Denver Art Museum workers have voted in favor of forming a union.
Workers voted 120 to 59, in favor of unionizing after two days of voting, according to a news release from the DAM.
The result means workers will have more room at the bargaining table at one of the city’s major arts and culture institutions.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) verified the tally, according to the DAM's news release. The union workers will be represented by the Denver-based American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 18 (AFSCME), a labor union that represents 55 museums and 129 cultural institutions around the country.
Workers will now shift their focus to a contract campaign seeking to address “adequate staffing, career advancement, a fair disciplinary process and wages that account for experience, tenure and continuing inflation,” according to a statement from AFSCME.
When the effort formed, workers said they felt a union was needed to address what they felt were major issues, including the need for higher, livable wages, transparency from management and creating better safety procedures.
“The museum supports employees’ right to unionize and is grateful for all those who voted and exercised their rights in this process. The museum is committed to bargaining in good faith with the union toward a Collective Bargaining Agreement,” the DAM said in a statement.
Nearly 250 workers expressed their desire to receive voluntary recognition from the museum of their union following an announcement of their intent to unionize on Jan. 11.
“This is a victory for all of us, each and every one, who work at the DAM now, who have worked here in the past, and for those who will work here in the future,” said Sean Chase, a gallery host at the museum, in a statement from Denver Art Museum Workers United. “I'm immensely proud of what we have all achieved together. Democracy starts now!"
The DAM has a total of 435 employed staff: 299 full-time and 136 part-time or temporary employees, Denver Art Museum spokesperson Andy Sinclair told Denverite in January. Of those 435, an estimated 250 people would be eligible for union.
The DAM did not immediately recognize the union but did agree to, “work within that system,” if workers decided to vote to unionize.
Today’s vote continues the trend of area art institution workers trying to gain bargaining power.
Denver’s Meow Wolf recognized a pair of its own unions in 2022, Opera Colorado at the tail end of 2023, and other unionization drives from Alamo Drafthouse Cinema locations and the Mercury Cafe.
The trend of museum workers unionizing has taken ahold in over 30 cultural institutions across the U.S. at various stages of organizing. In 2024, Colorado union members make up 6.9% of the state’s employed population, a number below the 10% national average.
Other issues workers hope to address include a lack of parking for employees, inadequate benefits for bereavement and a lack of clarity about job responsibilities.
AFSCME claims to have filed “more than a dozen Unfair Labor Practice charges” since its announcement in January, to what it describes as “an intense anti-union campaign carried out by upper management.”
DAM spokesperson Andy Sinclair said the museum was aware of the claims filed against it.
“We can assure you that the museum respects the legal right of employees to unionize and would not interfere with that right, or violate the law, in any way,” Sinclair said. “The museum will respond to the filing and follow any required next steps with the NLRB.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comments from DAM union workers and a spokesperson for the museum about allegations of unfair labor practices before the vote.
