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LACMA Workers Approve Union in 96% Vote With AFSCME DC 36

The museum pledges collaboration, with LACMA United preparing a bargaining committee to start contract talks after the holidays.

Overview

  • Staff cast electronic ballots on December 15–16 in an election facilitated by the American Arbitration Association and approved by the National Labor Relations Board.
  • The new unit, LACMA United, will represent about 300 employees across curatorial, education, administration, and preparation and art handling roles.
  • Organizers cited wages that lag Los Angeles’s cost of living, high turnover, expanded responsibilities without added pay, and limited transparency as key concerns.
  • Union leaders plan to survey members to set bargaining priorities before formal negotiations begin following the holiday period.
  • The result builds on a broader organizing wave that includes unions at MOCA, the Academy Museum, and the Natural History Museum in LA, alongside a recent Metropolitan Museum NLRB petition.