BALTIMORE – Workers at the Baltimore Museum of Art have overwhelmingly ratified their first union contract, with a 98% yes vote.
After two years of negotiations with management, the Baltimore Museum of Art Union (BMAU) reached a tentative agreement in late August.
The Oct. 3 ratification vote on the three-year contract, which lasts until June 30, 2027, represents a final step towards greater benefits and protections for BMA workers, who announced in 2021 that they were forming a union.
Contract highlights include:
- raises of more than 13% over the life of the contract,
- reimbursements for certain employees to purchase protective workwear,
- seating for gallery officers at certain posts in the museum,
- increased leave, including six weeks of fully paid parental leave.
This new contract covers over 130 museum workers, including security officers, facilities workers, museum educators, visitor experience staff, installation employees curatorial employees, and others. BMAU is part of a national movement of workers who have unionized with AFSCME Maryland Council 3 in recent years as part of AFSCME’s Cultural Workers United (CWU) program, including workers at the Walters Art Museum, Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Howard County Library System, and the Anne Arundel County Public Library.
“I believe that everyone, everywhere, should unionize. It’s important to remind those in charge that they do not provide the labor that ensures their income and that the rights and well-being of those who work under them should be their top priority," said John Young, a gallery officer.
Photographer Mitro Hood said, "After 18 years working at the BMA, we finally have a voice for raises and protections we never had before, thanks to our first contract."
Erin Allen, a gallery educator, said BMA workers deserve better pay, benefits and workplace protections.
“This institution can’t exist without the support of its workers, and this contract gives us a voice in making sure all employees are rightfully compensated for their labor," Allen said.
Council 3 President Patrick Moran applauded BMAU members for securing their first contract after two years of negotiations.
“We’re honored to have the members of the Baltimore Museum of Art Union as part of the AFSCME Maryland family because all workers deserve the right to organize for the pay, respect, and better working conditions they deserve,” Moran said. “With this contract, BMA workers are defending and expanding those rights.”
AFSCME’s CWU is a national movement of cultural workers at libraries, museums and zoos joining together to negotiate for better pay and working conditions, demand equity and fight for transparency in their workplaces. AFSCME represents more cultural workers than any other union, including 10,000 museum workers at 91 cultural institutions in the public and private sectors, and more than 25,000 library workers at 275 public and private libraries.