American Folk Art Museum Staff Vote Unanimously to Join UAW 2110

Staff at the American Folk Art Museum have voted unanimously to unionize with UAW Local 2110. The wall-to-wall unit includes curators, retail staff, educators, IT, communication staff, and others. The Museum is the latest in a growing movement of museum workers to organize. Staff members cited lack of transparency and a desire for fair wages, benefits, recognition, and sustainable working conditions as reasons for unionizing. The American Folk Art Museum, located at 2 Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side, has existed for over fifty years.

“I love the Museum, its exhibitions and programs,” said Jean Seestadt, Manager of Events, “but I want employment here to be sustainable over a longer period. We’ve seen too many great colleagues leave.”

“This obviously is a very strong vote,” says Maida Rosenstein, director of organising at United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110. “There is a lot of unity among the staff of the museum and we’re all looking forward to productive collective bargaining with the museum.” Read more in The Art Newspaper.