More than two years ago, employees at Chicago’s Field Museum voted overwhelmingly to form their union, Field Museum Workers United, through AFSCME Council 31. Now, the nearly 300 workers celebrated another union victory: securing their first contract.
The triumph did not come easily.
Melissa Anderson is a library collections and preservations specialist who has worked at the museum for 20 years. Anderson recalled how management used the museum’s world-class prestige and mission of connecting the “natural world and the human story” to justify paying employees low wages — which workers loathingly referred to as a “loyalty tax.”
Workers rejected the notion that they could build a livelihood on prestige instead of living wages. When contract negotiations stalled, they decided it was time to take action.
To urge management to break the impasse and agree to negotiate a fair contract, the workers organized a massive picket near the museum’s iconic front steps in March.
Bargaining committee member Stanley Banks noted the incredible show of solidarity Field Museum workers drew from the public.
“Museum guests were walking up and getting into the picket, some of them were members of other unions. That rally helped us create movement at the table,” Banks said.
A few weeks after the picket, Field Museum employees won their first union contract. It came with:
- Raises ranging from nearly 14% to more than 17%;
- Increased compensation for bilingual skills and translation services;
- An improved retirement plan with dollar-for-dollar matching for workers’ 401(3)(b) plans.
They also won crucial workplace protections, including the establishment of a grievance procedure and stronger disciplinary rights.
“We now have things in place where someone can't decide tomorrow that they're going to fire you because of some random reason,” said Anderson.
Thrilled that the four-year contract was ratified by a 94% vote in May, Banks was excited to be part of a new chapter for employees at the Field Museum. “We created a strong foundation, and now we’re ready to build on it,” Banks said.
This is another example of cultural workers building power through AFSCME.
AFSCME Cultural Workers United is leading the largest organizing movement for workers at the nation’s museums, libraries, zoos and other cultural institutions. CWU represents 45,000 workers at cultural institutions, more than any other union.