Seattle Art Museum Workers Vote to Unionize in Landslide Election

[Omaha Steve]

The new union will represent over 130 full- and part-time employees across the institution’s three locations.

Isa Farfan
June 18, 2026 — 2 min read

https://hyperallergic.com/seattle-art-museum-workers-vote-to-unionize-in-landslide-election/

Staff members at the Seattle Art Museum have officially unionized following a landslide National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election this week.

The new union, Seattle Art Museum Workers United (SAMWU), will represent over 130 full- and part-time employees across its three locations, including the Seattle Asian Art Museum and the Olympic Sculpture Park. A spokesperson for the union, Gillian Fulford, told Hyperallergic that the new bargaining unit will encompass 21 of the institution’s departments, including its curation, conservation, facilities, and education divisions.

Workers at the museum first announced their intent to unionize in a May letter addressed to the museum’s Director and CEO, Scott Stulen, citing dissatisfaction with wages, at-will employment status, and limited healthcare benefits. In the letter, 59 workers asked the museum to voluntarily recognize the union, which would have let the group skip a formal NLRB election. The museum declined to do so, and in an election this week, 97 employees (94% of eligible voters) voted in support of the union.

SAMWU is represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28, which also represents employees of the Tacoma Art Museum.

FULL story at link above.


SAM members (photo courtesy AFSCME Council 28)