LACMA Workers Vote to Unionize
62Dec. 19, 2025
Staffers at theLos Angeles County Museum of Arton December 15 and 16 voted to unionize under the auspices of AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36, with 96 percent casting their electronic ballots in favor of doing so. The election was facilitated by the American Arbitration Association and approved by the NationalLaborRelations Board. The museum’s employees had announced their intention to unionize on October 29, but LACMA management declined to voluntarily recognize the union, forcing the matter to be put to a vote.
The new union, LACMA United, includes about three hundred workers from across all departments of the institution, including curation, administration, education, and art handling. AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36 represents employees of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Academy Museum and Foundation, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and La Brea Tar Pits—all of which voluntarily recognized their workers’unions.
LACMA workers in an October 29 letter stating their intention to unionize said they were seeking “fairer compensation, expanded benefits, and increased transparency in institutional protocols and resources.”
“I’m looking forward to having a stronger camaraderie with my fellow colleagues and having a seat at the table where we can have an open and honest dialogue with upper management as front-of-house staff,” visitor services associate Ryan Baker told the Beverly Press Park LaBrea News.
“An independent election to determine whether staff would be represented by AFSCME Cultural Workers United, District Council 36, has concluded,” LACMA said in a statement. “The results confirm that DC 36 will be certified as the bargaining representative for staff. The museum is committed to working collaboratively with DC 36 and staff in a spirit of mutual respect, open dialogue and shared dedication to the museum’s mission, honoring the will of the majority of voters.”
LACMA welcomes approximately 1 million visitors per year. The vote to unionize comes just four months before the planned opening of the museum’s new $720 million David Geffen Galleries.