Sotheby’s Handles Lockout, Pay Costs Rise, Ruprecht Gets Bonus

A four-month labor dispute at Sotheby’s has brought out actress Susan Sarandon and hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters on an issue that comes down to who gets to haul the Chippendales and Picassos.

A month after a three-year contract expired, the New York-based auction house imposed a lockout on July 29 on the 42 union workers known as art handlers. Their job involves moving expensive collectibles from showroom to salesroom for waiting bidders.