OMCA Workers Unionize Joining a National Movement for Change

On Wednesday, February 21st, a group of workers at Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) took steps to become a union. Under the name of Oakland Museum of California Workers United (OMCAWU), the group is organizing and seeking to unite through AFSCME Council 57.

This new union effort aims to represent approximately 90 workers across the museum, including preparatory, ticketing and retail associates, curators, technicians, designers, program developers, and more. This initiative aligns with a broader national movement for change, echoing the voices of cultural workers across the country who advocate for fair wages, improved working conditions, and increased decision-making power.

OMCA Workers Unionize: Image from omcaworkersunited.org

In a public statement featured on their website, the union is calling for leadership to prioritize full-time hours, livable wages, affordable health benefits, and increased participation in decision-making processes. This plea coincides with the imminent development of a “strategic plan,” during which leadership will chart the course for the upcoming years at OMCA. Workers see their union as a crucial ally in realizing these goals, considering it a natural extension of the museum’s values and their collective commitment to promoting equity, transparency, and anti-racism in the workplace.

OMCA Off The Grid

“The Oakland Museum of California is writing a new “Strategic Plan” to set the course for the museum’s work over the next few years. The first goal of this new Strategic Plan is to embed equity and anti-racism into all aspects of our work. We look forward to our union being an integral and necessary partner in achieving this goal. To “advance equity, transparency, and anti-racism in internal structures, culture, and practices,” as stated in the draft Strategic Plan, we believe that workplace equity is rooted in sharing power and decision-making with employees.

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We see our union as growing organically out of the stated values of the museum. Our union is not some outside party, rather we are employees of OMCA who hold the museum’s values and mission very dearly. In the past few years, through the work of many past and present staff on the Anti-Racist Design Team, we have shown that when employees work together, we can make the institution more equitable. We look forward to this new evolution of the museum, where our union helps to foster internal trust, improves transparency, further advances equity, and holds us all accountable to our commitment to anti-racism,” the public letter states.

Cultural Workers are unionizing nationally – photo from culturalworkersunited.org

The creation of this union is coming on the heels of a larger initiative across the US where other museum workers are asking for similar demands. AFSCME Cultural Workers United (AFSCME CWU) stands as the representative for over 35,000 cultural workers nationwide, exceeding the representation of any other union. This includes 10,000 museum workers employed at 100 cultural institutions and 25,000 library workers serving in 275 libraries across the country.

“We are joining together to negotiate for better pay and working conditions. We demand equity and are fighting for transparency in our workplaces. Join us in building a national movement of cultural workers!,” says Cultural Workers United.

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