Unionised art handlers and facility workers at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York have staged multiple protests and rallies over the last three weeks. The latest action was held on 19 April, when about 30 union members assembled outside the museum during their lunch break for a rally to bring attention to their ongoing contract negotiations.
For the last six months, the union—which is part of the and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 30—has been bargaining for its second contract. The previous contract ended in January and, since then, museum administration and the union have struggled to reach a deal. Representatives of the museum and the union last met on 16 April for a bargaining session, following an action that was held about a week and a half ago. In a video that was circulated on social media, museum staff can be seen in the main rotunda of the museum, with one member leading a call-and-response chant.
“We had a negotiation session Tuesday 16 April, the day after the action on Monday, and made some new progress on a proposal about severance,” says Liz Jaff, who is a lead paper specialist at the Guggenheim, shop steward for the union and a member of the bargaining committee. “With regards to Friday’s action we will understand its results better in the coming week. It is always helpful for the public to be aware of our concerns through visible actions.”
During Friday’s action, representatives from IUOE parked a truck equipped with an LED sign that flashed slogans such as: “Supporting the arts means supporting cultural workers; Guggenheim workers deserve good jobs!” Museum workers stood outside the building chanting “shut it down” as the popular Dolly Parton song 9 to 5 played.
The IUOE 30 represents about 150 Guggenheim workers, many of whom are freelancers working on contracts, rather than full-time and salaried employees. The workers organised in 2019 and ratified their first contract in 2021.
“Our primary focus is to continue to make it sustainable to continue working at the museum,” Jaff says. “Wages at market value, increases to the annuity and more transparency in hiring and elevations protocols, and orientation and safety training are imperative to make it sustainable to continue working for the institution. The museum continues to undervalue our crucial contributions. Many of us have been with the institution for 15 or more years. It is our institutional knowledge combined with commitment and high level of skills that continue to facilitate the reputation building programming of the Guggenheim and maintain the iconic building.”
Representatives for the Guggenheim did not respond to a request for comment.
Following the contract workers’ success, the Guggenheim’s staff—including curators, educators, registrars and others—began to organise and in 2021 formed a union under the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110. During negotiations between the museum and the new staff union over their first contract, staff members staged several actions at the museum. The Guggenheim’s UAW Local 2110 workers ratified their first contract in August of 2023.
The same UAW local represents workers at many museums and cultural institutions across the Northeastern United States including at Mass Moca, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Jewish Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Dia Art Foundation.
