Workers at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) have become the latest to join the growing unionisation movement within the US culture sector. In an open letter released on 14 February and signed by 32 people who currently work at the museum, staffers announced their intention of forming a union. The letter’s signatories represent about one third of workers at the MCA who are eligible to potentially join the union, which would include around 100 staff members across departments including curatorial, collections, retail, building operations and front desk.
“We are a part of a legacy of MCA workers who have advocated for ourselves and been brave enough to call for change,” the letter states. “The next step in this process is forming our union so that we can be protected in our efforts and collectively bargain around our own working conditions. We are part of a growing movement of cultural workers in and around Chicago and across the country who are ensuring that we have a seat at the table.”
The letter’s authors noted that they are seeking wages that are on par with the cost of living in a major city like Chicago, as well as ensuring that benefits will not be decreased—including sick leave, paid time off and health insurance—and expanded where possible. This includes equitable benefits for both full- and part-time workers, and overtime and compensatory time off for extra hours worked. Workers are also calling for an environment that fosters diversity and employee growth, transparency around policies, compensation and opportunities for promotions, among other issues.
“We are aware of the announced intention to form a union,” a spokesperson for the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago told The Art Newspaper. “We respect the rights of employees to organise and we do not have further comment at this time.”
The next step for staff organisers at the MCA will be to hold an election with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 (AFSCME). The AFSCME already represents workers at several museums in and around Chicago, including the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC), the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Additionally, staff and non-tenured faculty at the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) of Chicago voted to unionise with AFSCME in 2022.
“Forming a union gives us a chance to determine our own futures as workers at the MCA,” says Olive Stefanski, a lead artist in the MCA’s Teen Creative Agency and member of the union organising committee. “As a collective body within our union, we will sit across the bargaining table as equals to management as we negotiate a fair contract for all workers at the MCA. Our union is a democratic process in which all workers can have the freedom to have a voice in the conditions of our own workplace.” She adds: “All workers deserve conditions that uphold our dignity and allow us to take care of ourselves and our loved ones.”
Last summer, staff at the AIC and SAIC ratified their first contract; in November, staff at the Newberry Library followed suit. Later this month, workers at the Museum of Science and Industry will begin bargaining for their first contract.
The announcement by MCA Chicago workers comes on the heels of campaigns by staff at dozens of US museums who began forming unions over the past five years, a movement that became more widespread amid the many layoffs and furloughs brought on by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Staff at more than 30 museums across the US are either in the process of forming a union or have successfully done so. Just last month, workers at the Denver Art Museum began a campaign to unionise.
