Workers at two major museums, the Tate in the U.K. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, are taking labor action to demand higher wages and job security. Over 150 Tate staff from the PCS Tate United union went on strike across four locations, with picketing at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, and Tate Liverpool, disrupting the opening of the exhibition "Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals." Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 employees at the Met have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a union election, which would be one of the largest museum unions in the U.S.
This movement matters because it reflects a broader trend of museum workers organizing for fair pay and sustainable careers in a sector historically marked by low wages and job insecurity. A recent report found that 55 percent of art museum unions have formed in the last five years, and over a quarter of full-time art museum workers do not earn a living wage. The strikes and unionization efforts highlight the tension between institutional missions to support art and the financial struggles of the workers who make that mission possible.