Lewis Ginter attempts to strike-break after community support craters their attendance
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Faces Attendance Decline as Strike Enters Third Week
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden reported sharply lower Labor Day attendance as a strike by union-represented employees moved into its third week, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
The union said attendance at the Richmond, Virginia, garden fell by about two-thirds on Labor Day, though it did not provide underlying visitor totals or identify the comparison period used for the figure.
The dispute has expanded beyond wage negotiations into court filings. The IAM said Lewis Ginter has filed legal claims related to the strike and that the union has sought their dismissal. The union characterized the garden’s claims as an effort to limit the strike, while accusing management of failing to bargain in good faith.
Lewis Ginter’s management had not been represented in the source material with a response to the union’s allegations or details of its legal arguments.
The union says workers are seeking higher pay and describes current compensation as insufficient to meet living-wage standards. It argues that continued visitor losses and public support for strikers are creating financial and operational pressure on the garden to reach an agreement.
Bill Haller, an associate general counsel for the IAM, said the union believes negotiations over wages, rather than litigation, are the appropriate route to ending the work stoppage.