Over 100 staff members across departments at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) have announced their intention to unionize in a recent letter to the Director and CEO Scott Stulen and the museum board, urging leadership to voluntarily recognize the union by Wednesday, May 27. Going by Seattle Art Museum Workers United (SAMWU), the employees have affiliated with Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28, which also represents workers at the Tacoma Art Museum, as first reported by the Seattle Times.
Dated May 13, the SAMWU letter to the museum was signed by 59 current employees working in visitor experience and memberships, collections care and art handling, curatorial and exhibition projects, events management, institutional giving, and education, among other departments.
“The challenges we face, such as unsustainable wages, subpar health benefits, and siloed, top-down decision-making, are undeniable, systemic, and have persisted across administrations,” the union’s letter to leadership reads. “Change at the top alone will not solve our root problems.”
In addition to seeking better compensation, benefits, and transparency, the letter also calls on the museum to establish “just-cause” job protections in place of the current “at-will” employment model.
The letter recognized the work of the SAM’s unionized security guards, who separately staged a 12-day strike in 2024 that led to a contract ratification after over two years of negotiations, and acknowledged the nationwide push for unionizing in the arts and culture sector.
In a statement to Hyperallergic, Stulent confirmed that leadership has received the letter and is reviewing it. “Our employees are one of our greatest assets and we have long supported their rights, including the rights to advocate for themselves individually and collectively,” Stulen said.
The museum’s voluntary recognition of the union would allow SAMWU to bypass the formal election process through the National Labor Relations Board. The union called on the museum to respect its right to organize without “facing intimidation or coercion,” asking the institution to refrain from distributing anti-union literature, working with anti-union lawyers, and hosting mandatory anti-union meetings.
SAMWU has not yet responded to Hyperallergic‘s request for comment.
