Myia Brown, President of AFSCME Local 35 and Anders Lindall, Public Affairs Director of AFSCME Illinois Council 31, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the surge in union organizing among cultural workers. They explored the impact of the pandemic on organizing efforts, the challenges faced during contract negotiations and the broader implications for the labor movement.
Brown shared insights into the successful unionization of workers at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The organizing drive, which began in 2021, resulted in a union representing about 250 members. She highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent layoffs sparked conversations about job security and the need for worker representation. Brown said the union's first contract negotiations yielded significant gains, including guaranteed annual raises, improved health insurance benefits and increased transparency in workplace policies.
Lindall provided a broader perspective on AFSCME's Cultural Workers United campaign, which has organized 50,000 workers in museums, libraries, zoos and other cultural institutions over the past five years. He emphasized the importance of solidarity among cultural workers, citing examples of successful organizing drives at iconic institutions like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Lindall also discussed how the campaign has spread across the country, from the East Coast to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on the West Coast.
The conversation also touched on the challenges cultural workers face, including the perception that they should be grateful for their jobs despite low pay and poor working conditions. Both Brown and Lindall stressed the importance of collective action in addressing these issues, highlighting how unionization has improved wages, benefits and working conditions for cultural workers across the country.
For more insights on the growing union movement among cultural workers, listen to the full episode.
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