we would be glad to have a union at this museum but it needs to be open to the entire staff.”

Maida Rosenstein, president of UAW Local 2110, said discussions have been held with full-time employees, but would not say whether the full-time staff supports the union.

“We would love to see them organized but that’s going to be up to them,” she said. “The conditions are vastly different. The part-time educators get no benefits. Many don’t have guaranteed hours, and they get paid a lot less.”

The part-time employees hope to use union membership to bargain for higher wages and health benefits. Though organizers said museum management is generally uncommunicative with them, employees have seen a $2 increase in wages since the organizing drive began last year.

“The pay had remained $15 per hour. As soon as the group of us started organizing, pay went up to $17,” employee Dave Zydallis said. “I’m not saying they didn’t do it out of the goodness of their heart, but…”

He added: “The museum is a great place to work, and we’re just trying to make it better.”

Party On

Ticket prices for the gala dinner reached into the thousands of dollars and featured appearances by Ivanka Trump and author Pete Hamill. Paola Antonelli, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, expressed support for the union as she entered the dinner, which raised $880,000.

“I have critical feelings about everything, but I understand the need to form unions, so I’ve always been pro-unions,” Antonelli said. “But you know what? I’m going to the event and I’m going to talk about it. If you’re inside and there’s people picketing outside you want to ask what it’s about — you want to hear also their side.”