Detroit Institute of Arts workers form union to create ‘welcoming town square’

Workers at the Detroit Institute of Arts have announced their intent to form a union to create a “welcoming town square.”

The union is being organized under Cultural Workers United of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the workers announced Tuesday.

“Our vision is to create a welcoming town square in which the communities and all of us who serve them are equally heard, respected and valued,” DIA Workers United said.

“Through a unified voice, we will protect the well-being of the workers of the DIA through fairer compensation, valued input, clearer pathways for career progression and increased transparency.”

DIA Workers United said it has asked the museum to voluntarily recognize the union, which comes as a similar request by workers at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art seeking recognition of their LACMA United union was rejected by management.

And about 20 workers at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania recently announced that they are forming a union with Philadelphia’s Cultural Workers United.

In comments to the Detroit Metro Times, DIA workers said they were inspired to form the union by Diego Rivera murals in the museum’s holdings.

“For me, it just strikes me as truly a natural evolution for the DIA, referring to not just Rivera’s work at the heart of the collection, but really the legacy of labor in this city and how through collective bargaining the auto workers built maybe the strongest working class this country has known,” museum worker Tyler Taylor said.

“It’s through that spirit of collaboration that we think that DIA can grow and thrive.”

DIA management has acknowledged the unionization effort in a statement, but it was not clear if the museum has voluntarily recognized the union.

“For decades we have had valued relationships with the two unions representing some of our colleagues, and those relationships have been built on mutual respect,” museum management said.

“We fully respect our employees’ legal rights to organize and to choose whether they wish to be represented by a union.”