Metropolitan Museum employees vote to join UAW Local 2110

Hundreds of staff at the Metropolitan Museum of Art voted 542 to 172 to join Local 2110 of the United Automobile Workers, the museum and labor organizers said. The bargaining unit, the organizers said, includes workers from curatorial, conservation, education and retail departments and could ultimately represent nearly 900 people — about half of the museum’s workforce.

Museum officials challenged the eligibility of more than 100 employees, so the exact size of the unit is still being determined. Local 2110, which organizers said spent five years laying the groundwork for the vote, represents over a dozen museums, including the Brooklyn Museum, Guggenheim, New Museum, Jewish Museum, Whitney and MoMA.

Hundreds of other Met employees, including security guards, are already represented by two other unions. In statements released after the vote, a long‑time Met employee said, “Our expertise and our labor have real value,” and a museum spokeswoman said the Met provides “highly competitive salaries and benefit packages that surpass industry standards,” noting that more than 600 of the museum’s nearly 2,000 employees earn above $100,000 and that salaries have risen by an average of 4 percent annually over the last five years.

Key Topics

Culture, Metropolitan Museum, United Automobile Workers, Curatorial Department, Conservation Department, Guggenheim Museum