Met Workers Vote to Unionize

Nearly 1,000 salaried and hourly workers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art voted Friday to join United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110, creating one of the largest museum unions in the United States.

The new union, approved by a vote of 542 to 172, is made up of staff from 50 departments across the Met, including curators, conservators, librarians, visitor experience coordinators and archivists. According to a statement from Local 2110, about 100 ballots remain sealed due to challenges from management, which opposes unionization. Whether they ultimately join the union will be decided through a “consensual arbitration process” after the union receives formal certification from the National Labor Relations Board, the statement added. (Two separate smaller unions already represent the museum’s security guards and projectionists.)

A union campaign at the Met had reportedly been brewing for more than four years before the election. Key concerns include job security, pay equity and greater transparency into agency operations.

“I have worked at the Met for 31 years, and I truly love it, but our expertise and our labor have real value that deserves recognition,” digital archivist Stephanie Post said in a statement. “By unionizing, we are not only protecting our jobs, but building a collective voice to ensure every employee, now and in the future, gets the respect and protection they deserve.”

art news The museum has been contacted for comment.

“For decades, we have been committed to developing a culture of inclusion, collaboration and creativity and taking every opportunity to advance our people,” Met spokesperson Ann Bailis previously told The New York Times. new york times. “We respect the right to seek union representation and are proud of our long-standing relationship with DC37 and Local 306 IATSE, who represent a significant portion of our workforce.”

Local 2110 represents the staff of New York’s museums and cultural institutions, including Museum of Modern Art, brooklyn museum, Guggenheim, Whitney Museumthe New Museum and the Shed. Unionization and unionization efforts at art museums, cultural institutions and art schools across the country have gained momentum in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen cultural professionals across the country lose their livelihoods. Met employees will officially reach out to help in 2022, UAW Local 2110 said.

“We won because we were able to convince our colleagues that they didn’t have to accept whatever was offered to them and that their experience and hard work had earned them their seat,” said Rebecca Capua, a conservator at the Met for 16 years.