Art Institute of Chicago Workers United -AFSCME

More than 600 employees of the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) and the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) announced their union drive in Augus 2021. By late September, a majority of workers had signed union authorization cards, and employees asked leadership of the museum and school to voluntarily recognize the union. When management refused, employees continued organizing, and now have filed for election with overwhelming support from their co-workers. They filed representation petitions with the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago in December 2021. The workers are forming their union through AFSCME. About 10,000 museum workers at 91 cultural institutions nationwide and more than 25,000 library workers at 275 public and private libraries have joined together to build power through AFSCME.