Portland Museum of Art workers unionize after often-contentious election

COURTESY / PMA The Portland Museum of Art moved forward on plans for its first major expansion in four decades.

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By William Hall

Workers at the Portland Museum of Art have unionized, after ballots from a representation election were counted and announced Thursday.

By a vote of 16-10, eligible employees opted to organize as part of the Technical, Office and Professional Union, Local 2110 of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.

Some of the PMA’s 100 employees last fall petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a union election, citing low pay rates and job security as reasons for organizing.

The petition, the first unionizing attempt in the museum's 139-year history, led to a dispute between organizers and the PMA about which employees could be part of the bargaining unit. The two sides disagreed about the inclusion of 29 gallery and security workers. The union also accused the museum of “anti-worker tactics,” which the museum denied.

The election drew widespread public attention and even provoked 40 state legislators to weigh in, calling for the PMA to let the vote go forward without challenge. Ultimately, the NLRB ruled that gallery workers could vote but security guards could not.

On Thursday, the local tweeted, “We won! The votes are in and a majority of PMA staff have voted UNION YES! We are grateful for all the support we've received throughout this process, and look forward to working with all of our colleagues to build a stronger and more sustainable PMA!”

The museum issued a statement saying it accepted the results of the election and intends to bargain with the union in good faith.

"We are dedicated to finding common ground throughout this process and will work with Local 2110 to ensure the museum’s vision and values, which are centered in inclusivity, equity, and transparency, are reflected in any agreement. We continue to be dedicated to partnering with our staff as we build a stronger, more equitable museum, together," the museum said.

The vote comes as another much-publicized union election, among nurses at Maine Medical Center in Portland, heads to a conclusion on Tuesday, April 27.

The PMA workers' new representative, the Technical, Office and Professional Union, includes about 3,000 workers in other museums, colleges and offices, primarily in New York. The local is part of the UAW, which has more than 400,000 active members and more than 580,000 retired members in the United States and Canada.