Employees on the the Los Angeles County Museum of Artwork voted to unionize with AFSCME District Council 36, the union introduced on Wednesday.
The brand new union, LACMA United, will symbolize round 300 employees throughout the museum, from curators to artwork handlers.
Employees announced their plan to unionize in late October, citing excessive turnover, low wages in comparison with town’s rising value of residing, and an absence of transparency from administration. The group despatched out an open letter, addressed to colleagues and administration, writing that “making certain the soundness of our employees” is essential to LACMA’s future.
Associated Articles
“Many staff are fighting wages that haven’t stored up with the rising value of residing within the sixth-most costly metropolis on the planet,” it reads. “On the similar time, staff in just about each division proceed to soak up expanded duties and workloads, typically with out further compensation, attributable to excessive turnover, restricted assets, and positions which were vacated or frozen.”
LACMA management declined to voluntarily recognize LACMA United in November, opting as an alternative to pursue an election facilitated by the American Arbitration Affiliation and authorized by the Nationwide Labor Relations Board.
The election happened electronically on Monday and Tuesday, with 96 p.c of these voting in favor of the unionization effort with AFSCME.
The museum is simply the newest main establishment to have its employees unionize. As LACMA United famous in its press launch, in LA alone, the Museum of Up to date Artwork, the Academy Museum and Basis, and the Pure Historical past Museum of Los Angeles County and La Brea Tar Pits have all received voluntary recognition for his or her unions. And, simply final month, employees on the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork petitioned the NLRB to approve a bargaining unit of roughly 1,000 museum employees. If it succeeds, it might give the Met one of many largest museum unions within the US.
LACMA didn’t reply to a request for remark at press time.
