Tacoma Art Museum workers are unionizing with AFSCME 28

Here are three ways you can support them

TACOMA (Oct. 18, 2022) — Workers at the Tacoma Art Museum announced Monday that they have formed a union, Tacoma Art Museum Workers United (TAM Workers United), as part of AFSCME Council 28. TAM Workers United is seeking to become the first wall-to-wall union of museum workers in Washington state, with support from all departments and more than 80 percent of 27 union-eligible staff.

“TAM workers are undervalued, underpaid, and unheard,” said Eden Redmond, an Institutional Giving Manager at TAM. “Frontline staff have their hours capped, too little to earn healthcare yet too many to get additional work. Wages are far below livable and below industry standards. Physical and personal safety are not prioritized. Resources for grievances or advancement are available only if you can find them, invent them, or befriend the right people. Without clear access to resources, those already underserved by society remain underserved in their workplace. These conditions led us to turn to one another for solidarity and begin work on what is now TAM Workers United.”

TAKE A STAND — Here are three ways you can show your solidarity with Tacoma Art Museum workers:

●  Sign the community support letter

●  Attend the Solidarity Rally on Saturday, Oct. 29 on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. at Tollefson Plaza, 1548 Commerce St. in Tacoma.

●  Follow their Union on Instagram and Twitter

TAM is at a moment of major transition with the recent resignation of its Executive Director by the Board and the subsequent revelation that the Museum is in a financial crisis due to systemic issues and unaccountable executive leadership. TAM workers believe that only with their voices joined together in a union can the museum overcome these systemic issues and live up to its mission to serve the community of Tacoma.

Workers are urging TAM leadership to voluntarily recognize TAM Workers United as their union by Monday, October 24th. They are also asking for no intimidation, coercion, or costly anti-union actions by management.

“I’d like to share a line from TAM’s mission statement,” said Stephen Rue, the Lead Preparator at TAM: “’Tacoma Art Museum transforms our communities by sharing art that inspires broader perspectives and cultivates a compassionate future.’ We transform our community. TAM Workers United could not agree with this more! We want to develop a healthy and thriving art district in Tacoma. We want TAM to prosper and to fulfill its mission to our community. But we want the leadership of TAM to know that if we say we value the public who come through our front doors, then we must also recognize the value of the people that open those doors to them every day.”

Staff at Tacoma Art Museum are choosing to form TAM Workers United to improve wages, working conditions, transparency and accountability from management, and to ensure an equitable future for the museum and their community. AFSCME represents more cultural workers than any other union, including 10,000 museum workers at 91 cultural institutions in the public and private sector, and more than 25,000 library workers at 275 public and private libraries.

Are you ready for a voice at work? Get more information about how you can join together with co-workers and negotiate for better wages, benefits and working conditions. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!