Art Institute of Chicago To Lay Off Entire Custodial Staff
3July 28, 2026
TheArt Institute of Chicagohas announced it will lay off its entire in-house custodial staff, and subsequently outsource the positions to private contractor. This decision has caused severe backlash from the museum’s unionized staff.
On June 29, an initial announcement detailing the plan was released: 23 unionized custodial workers responsible for cleaning the galleries and facilities would lose their jobs. According to theAIC Workers United(AICWU), the institution’s union organization, many of the workers who are set to lose their current job have worked at the Institute for over 20 years. The employees’ last day is set to be August 14. Staff members have been offered the chance to reapply for their positions with the incoming private contractor.
The union workers are demanding the museum reverse its decision, and started a petition to give the custodial staff members their jobs back. According to the AICWU, the petition had more than 1,900 signatures on July 21.
“The Art Institute deeply values our employees, and we are grateful for the important work our custodial team does every day,” a museum spokesperson said in a statement to the Chicago Sun-Times. “We made the decision to shift our custodial services to a contractor model to better support daily museum operations, and we prioritized choosing a partner that would commit to offering employment to our custodial staff.”
The union’s bargaining unit, AFSCME 31, has filed a grievance, claiming the Institute violated the terms of the contract by not providing notice before finalizing the decision to outsource the department. The museum denies violating any union contract terms.
The Art Institute of Chicago previously laid off 20 workers last November, including three of five employees responsible for maintaining the museum’s renowned Video Data Bank.