Unions

Labournews

Unionised workers at New York's Storm King sculpture park ratify their first contracts

The agreement with members of two bargaining units comes as the popular outdoor art destination puts the finishing touches on a $45m campus revamp

Staff at the American Folk Art Museum vote unanimously to form a union

The institution’s new union, formed under UAW Local 2110, will represent workers across departments including curatorial, information technology, retail and more

UK's Imperial War Museum plans to break with two unions

MPs have joined a campaign to stop the museums group from derecognising two of its three unions

Drawn-out strikes threaten to keep museums in Liverpool shut into the summer

Seven sites in the city have been closed for nearly eight weeks over a one-off cost of living payment, and there are suggestions that further action will be announced soon

Labournews

Mass Moca employees end three-week strike following dispute over wages

Unionised workers and museum officials have ratified a new deal that raises staff minimum wages to $18 per hour

Workers at Mass Moca go on strike 'indefinitely' amid stalled wage negotiations

It is the second time in two years that unionised employees of the museum have gone on strike

Staff at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art launch campaign to form union

If their campaign is successful, around 100 workers at the museum would be represented by the union

Dispute between Philadelphia Museum of Art and employee union drags on, after strike in 2022

The union claims the institution has not implemented an agreement concerning length-of-service pay increases

Unionised University of the Arts faculty prepare to strike after more than two years of contract negotiations

Professors at the Philadelphia art school have been ramping up their attempts to move negotiations forward

Unionsnews

On the eve of a planned strike, Brooklyn Museum workers ratify first union contract

After over two years of negotiations, members of the museum’s UAW Local 2110 union voted to ratify their first contract

Guggenheim Museum staff ratifies its first union contract

With 97% of the vote, museum employees signed their first union contract after two years at the bargaining table

Museumsanalysis

Changing institutional culture from the inside out: why more and more US museum workers are forming unions

Employees across the sector are turning to unions to fight for better wages, benefits and working conditions

Hundreds of RISD students walk out in support of striking university workers

Students and faculty at the top-ranked art and design university have been vocal in their support of custodial, moving and groundskeeping staff

9,000 workers on strike at Rutgers University, home to one of US’s top art schools

The Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers is one of the most prestigious university art programmes on the East Coast

Strike at New York’s Hispanic Society enters second week as museum pushes back long-planned reopening

Unionised workers at the institution in Upper Manhattan have been on strike since 27 March as negotiations over their first contract have stalled

Unionsnews

‘You can’t pay rent with prestige’: as contract negotiations drag on, unionised Guggenheim workers rally at exhibition openings

As museum members and supporters waited to enter opening celebrations for Gego and Sarah Sze shows, they were greeted by members of UAW Local 2110

Unionised Whitney Museum workers ratify their first contract after 16 months of negotiations

The deal means significant pay increases for hourly wage earners and salaried employees alike, and extends some benefits to temporary workers

British Museum staff to strike as cultural workers across UK take industrial action—including during school holiday

Workers at the Wallace Collection, Historic England, National Museums Scotland and the National Museum of Liverpool will also be striking over pay and labour conditions

'Systematically underpaid': arts courses across UK grind to a halt amid nation's biggest university strike in history

Lecturers across the country are protesting university workers’ pay, pensions and working conditions

With the threat of cuts, unions get militant in UK museums—and their membership is growing rapidly

Workers are increasingly turning to collective bargaining, industrial action and representation by trade unions

Labournews

Workers at New York’s Storm King Art Center seek to form a union amid $45m campus revamp

Employees of the non-profit it are seeking union representation, but administrators have opted not to voluntarily recognise the unions

Dia Art Foundation staff announce intentions to unionise

The proposed union would consist of 135 professional and non-professional staff at Dia sites in New York, Beacon, Long Island and New Mexico

Labournews

Workers at the Baltimore Museum of Art vote to form a wall-to-wall union

In a vote on 14 July, 89 workers voted to unionise while 29 voted to not, making the museum the latest US art institution to join the labour movement

Labournews

Unionised Philadelphia Museum of Art workers rally to push contract negotiations forward

Negotiations between the union and museum leadership have been ongoing since October 2020

New York’s Jewish Museum announces formation of a union

The unionisation follows similar decisions made by the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and others

Unionsnews

Unionised workers at MOCA Los Angeles ratify first contract with museum

Negotiations between museum leadership and the union had repeatedly been delayed due to Covid-19, administrative shakeups and more issues

Whitney Museum workers protest outside the institution’s fundraising gala over union contract negotiations

Around 100 demonstrators rallied outside the institution during its gala, hoping to give greater urgency to ongoing negotiations with museum leaders

Labournews

Whitney Museum staff protest against stalled contract negotiations at biennial’s VIP opening

Guests arriving at Tuesday’s reception were handed leaflets explaining the current state of negotiations between the newly formed union and museum administration