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A28 u.s. news
Diaranson 23 Maart 2022

Small 9/11 museum known for ground zero tours may shut soon

also has provided over 900 adults). Adams-Webb said.
volunteer tour guides with
a cherished outlet for their Financial strains began in The Tribute Museum’s par-
grief, pain and memories. 2017, when the museum ent organization got more
moved to a much bigger than $300,000 in pandemic
Some guides have traveled space a few blocks further relief through federal Pay-
from as far as northern Vir- from the trade center. The check Protection Program
ginia to lead tours. Oth- move exhausted the muse- loans that were later for-
ers have become such close um’s reserves and increased given, Small Business Ad-
friends that they still take its rent, but leaders felt it was ministration records show.
cruises together, Ielpi said. their best option because the Adams-Webb said the staff
old location was too small to has declined from more than
The center was dwarfed by host enough visitors to sup- 30 people pre-pandemic to
the National September 11 port a spiking rent bill there, around 10 now, and that
Memorial & Museum, a $700 Adams-Webb said. other cuts were made where
million, taxpayer-subsidized possible. Expenses totaled
project that opened its me- The new facility allowed about 3.6 million in 2019, the
(AP) — Years before the The 9/11 Tribute Museum morial plaza in 2011 and a for school groups as large as last year for which the parent
Sept. 11 museum was built traces its roots to 2004, when vast underground museum marching bands in town for organization’s tax records are
at the World Trade Center, a group founded by victims’ in 2014. The museum alone the Macy’s Thanksgiving publicly available.
a storefront visitor center relatives decided to turn a has drawn more than 18 mil- Day Parade. However, visitor
across the street opened to former deli, steps away from lion visitors and the open-air, numbers initially dropped by Adams-Webb, who lost a
offer tours led by victims’ ground zero, into a focal un-ticketed plaza an estimat- about 30% as the museum friend who worked at the
relatives, survivors and point for commemoration of ed 55 million. strove to remarket itself, she World Trade Center, said
others with personal ties the 2001 terror attacks that said. leaders have approached the
to the trauma and tragedy killed nearly 3,000 people. On Monday, when the Trib- national 9/11 museum about
of 9/11. The trade center was a mas- ute Museum was closed for Numbers began bouncing potential help or collabora-
sive pit and construction site the day, at least a dozen peo- back in the next two years, tion, but nothing has mate-
Sixteen years and five million in 2004, but visitors were al- ple showed up at the door, but then the pandemic shut- rialized. The 9/11 Memorial
visitors later, what is now ready coming in droves. thinking it was the national tered the place for months & Museum declined to com-
the 9/11 Tribute Museum is museum. in 2020 and spurred travel ment.
poised to close within weeks, It exhibited twisted steel from restrictions that took a heavy
its leaders say, barring a last- the wreckage, a photo gallery Tribute Museum leaders say toll on a museum that draws Beyond a lifeline to deal with
minute rescue from millions of victims, and other artifacts. it still plays a different and 40% of its audience from the current debts, Tribute
of dollars in debt. But it became best known for valuable role through its fo- other countries. Visitors also needs a partner to help
walking tours of the trade cus on guides’ firsthand ac- dropped from 150,000 in figure out how to make it fi-
While financial pressures center site, led by relatives counts of living through the 2019 to 26,000 last year. nancially sustainable.
have been building for some of the dead, survivors, rescue attacks and recovering from
time, leaders say the museum and recovery workers and them. The picture began to improve She said there’s still “a small
has been pushed to the brink people who lived nearby on after the U.S. fully reopened window of opportunity” for
by the coronavirus pandem- 9/11. The Tribute Museum has to many vaccinated interna- someone to step in and save
ic, which hammered tourism gotten grants and donations tional travelers in early No- a facility “built by the com-
on the heels of a costly 2017 The center drew 100,000 but relies heavily on admis- vember, then was clouded munity to fulfill the need this
move. visitors just in its first four sion and tour fees (currently again with the virus’ super- need that’s out there.”
months. Over the years, it $17 and $35, respectively, for contagious omicron surge,

California grocery workers vote on strike authorization

(AP) — Thousands of contracts expired March 6. nia market,” the statement in 2019 voted to authorize
southern and central Cali- The Los Angeles Times re- said. a strike, but contracts ulti-
fornia grocery workers The union said the next day ported that a Ralphs state- mately were reached without
started voting Monday that the companies’ wage ment said the vote creates The union has not yet a walkout.
on whether to authorize proposal amounted to a “unnecessary concern for our reached agreements with
their union to call a strike 60-cent increase that was associates and communities, other supermarket chains, A 2003-04 strike and lockout
against several major su- “shockingly low” and well at a time when we should be including Gelson’s, Stater put nearly 70,000 Southern
permarket chains. below workers’ cost-of-living coming together in good faith Brothers & Super A. California grocery workers
needs. Employees were ask- bargaining to find solutions on picket lines for more than
About 47,000 workers at ing for a $5-an-hour raise, and compromise. At Ralphs, Employees of Ralphs, Vons, four months.
hundreds of Ralphs, Alb- among other proposals. we remain focused on set- Pavilions and Albertsons
ertsons, Vons and Pavilions tling a deal with the UFCW.”
stores are eligible to vote this The union said that during
week. Results are expected to the final day of negotiations Albertsons Companies said
be released on March 27. it emphasized the essential in a statement that the goal
role grocery workers played of the negotiation is “to pro-
The possible strike would during the coronavirus pan- vide our employees with a
involve grocery clerks, meat demic. competitive total compensa-
cutters, pharmacists and tion package of wages, health,
pharmacy technicians repre- The union said bargaining welfare and pension ben-
sented by seven locals of the committee member Erlene efits.”
United Food and Commer- Molina, a Ralphs employee,
cial Workers. told company negotiators: “We are committed to work-
“We saw how people were ing collaboratively to ensure
Negotiations with Ralphs, acting like the world was that we reach an agreement
owned by Kroger, and Alb- ending, but we could not stay that is fair to our employees,
ertsons, owner of Albertsons, home. We knew that we had good for our customers, and
Vons and Pavilions stores, an obligation to our commu- allows Albertsons, Vons and
ended without agreement nity, so we showed up every Pavilions to remain competi-
before the latest three-year day.” tive in the Southern Califor-