Security officers at Seattle Art Museum successfully unionize

Ryan Durr and Tahlia Segura, spokespeople for the Seattle Art Museum Visitor Security Officers Union (SAM VSO), joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss their journey to forming a union. They also spoke about the reason for being an independent union and some of the main issues they want to fix with a first contract.

The unionization efforts at the Seattle Art Museum began before Durr and Segura began working there. Initially, the security workers came together to form a collective group known as SAM Workers, which formed the foundation for the SAM VSO Union. The union election was won with a 90 percent approval vote. in August 2022, negotiations began and continued over the past 18 months with little success. 

Winning union elections is never easy, but to win a union election independent of a larger union can be more difficult. Durr discussed the National Labor Relations Act clause that limits security workers from unionizing with non-security workers. This created the need for the union to go the independent route. Durr said the election’s 90 percent approval rate proved that workers were fully supportive of the union, and this campaign helped give their workers a voice in their workplace.

Segura explained how external security issues were the main reason to organize. In this first contract, he said the workers want to resolve a misconduct case by contracted outside security officers. He added that the security workers were struggling with low wages, which created issues living in the greater Seattle area. Workers are currently paid $1 more than the state’s minimum wage, and in their negotiations, the security officers are seeking a pay increase closer to the area’s living wage. Negotiations have slowed recently, but both Durr and Segura said that they are ready for the next step in the fight. 

Listen to the episode above to learn more about the SAM VSO unionization efforts.