Hundreds of staff at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) voted to form a union, LACMA United, in association with AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36, calling for higher wages, better benefits, and greater transparency. LACMA leadership declined to voluntarily recognize the union, opting instead for a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election, which is currently paused due to the federal government shutdown, effectively delaying the unionization effort. The union has filed with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), asserting its status as public sector employees.
This standoff matters because it highlights growing labor organizing across major U.S. museums, with LACMA workers pushing for fair compensation amid rising living costs in Los Angeles, the sixth-most expensive city globally. The dispute comes just months before the opening of LACMA's new Peter Zumthor–designed David Geffen Galleries, and the union has criticized the museum for failing to extend its vision of collaboration and less hierarchy to its own workforce. The outcome could set a precedent for labor relations at publicly funded cultural institutions.