“Not just for coal miners”: Unionization in U.S. art museums
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: This paper examines a collective identity shift among unionizing art museum workers. Pulling data from an action research study of museum union members, I argue that museum workers today are explicitly aligning themselves with working classes in building wall‐to‐wall labor unions and embracing the collective identity, or membership within the group, of “museum worker.” In analyzing this identity label, I draw from Bruce Lincoln's theories on discourse as a mechanism for constructing or dismantling affective social boundaries. The shift from “museum professional” to “museum worker” signifies a redefinition of creative labor and museum work rooted in cross‐class solidarity and bears implications for effective grassroots organizing and coalition‐building for institutional and social change.
Source: Curator The Museum Journal
DOI: 10.1111/cura.12574
Author: Amanda Tobin Ripley
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Topic: Labor Movements and Unions
Subfield: Public Administration
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,630
OpenAlex ID: W4387019459