Victory! Seattle Art Museum Workers United Join WFSE/AFSCME
We are elated to announce that Seattle Art Museum Workers United won their union election today with 94% voting UNION YES.
The largest art museum in Washington state is now part of the WFSE/AFSCME family.
SAMWU joins Tacoma Art Musuem Workers United as the only art museum unions to successfully organize across departments in Washington state. 50k cultural workers nationwide have organized with the AFSCME Cultural Workers United movement.
SAMWU members have long felt our expertise is ignored, hindering the programming that SAM can provide to visitors and leading to a rotating workforce that loses institutional knowledge as each worker leaves.
If you haven't yet, please sign our petition to Tell SAM to Negotiate a Fair and Full Contract.
"I’m thrilled to welcome SAMWU to the WFSE/AFSCME family."
"With a seat at the table, SAM employees can finally bring their talents, creativity and passion for the arts to the institution they care about," said WFSE President Mike Yestramski, a psychiatric social worker at Western State Hospital.
"Like workers at Tacoma Art Museum and hundreds of cultural institutions across the country, SAM employees decided they were done waiting for their employer to do right by them:"
"We are thrilled to welcome the workers of the Seattle Art Museum to the WFSE family,” said Ashley Fueston, WFSE’s Vice-President, who works at the Employment Security Department.
“We look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with them as they negotiate their first union contract."
The vote was conducted by the National Labor Relations Board and included employees from all SAM locations: downtown, the Asian Art Museum and the Olympic Sculpture Park.
A Better SAM for Workers, Visitors and Community
Workers at SAM have long dealt with stagnant wages, dangerous working conditions, and high turnover, leading to a lack of institutional knowledge and concerns regarding artifact safety. SAMWU members feel that their expertise is ignored, hindering the programming that SAM can provide to visitors and leading to a rotating workforce that loses institutional knowledge as each worker leaves.
Union members believe organizing the museum is a step towards improving SAM for workers, visitors, and the greater Seattle community.
“We owe this victory to our collective resolve,” said Drew Davis, SAMWU member and Art Handler and Preparator. “We are determined to make the museum better for everyone, inside and out.”
SAMWU members look forward to negotiating a first contract that will give them a say in museum decision-making and utilize their expertise when SAM considers operational changes.
“Our experience is indispensable to making this institution run, and with that expertise, we’ll nurture SAM into an encompassing hub for art and culture,” said Davis. “This is not only an achievement for the workers at SAM, but it’s also an important victory ensuring future Seattleites can experience life-affirming art in this city.”
The community support letter and more information about SAMWU can be found on their website.
Follow them on Instagram and TikTok to hear more from workers about why they organized their union.
Seattle Art Museum Workers United are uniting across departments and forming their union with AFSCME Council 28/WFSE and AFSCME Cultural Workers United .
50,000 workers have organized their museums, zoos, libraries and other cultural institutions with AFSCME, more than any other union. Workers at Tacoma Art Museum formed their union with AFSCME in 2022, becoming the first art museum union in WA state to include multiple departments.