"Stop The War On Workers" - More Protests Outside Sotheby's by Locked Out Art Handlers and their Supporters

More loud protests were held last night outside the Sotheby's auction house on the Upper Eastside.The protests coincided with last night's contemporary art evening auction. At issue is Sotheby's three-month-old lockout of 43 art handlers represented by Teamsters Local 814. The Teamsters claim in the press release that Sotheby's "hired Jackson Lewis to attempt to starve its workers into giving up their job security and accepting wage cuts." According to the union, the art house, with the law firm's help, is attempting to reduce wages and replace experienced workers with outsourced employees, "despite earning record profits." The professional art handlers' last contract expired in early July and the lockout began August 1.

"Occupying" Sotheby's

Earlier this evening Sotheby's art handlers and Occupy Wall Street supporters joined forces once again in their fight for professional art handler's rights and against corporate greed. They made noise once again in front of the famed Sotheby's auction house on the Upper East Side. The organized protest coincides with tonight's Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale. The Sotheby's professional art handlers have been locked out of their jobs since early August. The protesters deem Sotheby's auctions as the epitome of the disconnect between the extremely wealthy and the "99%" in America. Sotheby's is located at 1334 York Avenue between 71st and 72nd Streets.

Video ffrom NYCCamp showing protesters expressing their views during a past Sotheby's art auction

Art Handlers' Protests At Sotheby's - Is Sotheby's Bad for Art?

Art handlers at Sotheby's have been protesting outside the Upper Eastside auction house even before the Occupy Wall Street movement made noise in Lower Manhattan. The art handlers have been locked out of their jobs for more than three months. While Sotheby's earned record profits last year, it wants to replace these longtime professionals with inexperiened, outsourced workers. The long-running protests aim to educate the company's clients about their plight. Sotheby's is located at 1334 York Avenue between 71st and 72nd Streets.