Workers have spoken: Recognize our union!
We have big, exciting news: A majority of our coworkers, AIC and SAIC employees both, have signed union authorization cards!
We have gained tremendous momentum in the weeks since going public. Thank you to all who have shared your views in countless conversations, emails, and virtual discussions. And thanks especially to all who have stepped forward to stand with your coworkers in solidarity and signed a card. This sends a loud message to senior leadership and is a critical step on the way to establishing our seat at the table.
If you have not signed a card yet, please join us! There is no better time to get involved and help shape this momentous campaign. The beauty of forming our union is the collective power it gives us to voice our needs and to advocate for them. We want every voice heard and every viewpoint represented.
Today, delegations of organizing committee members delivered formal letters (SAIC, AIC) to James Rondeau and Elissa Tenny requesting that the museum and school respect our choice to form our union by granting us voluntary recognition. We also held a news conference to announce our majority where we were joined by State Senator Celina Villanueva (Vice-Chair of the Illinois Senate Labor Committee), State Representative Marcus Evans (Chairperson of the Illinois House of Representatives Labor & Commerce Committee), and Alderwoman Sue Sadlowski-Garza (Chair of the Chicago City Council Committee on Workforce Development).
Voluntary recognition is a step taken by leaders of many other cultural institutions—including MOCA Los Angeles and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis—to show their commitment to a collaborative and mutually beneficial path forward.
Under this process, a neutral third party would verify that a majority of workers have shown their support for the union, allowing us more quickly to get to the negotiating table and begin working together toward a contract with improvements that benefit all of us. Voluntary recognition would eliminate the anti-union attorneys, consultants, meetings, and messages and let us move forward together with a focus on our jobs and the mission of the museum.
We are hopeful that AIC leadership will join us in that spirit of collaboration and grant voluntary recognition. In our letters, we have asked for meetings to discuss the process ahead. This is an opportunity for senior leadership to listen and learn, prioritizing transparent communication, accountability, and mutual respect.
Again, we want to reiterate our thanks to everyone who has gotten involved, from signing a card confidentially to marching and chanting in the streets. Each and every collective action brings us closer to a workplace in which we have a say in making our jobs safe, satisfying, and sustainable.
Onward!
Your AICWU Organizing Committees
