With the autumn auction schedule in full swing starting Sept. 13, Sotheby's has agreed to meet with its protesting unionized art handlers just one day before.

The art handlers have been locked out of the auction house's Manhattan headquarters since early July when the terms of their contract were not settled. Temporary and part-time workers have been brought in to do their jobs.

The teamsters say the temp workers "do not have the expertise that we do" in handling high end art and objects. They will organize a major protest outside Sotheby's on Friday.

"Given the repeated threats of a strike, which could have been organized at any time, and our fall season just over a month away, we needed to make alternative staffing arrangements so we could assure our clients of smooth and uninterrupted service," Diana Phllips of Sotehby's told Artinfo.