Workers at the Adler Planetarium voted on Thursday to join AFSCME Council 31, marking the latest victory for
cultural workers in Chicago fighting for a fair voice on the job.
Members of Adler Planetarium Workers United began organizing in October to bargain a contract that addresses staffing shortages, management’s communication and unilateral changes to working conditions. The bargaining unit includes 70 staff members who handle all aspects of the institution's operation.
“Throughout Chicago's cultural sector, a movement has been building for the last five years,” said AFSCME Council 31 in a social media post. “On the Museum Campus and across the city, cultural workers are forming unions with an echoing call: We deserve to be heard. At Adler, we too deserve to be heard—not as singular voices asking questions in isolation, but united as one, with the right to the discussions and answers we need. We've all heard management ask, ‘How do we improve the Adler for the future?’ Our answer is, ‘Together, in our union.’”
By the Numbers: Stats You Should Know Today: The number of Illinois cultural workers who have formed unions with AFSCME over the past four years: 2,500
AFL-CIO Daily Brief