Posts tagged Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore Museum of Industry’s new exhibit looks at modern labor movement
June 7, 2024 // A new exhibit examines calls for changes in the workforce that drove workers in non-trade jobs to create collective bargaining agreements across the country. The "Collective Action: Labor Activism in 20th Century Baltimore" exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, is about workers rallying for unions, and it dives into who wants change and why. Advertisement Workers in several industries are banding together and calling for better pay and conditions. The exhibit reveals professions some may be surprised to learn were involved in the efforts.
Baltimore Museum Employees Unionize Amid National Labor Movement at Art Institutions
July 19, 2022 // Workers at the Baltimore Museum of Art announced plans to form a union last October. Among the changes the union sought were fairer wages, better job security, and input in museum policies that directly affected them, according to the union’s website. Many workers said they were inspired to embrace unionization in the wake of the pandemic, when front of house staff — who faced the greatest risk of contracting the virus — had little say in safety protocols and daily decision-making. BMA did not layoff or furlough employees during the pandemic, but mass layoffs at museums nationwide illustrated the preciousness of employment in the industry. Chris Bedford, Christine Dietze, Asma Naeem, New Museum and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Philadelphia Museum, as well as the MFA Boston and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, all formed unions. The Whitney Museum was among a small group of institutions to have seen their unions voluntarily and swiftly recognized by their leadership — the decision came just two weeks after employees filed a petition to join the Technical, Office, and Professional Union of Local 2110. (MOCA also voluntarily recognized its union).