UPDATED, 9:15 PM:Wednesday’s press conference has been suspended, as the union says it’s in “productive conversations”The Academy Museum. “Leadership of Academy Museum Workers United are in productive conversations with our employer, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. In light of these developments, we’ve decided to suspend our Wednesday morning press conference to allow for continued conversations.”
PREVIOUSLY, 3:33 PM: The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ management is being accused by a union seeking to represent over 200 workers. “anti-union actions.”Academy Museum Workers United (the union) will hold a conference of the virtual press Wednesday morning to voice its grievances.
“The Academy Museum has hired anti-union lawyers from Littler Mendelson, the same firm used by Starbuck’s anti-union efforts, showing they are not honoring their commitment to staying neutral as workers organize their union,”AMWU released a statement. “After workers went public with their union, the Academy Museum changed the job description for an entire group of workers, those in Visitor Experience, to classify them as security guards, thus keeping them out of the bargaining unit. Visitor Experience is the largest department in the museum.”
AMWU says that a majority of the museum’s workers have signed authorization cards seeking to form a union and are seeking voluntary recognition from the museum “in order to avoid a lengthy and costly election process”The National Labor Relations Board.
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“Workers are choosing to form a union to address working conditions, wages, and benefits, as well as to have a strong employee voice to guide this institution to a more just, equitable, and inclusive future,”The union stated.
AMWU claims it has the support and endorsement of the California IATSE Council “in urging the Academy Museum to recognize AMWU,”It is part of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the largest trade union of public workers in the United States.