Museum workers at Chicago’s Field Museum went public Thursday with a union campaign they said was driven in part by low wages, high turnover and a lack of transparency at the museum.
Workers at the natural history museum said they plan to unionize with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 under the name Field Museum Workers United. AFSCME represents more than 25,000 library workers and more than 10,000 museum workers nationally, including at the Art Institute.
“We take pride in what we do,” the Field Museum employees wrote in an open letter signed by more than 60 museum workers. “Our skills and our experience are invaluable to the success of the museum. It’s time for our voices to be heard and respected. Only by forming a union will we win the respect and dignity at work that we deserve.”
In their open letter, Field Museum employees said previous attempts to raise their concerns with museum administration had been ignored. They called attention to what they described as low wages, few opportunities for advancement and an overreliance on project-based, grant-funded positions in place of permanent employees. Those issues have led to high turnover at the museum, they said, creating larger workloads for employees there.
The museum issued a statement Friday saying it respected employees’ right to unionize if they choose to do so.
“We believe that both the Museum and our employees benefit most when we can work directly with each other rather than through a third-party union unfamiliar with the Museum’s mission, culture, and community,” the statement said. “The Field Museum has been and remains committed to cultivating its relationship with our employees, keeping the lines of communication open, and improving working conditions for all employees.”
Anders Lindall, a spokesperson for AFSCME Council 31, said the typical museum employee makes between $16.50 and $18 an hour.
Workers at the natural history museum were inspired by the union campaign of employees at the Art Institute, the union said in a news release Thursday. Art Institute workers formed the city’s first major museum union when they voted to unionize in January. They were joined soon after by employees at the School of the Art Institute; nontenure track faculty at the school have also filed for a union election.
The Field Museum workers have begun gathering signed union cards — the first official step to seeking union representation — said Lindall. They plan to seek voluntary recognition from the museum or file for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board after a “strong supermajority” of museum employees have signed union cards, Lindall said.
Field Museum Workers United would represent about 330 museum workers, including collections assistants and technicians, visitor service representatives, exhibition preparers, research scientists and assistants, learning center employees and facilities staff, AFSCME Council 31 said.
