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Workers across the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh system have voted by a substantial margin to join the Pittsburgh-based United Steelworkers union.
Out of the 529 employees eligible to vote, a total of 353 votes were counted. Of that number, there were 278 yes votes.
The workers will become part of a 500-member USW unit called the United Museum Workers. It includes scientists, educators, art handlers, front desk and administrative staff, gift shop clerks, ushers and other workers at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Science Center and the Andy Warhol Museum.
Presented by UAB’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, Eagles’ new series questions the Federal Drug Administration’s policies against blood donation based on sexual orientation, the stigma of queer blood and HIV/AIDS.
Jordan Eagles, American Carnage 6/14-II, 2018, Blood of gay man on PrEP, digital print, Dibond, 55 x 36 in.“Can You Save Superman? II,” an exhibition by artist Jordan Eagles that confronts the Federal Drug Administration’s blood donation policy against the LGBTQ community, will be on exhibition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2021.
Eagles’ ongoing cycle of art and activism addresses the stigma of “queer” blood and challenges these policies.
Paul g. Wiegman / Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Garden
Operating during a pandemic was a challenge for Pittsburgh’s museums. Not operating is harder still.
For the second time this year, museums and similar attractions have been ordered closed by Gov. Tom Wolf in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In Pittsburgh, that includes venues from the Carnegie Museum of Art and Heinz History Center to Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and the National Aviary. The shutdown is scheduled to last three weeks, until Jan. 4.
The closure is especially hard on places that rely heavily on earned revenue like admissions and event rentals. Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Garden, for example, earns more than 70% of its budget that way. And Wolf’s order came just two weeks after Phipps opened its Winter Flower Show – in a typical year, its biggest attraction.
December 16, 2020
Despite the challenging environment of 2020, museum workers have scored a series of organizing victories. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizers to adjust their efforts and try new approaches to bringing workers together. The series of successes serve as examples that other organizing drives can learn from and help more working people have a voice on the job.
Here are the recent museum organizing wins:
Carnegie Museum Workers in Pittsburgh Vote Overwhelmingly to Join USW: Workers at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, started organizing in order to win better pay and benefits, inclusivity in hiring, increased transparency, a safer workplace and other goals. The 500 workers successfully voted to form the United Museum Workers. The scientists, educators, art handlers, administrative staff, gift shop clerks, ushers and other workers are employed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie Science Center a
Museums announce temporary closures due to COVID-19 restrictions observer-reporter.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from observer-reporter.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.