Earlier this month, the Tacoma Art Museum became the latest museum to unionize with AFSCME―and they've done so unanimously! They've also managed to get all of the museum's workers―including security guards―included in the bargaining unit. This is actually rather difficult to do, as according to Northwest Public Broadcasting the National Labor Relations Act prevents this in ordinary circumstances. As they write:
Often, workers at museums are separated into unions based on positions, like the security guard union at the Seattle Art Museum and at the Frye Art Museum.
That’s because of the section in the National Labor Relations Act, often referred to as the “guard exclusion,” that states security workers cannot be included in bargaining units with other non-security workers.
So Tacoma Art Museum workers instead sought an agreement with the museum's Board of Trustees to have "voluntary recognition through an independent election process." This, says NWPB, was an extensive process and was something they began negotiating in mid-2022―but it's paid off. As a matter of fact, Tacoma Art Museum Workers United can claim the mantle of "first multi-department art museum union in the state of Washington." Congrats!