FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RICHMOND, Va., July 29, 2026 — Members of LGBG Workers United, represented by the IAM Union, launched their second one-day Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike today in protest of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s continued refusal to bargain in good faith over wages in first-contract negotiations.
The IAM Union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on April 30, 2026, citing regressive bargaining in wage proposals from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden during negotiations.
The workers’ strike received a major show of solidarity from Grammy-nominated musician Jesse Welles, who was scheduled to perform at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on Wednesday evening. After learning of the strike, Welles announced he would not cross the workers’ picket line and had a message for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden: “Pay a living wage or get lost.”
In an Instagram post to his 2.2 million followers, Welles wrote:
“In solidarity with the workers on strike at the botanical garden we are rescheduling our show this evening in Richmond.
“To the fans: we would not want to put you in a position to cross the picket line, we are sorry.
To the Garden: pay a living wage or get lost.
To the workers: never back down.
“We’ve rescheduled the show for Friday, September 25th at The National. Your tickets from tonight will remain valid for the rescheduled date. For those who cannot make this date, refunds will be available at your original point of purchase.”
“We’re incredibly grateful to Jesse Welles for standing with working people,” said IAM Union Organizer Bridget Fitzgerald. “His decision sends a powerful message that workers fighting for fair wages deserve the community’s support. We hope garden leadership hears his message.”
The workers are also calling on the public to boycott Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden until a fair agreement is reached. They are asking supporters to refrain from purchasing admission tickets or buying or renewing annual memberships until the garden bargains a contract that provides employees with living wages and the respect they have earned.
This all comes more than a year after workers began negotiating their first union contract following a decisive vote to join the IAM Union in November 2024. Wages remain the primary obstacle to reaching an agreement, with the average bargaining unit employee earning just $17.52 per hour—well below the estimated $25-per-hour living wage for the Richmond area.
More than 50 community members publicly backed workers during the organizing drive, and a recent petition supporting the employees has collected nearly 1,000 signatures from Garden members, volunteers, and local residents, many of whom have pledged to support the workers if the dispute escalated.
The post Grammy-Nominated Musician Jesse Welles Honors Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Workers’ Picket Line, Cancels Show: ‘Pay a Living Wage or Get Lost’ appeared first on IAM Union.