LACMA rejects request to recognize union voluntarily

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has refused to voluntarily recognize the union recently organized by its workers.

Last week, museum workers presented leadership with a letter announcing their intent to form the LACMA United union under the Cultural Workers United District Council 36 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The workers asked the museum to voluntarily recognize their union by November 5.

LACMA United said in a statement Thursday that management informed staff that they would not voluntarily recognize the union and would require the union to file a notice seeking an election with the National Labor Relations Board.

“This decision comes as NLRB operations are currently on hold due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, thereby delaying our path toward collective bargaining,” LACMA United said.

The workers noted that they were moving forward and have officially filed for union recognition with the California Public Employment Relations Board, which can then direct a secret-ballot election to determine whether the union should be officially certified.

Because LACMA is operated by Los Angeles County, the workers are considered public-sector employees under California law, meaning they would file with the state’s PERB and not the federal NLRB, which governs private-sector labor relations.

If a secret-ballot election is directed by the PERB and the majority of eligible employees vote in favor, the union becomes the exclusive bargaining representative for the workers, and the museum is legally required to negotiate labor contracts in good faith.

The workers expressed disappointment that LACMA management chose not to voluntarily recognize the union, unlike management at other Los Angeles institutions.

“We are disappointed that LACMA leadership has chosen to delay rather than embrace the democratic will of its workers,” the union said.

“While the museum reimagines itself as a more collaborative, less hierarchical institution in its new David Geffen Galleries, it has declined to extend that same vision to its relationship with the very people who bring LACMA's mission to life every day.”