Detroit Historical Society workers win their union with AFSCME
Workers at the Detroit Historical Society won their union with AFSCME Michigan, joining other Detroit cultural workers who are fighting for a stronger voice to create better institutions for both employees and the community.
The workers recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of their union, after months of organizing and building their collective voice about issues in the workplace.
“We often talk about moments in history at the Detroit Historical Society,” said Macsen Kirkpatrick Johnson, a visitor experience associate supervisor. “To know that we are part of the foundational history of the labor movement in our museum, in a city that helped form the labor movement, is nothing short of inspiring.”
For Rebecca Phoenix, a visitor experience associate, unionizing was about moving forward.
“My family has worked in the museum for generations. By coming together to form our union with AFSCME, my co-workers and I will have a voice in the work that we do every day. We are passionate about the atmosphere we create, and we know that our union will ensure that the Detroit Historical Society remains an important cultural institution in the city of Detroit for generations to come.”
While fair wages and a strong first contract are the basis of their organizing, museum workers’ unionization efforts were also about protecting the historical society itself.
This victory, paired with recent success at the Detroit Institute of Arts, sends a message to cultural workers across Michigan about the importance of coming together to build a voice in the workplace.
More than 50,000 workers in libraries, museums, zoos and other cultural institutions across the country have gained a seat at the table and a voice on the job through the AFSCME Cultural Workers United campaign, the largest organizing effort of its kind in the nation.
