Posts tagged AFSCME Michigan
Commentary: Will Unions Stick with Democrats in Michigan?
May 3, 2026 // In a crowd of over 7,000 delegates, labor looked small and concentrated, occupying a wing just off the main convention hall through much of the proceedings. The UAW claimed that its delegation made up more than 10 percent of the assembled group at the convention—more than 700 people—but even by the union’s own numbers, this constitutes an admission of shrinking influence. Its members lacked the presence of mind or cohesion to counter the booing directed at Acker and Representative Haley Stevens. This hard-left shift is forcing traditional Michigan unions to choose between their historic affinity for the Democratic Party or a new, more moderate option. Many traditional unions, including 24 locals, along with several prominent pro-union Democrats and one former Michigan AFL-CIO president, have already defected to former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s independent gubernatorial campaign.
Detroit Institute of Arts Workers Move to Unionize
November 5, 2025 // Since workers at the New Museum unionized in 2019, cultural workers at institutions across the nation have followed suit. Last week, staff at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announced plans to unionize (AFSCME). If recognized, the new union, LACMA United, will represent over 300 museum employees across institutional departments. A recent survey of more than 3,000 museum employees by Museums Moving Forward (MMF) found that while working conditions for unionized museum staff have shown modest gains since the survey’s first iteration, widespread low pay, burnout, and career dissatisfaction persist. The report also found that non-union staff earn about 78 percent of what their unionized counterparts make. (However, the report noted, unionized museum workers are “more dissatisfied on nearly all metrics than the average museum worker.”)