Unionized workers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden rejected the nonprofit's final contract offer on Wednesday night, casting uncertainty on what comes next.

The employees voted to unionize in November 2024, joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

At the time they were only the second botanical garden nationally to unionize, after Portland, Oregon. Since then, negotiations have been tense, including one-day strikes and some performers canceling concerts at the venue in solidarity.

Thursday night's scheduled performer at the garden, Ramona and the Holy Smokes, announced Wednesday that their show has been canceled.

Lewis Ginter CEO Brian Trader said in an email to garden supporters last week that the conflict has been costly. He said the organization has lost "tens of thousands of dollars in revenue."

"The Machinists do not understand the unique nature of our operations and what makes us so special," he wrote. "They are negotiating like we are Boeing, Harley Davidson, or United Airlines as they simultaneously attempt to smear and tarnish the beautiful image and reputation of our Garden. Throughout our negotiations, they have repeatedly referred to us as a 'company'. The call for a boycott of the Garden by the Union doesn’t hurt the Union; it hurts the Garden, its employees, the mission, and most importantly, the community."

LGBG Workers United, the union, wrote that the average bargaining unit employee earns $17.52 per hour. The group noted that MIT's Living Wage Calculator defines a living wage in the area as about $25 an hour.

Details of the final proposal were not released publicly, but the garden had offered employees 3% raises in early negotiating rounds.

Trader said in his email that the garden provided "3, 7, 5, and 6% wage increases in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively," in addition to 35 days of paid leave.

"Our entry-level wages are competitive with regional nonprofits," he wrote. "We actively benchmark our salaries with the American Public Gardens Association, and we pay at the 50th percentile or better in almost all our roles for the 37.5-hour work week."

The garden's most recent financial disclosures show an annual budget of $10.6 million.

What comes next

In a statement, the employees' union wrote that they will "go through internal procedures and notification before details and next steps are released."

While Virginia is a right-to-work state, meaning employees cannot be compelled to join a union or pay union dues, negotiations are governed at a federal level by the National Labor Relations Board.

In a situation where the two sides cannot come to an agreement, the employer can declare a "bargaining impasse" and impose the terms of the final offer.

Union employees, however, have accused the garden of negotiating in "bad faith," which could produce further litigation or arbitration. Union employees could also go on strike or call for a widespread boycott of the garden.

While the offer was branded the "final" offer, there is also no law that would stop the sides from continuing to negotiate in the coming days.

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.