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Seattle Art Museum’s (SAM) Visitor Service Officers (VSOs) launched a strike on Friday, demanding better wages, benefits, and improved working conditions after over two years of stalled contract negotiations. Carrying signs with messages like “Show me the Monet” and “A livable wage for all art workers,” security staff and supporters gathered outside the museum, urging leadership to meet their demands.
Prolonged Contract Negotiations Lead to a Strike
SAM security staff formed a union in May 2022 and have been in contract negotiations since August 2022. After rejecting the museum’s latest offer, 89% of union members voted to authorize a strike. Despite reaching tentative agreements on issues like shoe stipends and paid parking, disagreements remain over wages, retirement benefits, and a proposed no-strike clause.
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Union organizer Eddie Lopez Jr. emphasized that the length of the security staff strike hinges on the actions of SAM’s leadership and board. In response, SAM asserted that it has presented a “comprehensive and competitive package,” including a wage starting at $23.25 per hour, rising to $26.41 by 2027. However, this proposed pay still falls short of the $28.70 living wage benchmark for the Seattle area, according to the MIT living wage calculator.
Security Staff Goes on Strike: Key Union Demands and Museum Response
The union representing 54 security staffers seeks restored COVID-era retirement benefits, higher starting wages, seniority pay increases, and the removal of the no-strike clause. The latest union offer proposed a starting wage of $24.75 per hour and delayed retirement benefit restoration. However, SAM rejected the offer, calling it “unacceptable” while emphasizing the need for a no-strike agreement and voluntary union membership as conditions for contract signing.
SAM has hired temporary security services to maintain museum operations and stated it respects employees’ rights to unionize and protest. In a news release, SAM highlighted its commitment to compensating staff at market-leading rates compared to similar institutions in Seattle.
Unionization in the Arts Sector
The strike is part of a broader movement among museum workers across the U.S. to unionize and demand better working conditions. The VSO union effort at SAM follows similar actions at major cultural institutions like the Tacoma Art Museum and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.
Negotiations between SAM and its union have lasted about 850 days, significantly exceeding the industry average of 558 days for first-time contracts in nonprofit art museums. Strikes remain relatively rare in the museum sector, with only 17% of unionized museums experiencing work stoppages. However, data from Museums Moving Forward indicates that unions threatening or staging strikes have secured contracts in a matter of weeks.
