CHICAGO – Employees of the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) and the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) took a big step toward forming their union earlier this month when they filed representation petitions with the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago.
The filing will trigger an election in the coming weeks where employees can vote to officially form their union, Art Institute of Chicago Workers United (AICWU).
“The step we took … is the result of hundreds of conversations between colleagues, sharing our experiences at work and our ideas to make our institutions more equitable and caring in their approach to workers,” said María Cristina Rivera Ramos, a paper conservator at the museum. “We’re excited to vote yes for ourselves, for our co-workers, and for the better museum and school we want to build together.”