Staff members at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) have announced their intention to form a union as part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), launching an organizing campaign that coincides with the museum's major expansion project. The new union, called LACMA United, aims to represent more than 300 museum employees working across various departments including curatorial, visitor services, education, and publications.
Workers leading the unionization effort have identified several key issues driving their campaign, including demands for fairer compensation, expanded benefits, and increased transparency in museum operations. LACMA United will join the AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36, the same local union that has successfully supported organizing campaigns at other major Los Angeles cultural institutions, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum.
Sara Cody, a senior publications editor who has worked at LACMA for nearly 25 years, explained the challenges facing museum staff. "I've had the privilege of editing books and exhibition materials at LACMA for nearly 25 years," Cody said. "But as departments have shrunk and workloads have grown increasingly unsustainable, it's become more and more challenging to uphold the level of excellence these projects deserve. Forming our union will ensure that we all have the resources and respect to consistently produce our best work as the museum moves forward."
In a formal letter dated October 29 and addressed to fellow LACMA workers, the museum's executive team, and its board of directors, organizers with LACMA United outlined their concerns about working conditions. "Many employees are struggling with wages that have not kept up with the rising cost of living in the sixth-most expensive city in the world," the organizers wrote. "At the same time, employees in virtually every department continue to absorb expanded responsibilities and workloads, often without additional compensation, due to high turnover, limited resources and positions that have been vacated or frozen."
The newly organized group has requested that museum management voluntarily recognize the union by November 5. Alyce de Carteret, an assistant curator of the art of the Ancient Americas at LACMA, emphasized the potential for improved working conditions. "For many years, my co-workers and I have been asked to do more with less," de Carteret said in a statement. "What we accomplish together is a direct result of our dedication despite a lack of resources and proper support. Imagine what we could do with more."
Michael Govan, LACMA's chief executive and director, responded to the unionization effort in a statement shared with The Art Newspaper. "Museum leadership has received the letter from LACMA United," Govan said. "We are reviewing it carefully and very much look forward to continuing to support our amazing staff."
The unionization campaign comes during a period of significant growth and high-profile activities for LACMA. On November 1, the museum held the 14th edition of its annual Art+Film gala, which attracted numerous celebrities including Cynthia Erivo, Salma Hayek Pinault, Cindy Crawford, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dustin Hoffman, Demi Moore, George Lucas, Tessa Thompson, and Kristin Wiig. The event also featured a performance by Doja Cat and raised nearly $6.5 million, marking the largest fundraising total in the gala's history.
Simultaneously, LACMA is in the final stages of constructing a massive $720 million new building called the David Geffen Galleries. Designed by renowned Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the new structure is scheduled to open in April 2026. The building will feature raised galleries that stretch across Wilshire Boulevard, where works from LACMA's permanent collection will be displayed.
The LACMA unionization effort reflects a broader trend of museum workers organizing across the United States over the past five years. This nationwide movement has been driven by various factors including COVID-era layoffs and furloughs, post-pandemic austerity measures, stagnant wages, and growing awareness of systemic inequities within major cultural institutions. Workers at prestigious museums throughout the country have successfully formed unions, including staff at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Denver Art Museum, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
These organizing efforts have significantly broadened the definition of cultural labor, bringing together educators, visitor services staff, retail workers, and curators into unified conversations about workplace value and visibility. While some cultural institutions have embraced collective bargaining processes, others have actively resisted unionization campaigns, creating varied outcomes across the museum sector.
A recent comprehensive survey conducted by Museums Moving Forward (MMF) involving 3,000 museum employees provides insight into current working conditions across the cultural sector. The survey results suggest that while conditions for unionized museum workers have improved modestly compared to previous iterations of the study, significant inequities in pay and advancement opportunities continue to persist throughout the industry. The 2025 MMF report incorporates input from staff members at institutions nationwide and includes contributions from several prominent stakeholders, including LACMA's own vice president of education and public programs, Naima Keith, highlighting the widespread nature of workplace concerns in the museum field.
