Cultural workers in Chicago organize for better pay, benefits
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Unionized workers at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ratified their first contract this month. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Several Chicago cultural institutions have unionized over recent years, tracking with the national trend of Americans' growing support of labor unions over the last decade.
Why it matters: These attractions help make Chicago a global destination for tourists. Workers have traditionally been paid low hourly wages and often don't have benefits like health insurance.
- Organizing seeks to contractually guarantee better work conditions.
State of play: Since 2021, workers at the Art Institute of Chicago and School of the Art Institute, MCA, Shedd, Field Museum, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Newberry Library and Chicago History Museum have organized with AFSCME Council 31.
The latest: Eligible staff at Adler Planetarium voted last week to join AFSCME. Plus, workers at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ratified their first contract this month, with an average 8% pay increase for union members and an increase in the starting wage floor to $18 an hour.
What they're saying: "It's been inspiring to see the unity and activism of museum and other cultural workers coming together in our union. Too long taken for granted, these workers make our city's great cultural institutions happen," AFSCME's Anders Lindall tells Axios. "It's particularly important now with Trump administration attacks on federal funding for cultural institutions."
Flashback: The national AFSCME Cultural Workers United launched after the start of the pandemic, as workers were laid off or furloughed after their workplaces closed because of COVID.
- The union represents workers at museums, libraries, zoos, nature and science centers and other cultural institutions.
Between the lines: After the pandemic, public support for labor unions and workers increased even more, Axios' Emily Peck reported.
- Americans were more likely to support unions than big companies by the widest margin in 60 years, according to Economic Policy Institute data.
Zoom out: Recent organizing efforts expanded beyond cultural organizations in Chicago. Last week, a Starbucks in Naperville became the 41st store in Illinois to join Starbucks Workers United, a national organizing effort that started in New York in 2021.