Last week, employees at the American Folk Art Museum and the Glenstone Museum voted separately in favor of unionizing.
On June 6, the staff at the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) unanimously voted in favor of unionizing and joining with the UAW Local 2110. The move came a month after the employees initially announced their intention to unionize, citing issues like better benefits and better wages. Other local museums affiliated with the UAW Local 2110 are the Dia Art Foundation and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
The AFAM was founded in New York in 1961 as the Museum of Early American Folk Arts, before changing its name in 2001. Its public galleries are located near the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in Manhattan. Focusing on local and folk art dating back to the founding of the United States, the museum’s collection boasts some 8000 works – beginning from the early 18th century.
On June 6th and 7th, employees at the Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland voted in favor of unionizing with Teamsters Local 639. The 89 workers who voted include hourly-wage staff at the museum like guides, café workers, and housekeeping. The main drivers behind the decision were improved wages, better benefits (including health coverage), and better working conditions.
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The Glenstone Museum was founded in 2006 to house the private collection of the billionaire couple Mitchell Rales and Emily Wei Rales. In 2018, the museum finished an expensive $219 million expansion. Prior to the vote, the museum engaged in various tactics to dissuade workers from unionizing, including a private letter from the co-founders delivered to the homes of the staff.
