‘Transparency, fair wages now!’: Cal Academy workers protest as museum marks 172 years

Around 40 to 50 employees rallied outside, calling for higher wages, clearer promotion paths, and budget transparency

by Thomas Hughes, Bay City News April 7, 2025April 7, 2025

Members of Cal Academy Workers United, a division of Service Employees International Union 1021, rally outside the California Academy of Sciences, in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, April, 4, 2024, during the Academy’s 172nd anniversary celebration, called Academy Day. Unionized employees wanting $25 an hour for the lowest paid employees, clear pathways for promotions, and regular pay increases, among other demands painted protest art and gave speeches. (Thomas Hughes/Bay City News)

The California Academy of Sciences has celebrated its 172nd anniversary last week by lowering the museum’s $49 admission for adults to as low as $5 for the day. The Golden Gate Park icon also introduced a webcam to let online visitors interact with its famous albino alligator, Claude.

Some of its unionized employees, meanwhile, marked the anniversary dubbed Academy Day by holding a protest rally outside, calling for the Academy of Sciences’ leadership to provide a series of concessions related to pay, job security and transparency.

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