Chicago History Museum’s employees are forming a labor union, joining the growing wave of workers organizing at the city’s cultural institutions.
In an open letter released on Wednesday, workers announced the formation of a union with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31. The letter was signed by 27 employees, including the museum’s chief historian, librarians and an archivist, among others.
“The history of Chicago is deeply rooted in the labor movement, and we are honored to not only preserve and share, but to make our own place in that history alongside our colleagues at cultural institutions across Chicago,” said the letter.
Organizing workers at the Chicago History Museum in Lincoln Park asked for job security; stable benefits; livable wages and raises; clear communication from management; a voice in decision-making; fair grievance and disciplinary procedures and a respectful workplace.
Their open letter urged senior leadership to “honor our legal right to organize without anti-union tactics and coercion. As stewards of Chicago’s rich labor history, we ask that there be no hiring of anti-union lawyers or wasting of resources on anti-union meetings and literature.”
If certified as a union, Chicago History Museum Workers United/AFSCME would represent nearly 70 employees, including curators, librarians, designers, visitor services associates, maintenance technicians and others.
Workers on the museum’s organizing committee are talking to colleagues and collecting more signed union cards, said Anders Lindall, spokesperson for AFSCME Local 31. “There’s tremendous enthusiasm and support,” he said. In the coming weeks, the organizing committee “will determine whether and when they take the next step of seeking recognition and/or filing for an election.”
A spokesperson for the Chicago History Museum said in a statement: “We honor our employees’ right to form a union and we will continue to encourage all employees to make their voices heard. Regardless of any unionization election outcome, we intend to listen and engage with all staff to understand their vision for a positive work environment, while preserving our collective commitment to the Chicago History Museum and its mission.”
The move by employees at the Chicago History Museum follows unionizing at other storied Chicago cultural institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum, Newberry Library and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as part of AFSCME’s nationwide Cultural Workers United campaign.
As of last year, AFSCME Council 31, which represents workers in Illinois, had added more than 2,200 members from the state’s cultural institutions since 2021.
Nationwide, AFSCME represents 35,000 cultural workers — more than any other union — and includes 10,000 museum workers at 100 private and public cultural institutions and more than 25,000 library workers at 275 public and private libraries.