The Academy Museum team is trying to merge with AFSCME –

Less than a year after the Museum of Motion Pictures opened, employees working in the front and back of the house industries are trying to make a connection with the American Federation of State, District, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

A group calling itself the Academy Museum Workers Union (AMWU) announced on Thursday that it is seeking voluntary recognition from the administration and would otherwise apply for election to the National Council on Labor Relations. They represent the 36th AFSCME Council, which includes local representatives representing library staff, Museum of Contemporary Art staff, city officials, and parole officers, among others, and supports over 200 per front and back. Domestic workers included in the transactions section.

“We are excited to form our union, the Academy Museum Museum Workers Union, because it is time for those who work to preserve and celebrate art, in this case film, to vote for work,” said Sarah Stern, a retailer. In the statement. “Every worker deserves respect and a say in our working conditions and in the direction of our work. For this museum to be successful, its workers must be protected and respected.”

The union says workers are trying to deal with issues of wages, working conditions and benefits, as well as getting together more to speak at the museum. The group has sent a letter to management of membership intent, but is still collecting membership cards before formally applying for voluntary recognition; The group believes it has the support of the majority of the requested negotiation unit.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the academy museum said the museum had received the message and “appreciated” the task force’s interest in the union. “We recognize that this is a very important election and we believe it is in the interests of staff to be fully informed when making a decision. As such, we advise the union to initiate a secret ballot for the National Labor Council as a next step. “We look forward to continuing to speak with this group,” the spokesperson said.

In recent years, there has been a wave of organization at major US museums, with new associations forming at the MOCA, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the New Museum, and the Chicago Institute of the Arts. Staff at the Los Angeles-based Marciano Art Foundation were organizing when the museum laid off staff and closed its door permanently in late 2019. AFSCME, which currently represents the museum’s roughly 10,000 staff, organizes the Museum’s staff. of the Academy as part of this. His movement, United Cultural Workers, seeks to portray workers in cultural institutions such as museums, zoos and libraries.

In the statement, the Academy Museum’s assistant curator, J. Raúl Guzmán, said of the union effort: “We believe that the Academy Museum’s mission is radically inclusive and we believe in our mission as service personnel and agents of positive change. . In our society. He added: “Through our union, we believe we can set industry standards for cultural institutions around the world, standards that improve job security, fair wages and livelihoods, and the safety of all workers.”