Met Museum Workers Are Officially Unionized
The new union will represent staff across 50 departments of the Manhattan institution.
Staff at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City are officially unionized following a successful National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election, workers announced today, Friday, January 16.
The formation of the Met Union under United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110, which represents workers at cultural organizations across the city and elsewhere, comes months after staff first announced their intent to organize, cutting the need for pay parity, increased representation, and more transparency. Workers filed a petition with the NLRB, a step sometimes taken to form a union when the employing organization does not voluntarily recognize it, in November.
The union will represent workers across 50 departments at the museum, including curators, librarians, conservators, visitor experience staff, and archivists. Originally, the union filed to represent 1,000 employees of the museum’s approximately 2,000-person workforce. Staff voted to form the union by a margin of 76%, with 542 voting in favor, 172 voting in opposition, and 100 not counted because the museum disputed their eligibility to belong to the union, according to UAW Local 2110.
”We won because we were able to convince our colleagues that they don't have to accept whatever is offered to them, that their experience and hard work have earned them a seat at the table,” Rebecca Capua, a Met conservator, said in a statement released by UAW Local 2110.
In a statement, a spokesperson for The Met said the institution “look[s] forward to engaging with the UAW as we pursue The Met’s mission to connect all people to creativity, knowledge, ideas, and one another.”
“As one of the world’s leading art museums, The Met has long been committed to supporting its exceptional staff with highly competitive salaries and benefit packages that surpass industry standards; robust professional development opportunities; and a culture that values inclusivity, creativity, collaboration and excellence,” the spokesperson said. The institution said that over 600 of its employees earn more than $100,000 per year, and added that salaries have increased by 4% over the past five years.
Alison Clark, a collections manager in the Asian Art Department, said in a statement that unionizing “is only our first step.”
“We look forward to negotiating a fair and equitable contract that reflects staff needs and priorities,” Clark said.
