DENVER – After management refused to recognize their union, workers at the Denver Art Museum have filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking recognition for Denver Art Museum Workers United.
Earlier this month, a majority of about 250 workers at the museum said they plan to form a union through AFSCME Council 18.
“Since the administration of the Denver Art Museum refused to grant us voluntary recognition, despite us having signed union cards from a majority of workers, we chose to go forward with filing for a union election with the NLRB,” said Sean M. Chase, a gallery host at the museum.
Workers say they would have preferred it if museum management had respected workers’ voices and voluntarily recognized their union, which would have saved time and money.
“It’s definitely disappointing that management declined to voluntarily recognize our union, given our majority support,” said Kit Bernal, a curatorial assistant at the museum. “But we are still looking forward to negotiating with the museum to address the issues and experiences of every worker at the museum.”
Workers are preparing for a union election that will occur at a date that the NLRB sets.
Through its Cultural Workers United campaign, 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.