Museum Staff at the Whitney, the Brooklyn, and the American Folk Art Museums Authorize Strike Actions

Unionized staff at three major New York City museums have voted to authorize strike action if they do not receive fair offers on their union contract. Workers at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) have each voted overwhelmingly to authorize their elected bargaining committee to set a strike deadline if necessary.

No strike deadline has been set yet but each of the museums has a major exhibition opening scheduled for early October. Workers at all three institutions say they are ready to strike if no fair agreement is reached.

”It’s not that we want to strike,” says Derrick Charles, a Membership Associate at the Whitney and Union Chairperson. “We’d rather be working and doing our jobs but our wages are untenable for making ends meet in New York City.” Employed in the Visitor and Membership Services Department, Charles works in the lobby of the Whitney, selling tickets and memberships to visitors and answering questions. He’s been in the position since 2018 and earns $24 per hour.  

The Union says that all three museums need to raise minimum pay rates for staff and points to average wages for its members that are below the $71,000 per year that the City recently cited as needed for a single adult to afford to live in New York in its NYC True Cost of LIving Measure Annual Report. Read more in Hyperallergic and ARTnews, and follow the Whitney Union, the Brooklyn Museum Union, and the AFAM Union on Instagram for the latest updates.