LACMA employees unionize as museum works to open $720-million new building

LACMA Workers Move to Unionize

Employees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) are unionizing, staff announced on Wednesday, October 29. LACMA United will represent over 300 workers across all eligible departments within the museum in a bid for “fairer compensation, expanded benefits, and increased transparency.” The union was formed through AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36, which has helped organize workers at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los A…

LACMA employees unionize as museum works to open $720-million new building

Employees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced they are forming a union. The effort comes six months before the opening its new $720-million David Geffen Galleries and just days before its splashy Art + Film gala, co-hosted by Leonardo DiCaprio.

LACMA Staff Seeks to Unionize, Citing Low Wages and “Expanded Workloads”

The move comes as the museum readies a grand reopening of its radical redesign in April 2026.

As LACMA Prepares to Unveil $720 Million Building, Employees Unionize

Staffers at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on October 29 announced their intention to unionize under the auspices of AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36, a branch of the union representing museum workers across the country, including those at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Metropolitan Museum […]

LACMA Employees Push to Unionize, Calling for ‘Fairer Compensation’ and ‘Expanded Benefits’

Employees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art have formed a union in association with the AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36. The workers leading the effort, which they have called LACMA United, said they were being paid wages that haven’t kept up with rising cost of living and that employees needed greater long-term stability. They also called for “fairer compensation, expanded benefits and increased transparency in instit…