The Whitney Museum is in the early stages of preparation for the March 1 opening of the 2012 Biennial, which is good for the Whitney, except that they’ve got a bunch of unhappy art handlers to deal with, which could be very, very bad for the Whitney. The last contract that the museum had with its handlers’ union expired in October; they’ve since been operating on extended, temporary contracts, but the Whitney’s playing with knives if the sides can’t agree on a new, permanent contract before prep for the Biennial goes into high gear. The current contract extension expires a week from today. (FULL ARTICLE: Julia Halperin, ARTINFO)