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# Art Institute of Chicago custodians lose museum jobs as outsourcing takes effect
- URL: https://www.urgentmatter.press/art-institute-of-chicago-custodians-lose-museum-jobs-as-outsourcing-takes-effect/
- Published: 2026-08-24T23:41:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-24T23:43:13.000Z
- Description: Management had set August 14 as the day the positions would end.
- Author: Adam Schrader
- Tags: Labor and Capital, #public-access

The Art Institute of Chicago’s custodians have worked their last day as museum employees, the union representing them said, after management refused to reverse its decision to outsource their jobs to a private contractor during bargaining.

Art Institute of Chicago Workers United marked the day [with an Instagram post showing](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcCeDxEnNvn/?img%5Findex=4&ref=urgentmatter.press) photographs of the custodians’ cleaning carts, some decorated with stickers, artificial flowers and hand-lettered notes.

“Today is the last day our custodians are Art Institute employees,” the post said.

The union said the museum held its position at a recent bargaining session.

“At our bargaining meeting yesterday, the Art Institute refused to reverse their decision to outsource custodial staff,” the union said.

Management set August 14 as the day the positions would end, Urgent Matter [previously reported](https://www.urgentmatter.press/union-petitions-art-institute-chicago-reverse-custodial-outsourcing/). On June 29, the museum decided to terminate 23 in-house custodians and shift their work to an outside company.

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The union said the museum also rejected its proposals to mitigate the financial impact on the affected workers.

“They also denied each of our proposals to alleviate the financial impact of outsourcing on the custodial staff, including payouts, Longevity Severance Pay, and the Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA) subsidies,” the union said.

It said the museum rejected most proposals for custodians who will keep working in the building for the contractor, agreeing only to protect their shift assignments and let staff keep their current AIC uniforms and badges.

“The proposals the museum agreed to vs. what they denied make it clear that they do not respect the invaluable work of our custodians, a quarter of whom have been the backbone of this institution for over 20 years,” the union said.

“Their decision denies the good-faith agreements made in our contract, as well as the collective voice of 4,000 petitioners, coworkers, and community members. But we will not stay silent.”

The 23 custodians are members of AFSCME Local 37, the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United bargaining unit, and several have worked at the institution for more than two decades, the union said. Ahead of the deadline, the union circulated a public petition demanding the museum abandon the plan and bargain its effects. “Give our custodians their jobs back,” the petition reads.

The petition said the shift would cut benefits, erase accrued paid time off and end seniority for the custodial team, and strip access to tuition programs, free museum admission and eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

The museum defended the plan, telling Hyperallergic and the Chicago Sun-Times that it chose a contractor committed to hiring the current custodians at wages at or above their current pay. It said displaced workers could apply for jobs with the incoming company, and that it acted within its union contract.

“There will be more meetings, more updates, and more demonstrations as AICWU and AFSCME 31 work to right this wrong,” the union said. “Our custodians will always be part of our AIC community, and the fight is not over.”

Two unfair labor practice cases involving the institution and its union remain open before the National Labor Relations Board’s Region 13, though both predate the outsourcing decision and concern separate matters.

Urgent Matter [obtained the charge documents](https://www.urgentmatter.press/charges-behind-two-open-art-institute-of-chicago-labor-cases-revealed-as-nlrb-faces-delays/) behind them through Freedom of Information Act requests and reported the charges this month.

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