SOTHEBY’S AND TEAMSTERS LOCAL 814 REACH DEAL, ENDING TEN-MONTH LOCKOUT

After a ten-month lockout Sotheby’s and Teamsters Local 814, the union representing the auction house’s forty-two art handlers, reached a deal that raises wages 1 percent each year, increases the starting salary to $18.50 an hour, and maintains workers’ benefits, reports Daniel Massey of Crain’s_. Last month Sotheby’s replaced its law firm, Jackson Lewis, with Proskauer, which represented the National Football League during the lockout last year: “Ever since that change happened, they wanted to bargain,” said Jason Ide, president of Teamsters. “We had a breakthrough. We weren’t hearing, ‘Take it or leave it,’ but, ‘Let’s work towards a resolution.’” Ide added that “the most important thing is these guys are going back to work. They love being art handlers. They got into this line of work because they care about art and taking care of it.”