Seattle Art Museum Staff are Unionizing with WFSE!

Let’s welcome our newest union siblings – workers at the Seattle Art Museum!

Sign their community letter of support here.

Today, around 140 workers at the Museum announced their intent to unionize as SAM Workers United with WFSE/AFSCME Council 28. After delivering their letter to leadership, workers held a press conference outside the Museum and were joined by WFSE Vice President Ashley Fueston, Tacoma Art Museum Workers United members, and WA State Labor Council President April Sims.

“When workers have a voice, workplaces are stronger, communities are stronger, and institutions are more accountable to the people who make them run every day.” — April Sims, WA State Labor Council President

SAM Workers United has a strong supermajority of support, and workers asked Museum leadership to grant them voluntary recognition. We have also filed for a National Labor Relations Board election should they be denied voluntary recognition.

"I'm forming a union because no one did it before me. I want the protections that it guarantees. I want the stability that it can guarantee. I want to live and work and have a family in Seattle. And I shouldn't have to sacrifice doing the important work of making art.” — Drew Davis, Art Handler

Let’s stand in solidarity with SAM workers by signing and sharing their Community Support Petition.

Follow their campaign on Instagram and TikTok @samworkersunited and at Seattle Art Museum Workers United.

SAM Workers United are joining us as part of a wave of arts and cultural workers unionizing across the nation with AFSCME as part of Cultural Workers United, including their peers at the Tacoma Art Museum Workers United who recently secured their first union contract last year!

“I'm fighting for a union because I want to make SAM a better place for all workers, where we're treated with the respect that we deserve,” — Jenny Woods, Installation Design and Registration Specialist

If you know arts and cultural workers who are interested in unionizing their workplaces, please have them reach out to our External Organizing team to learn more about organizing.