In this section, we examine the characteristics of all private nonprofit art museum unions
in our dataset. A union is defined as a group of workers who join together to collectively
bargain for a shared contract. Since the terms union,
unit, and
local,
can be defined and applied differently depending on context—and may often be used
interchangeably in everyday conversation despite nuanced legal differences—we chose
to distinguish unions by separate contracts, even if that differs from how the union in
question would describe itself.8
We are actively seeking more information about any union that predates 2019. Please fill
out the COMMENT button to contribute.
Institutional Overview
Regional Distribution9
of Unionized Private Nonprofit Art Museums
The vast majority of private nonprofit art museums with unions are located in the Mid-Atlantic
(X%), with the largest
density of unionized workers at art museums in New York City, followed by (in no particular
order) the Western (X%),
Midwest (X%),
New England (X%),
and Mountain Plains (X%)
regions. Currently, the Southeast region is without a single private nonprofit art museum union.
For context, the Mid-Atlantic accounts for only 16% of all private nonprofit art museums in the
US overall.10
This discrepancy between the regional densities of museums versus unionized museums opens up questions
around other possible explanations, such as regional differences in labor laws.
Operating Budgets of Unionized Private Nonprofit Art Museums
Over half (X%)
of private nonprofit art museums with unions have annual operating budgets
of more than $20 million. This statistic is particularly notable in the context of an oft-repeated fear:
can the museum afford to have a union?11
Number of Separate Union Contracts at Private Nonprofit Art Museums
Union overview
Union Sizes in Private Nonprofit Art Museums
We collected the bargaining unit
size (number of members that a union represents) from a variety of sources including the
union’s self-reported data, the National Labor Relations Board,
HR or management’s records, and news articles. Please note that these reports sometimes vary significantly,
and the size of a bargaining unit often shifts over time as museums grow, downsize, and/or reorganize their staff.
Based on our best estimates, a plurality of art museum unions (for which we have
any data at all) represent 51–100 members
(X%), followed by
(in no particular order) 101–200 members (X%),
less than 20 members (X%),
20–50 members (X%),
and more than 200 members (X%).
Parent Union Affiliation of Unions in Private Nonprofit Art Museums
Parent unions United Auto Workers (UAW) 2110 and
the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME) represent more than half
(X%)
of unionized workers in our dataset, but there are many unions who have sought
representation elsewhere or have gone independent. (See “parent union”
and “parent union acronyms”
in the Glossary of Terms for more.)
Positions Represented by Private Nonprofit Art Museum Unions
According to the data we have, the positions most likely to be included in a private nonprofit art museum union are
those within “building operations” (X%).12
By contrast, only around half of the museum unions in our dataset represent positions within the Administration
(X%), Collections
(X%), and Communications
(X%) departments.
Visit the Union Index and filter by Unit Composition
to view which units represent workers from specific departments.
