References

Acknowledgements

1. Primary researchers: Liz Levine & Amanda Tobin Ripley
2. Design & web: Genevieve Hoffman, in collaboration with Michael Guidetti and Harsh Patel
3. Editing: Jane Hyun

For critical feedback during the beta stage, we are indebted to a group of peer reviewers, including Anniessa Antar, Sheila Majumdar, Eve Mayberger, Gwen Wiegold, Alex Vargo, and others who prefer to remain anonymous.

We also wish to acknowledge the many organizers, activists, and allied organizations who have contributed to the growing discourse around and visibility of museum labor, including but not limited to Art + Museum Transparency, Change the Museum, Decolonize This Place, Empathetic Museum, Incluseum, MASS Action, Museum Workers Speak, Museums & Race, Museums Are Not Neutral, National Emerging Museum Professionals Network, and many others.

Preferred citation: Levine, Liz, and Amanda Tobin Ripley. Art Museum Unions Index. Museums Moving Forward, 2024. https://museumsmovingforward.com/research/projects/union-organizing/

Resources Used in the Compilation of the Index

1. AFSCME's Cultural Workers United website
2. Art news in various online publications, particularly at ARTnews, Hyperallergic, Jacobin, The Art Newspaper, The New York Times, and countless local media outlets covering these stories.
3. Data found by our researchers were checked against the following previously compiled spreadsheets on museum unions to ensure accuracy:
1. Art + Museum Transparency's Unions for All Spreadsheet
2. Daniel Julius, Jai Abrams, and James N. Baron, Labor Management Relations in the Post Pandemic Museum Environment, working paper, School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University, January 2023
3. Maxwell Paparella's The Museum Union Wave, Art Papers, Summer 2020
4. Guidestar & ProPublica for museum financial data
5. In-depth research and reporting out of the Economic Policy Institute
6. Individual museum union websites and social media pages
7. UAW Local 2110's website
8. Archival collections at NYU Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, San Francisco State University, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York
9. Publicly available collective bargaining agreements
10. Published personal narratives such as Michael Raysson’s The Art of Organizing: The Boston Museum of Fine Arts Union Drive. (New York: Hard Ball Press, 2020)

Webinar Recordings on Museum Union Organizing

1. Forming a Philadelphia Museum of Art Union: Where the Fight Stands Today Interview with Adam Rizzo on Philadelphia Museum of Art contract negotiations, September 9, 2021
2. FAQ with Museum Union Members
   Discussion with union members at the American Museum of Natural History, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois State Museum, Minnesota Historical Society, and Philadelphia Museum of Art about why they organized their unions, January 2023
3. Museum Unions—Organizing Workshop
   Organizing committee members from MASS MoCA and the Portland Museum of Art share strategies and information about the unionization process including timeline, eligibility, strategies, and lessons learned, [Collective Liberation]: Disrupt, Dismantle, Manifest, June 4, 2021
4. Professional Advocacy through Museum Unionization: Organizing 101
   A panel discussion through the Philadelphia Area Conservation Association with union members at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, December 2, 2020
5. Redefining Narrative with Dana Kopel
   Dana Kopel (New Museum) reflects upon the history of unionization in the cultural sector, as well as the changing conditions and dynamics in museums that have led to a recent wave of unionization efforts in institutions across the country, Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums, posted January 22, 2023
6. ReMuseum 2020: Labor and Social Justice
   Discussion with members of Museum Workers Speak on labor practices in museums, California Association of Museums, October 15, 2020
7. Turning Points 7 – Pay Equity in Museums
   A conversation about unionization in museums and equity for parents and caregivers in the cultural sector, Pitt University Art Gallery, April 13, 2023
8. Unionization in Museums Panel Discussion
   Panel discussion to learn about the unionization process, the benefits and challenges of collective bargaining, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on museum unions with members of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, MoMA, and Penn Museum unions, Museum Council of Greater Philadelphia, posted February 28, 2022
9. Unionization & Worker Protection in Museums
   Conversation on unionization and worker protection in museum education and its implications in the COVID-19 world with union reps, an employment lawyer, and other union advocates, NYC Museum Educators Roundtable, June 22, 2020

Organizing Resources

1. Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC)
   Grassroots organization that pairs experienced organizers with workers interested in labor actions and union organizing
2. How to Unionize your Workplace
   How-to zine by Jillian Emily Grant (formerly New Children’s Museum union) for workers new to organizing, specifically in cultural institutions
3. Organizing Power and other resources
   How-to guides by Jessalyn Aaland (formerly SFMOMA union) for workers new to organizing, specifically in cultural institutions

Resources for Managers, Leaders, and Other Non-Union Eligible Staff

1. Beyond Neutrality: Navigating Challenges and Leveraging Opportunities of Staff Unionization in Social Change Nonprofits and website with more resources
   Report that details both the challenges and opportunities of union organizing campaigns in nonprofits, geared at organizational leaders and funders
2. How Businesses Should (and Shouldn’t) Respond to Union Organizing
   A quick guide for how business leaders can address new union organizing drives in their workplaces with humanity and humility
3. How Managers and Supervisors Can Support Our Organizing Work (from Academy Museum Workers United)
   Legal ways that managers can support staff during a union organizing campaign and beyond
4. Labor-Management Partner Stories from the Worker Organizing Center
5. US Department of Labor resource for employers on Respecting Workers’ Right to Organize