What’s happening?
After discussions that began during the summer of 2020, workers at the Baltimore Museum of Art are actively organizing to form a labor union. They are advocating for “job security, livable wages, paths for advancement, and greater accountability practices,” according to BmoreArt.
How is the museum’s leadership responding to this?
The museum’s director Chris Bedford shared a statement to BmoreArt: “I do believe that museums need to better reflect and serve their communities and that our community includes our staff. In hearing from so many colleagues over the course of the past few weeks, it is certain that we all share a commitment to the BMA’s DEAI [diversity, equity, accessibility, inclusion] goals and agenda for change. This has driven a mutual willingness to engage in conversation about the possibility of unionization at the museum and to move through this process collaboratively to achieve an outcome that reflects the vision of the majority of the staff.”
Affirming Bedford’s statement, Alex Lei, who works in the museum’s security department, said workers are fortunate to have management “that does seem like they want to talk to us and want to listen to us. They’ve made a lot of effort.”
Anything else I should know?
BMA workers are joining a wave of labor organizing that includes their peers at the Walters Art Museum.
You can read more here.
