Museum Workers Draw Up Union Contracts to Combat Low Pay

The curated interiors of cultural institutions may not conjure an image of a unionized workforce. But museum workers increasingly are turning to labor unions as wages stagnate and job security remains tenuous, organizers and workers told Bloomberg Law.

Seventy-four workers at the New Museum, a modern art outpost on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, became the latest to turn to a union, voting Jan. 24 to affiliate with the United Auto Workers.

Only about 12.1 percent of all museum employees belong to a union and 12.6 percent are covered by some sort of labor contract, according to Bloomberg Law data.

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