Workers at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) have announced their intention to unionize. Seeking what the campaign has described as “fairer compensation, valued input, clearer pathways for progression, and increased transparency,” the Detroit Institute of Arts Workers United (DIAWU) aims to organize under the auspices of AFSCME Cultural Workers United Michigan (AFSCME Michigan). That organization’s parent, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), represen…
Workers at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) have announced their intention to unionize. Seeking what the campaign has described as “fairer compensation, valued input, clearer pathways for progression, and increased transparency,” the Detroit Institute of Arts Workers United (DIAWU) aims to organize under the auspices of AFSCME Cultural Workers United Michigan (AFSCME Michigan). That organization’s parent, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), represents workers at arts institutions across the US, including at the Denver Art Museum; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Philadelphia Art Museum.
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“Strong cultural institutions make strong communities,” said Francesca Catalfio, spokesperson for DIA Workers United, in a statement. “We’re proud of the work we do to connect people to art and culture every day. Now we’re organizing for the same respect and dignity we show the public because a stronger DIA starts with a fair workplace for everyone.”
“The Detroit Institute of Arts is profoundly grateful for our talented staff—the heart of everything we do,” said a DIA spokesperson in a statement published by the Detroit Metro Times. “For decades we have had valued relationships with the two unions representing some of our colleagues, and those relationships have been built on mutual respect. We fully respect our employees’ legal rights to organize and to choose whether they wish to be represented by a union. On Tuesday, November 4th, the DIA received a letter requesting that it recognize a union seeking to represent groups of employees who are currently unrepresented. The DIA continues to be committed to having a fair, supportive, and inspiring workplace.”
In moving to unionize, DIA workers join employees at museums around the country who have done so in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, which brought to the fore the precarity of many arts institution jobs, especially those of front-facing and part-time staff. Though some institutions have welcomed workers’ unions, others have dragged their feet. The Los Angeles Times on November 6 reported that the Los Angeles County Museum of Art declined to voluntarily recognize the union its staffers announced they were forming the previous week.**