LACMA staffer Sierra Schiano describes long-standing structural issues—from understaffing to opaque decision-making—that gradually pushed her and her colleagues toward unionization. Courtesy of Sierra Schiano

Over the holiday break, the staff at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) voted overwhelmingly in favor of starting a union. Their move is part of a larger trend of unionization efforts at museums and other art institutions across the country. It makes sense in a nation where job stability is on the wane and inflation is on the rise—with little support from Washington, D.C. and in an art world that isn’t flush with cash. We caught up with Sierra Schiano, who works in the education department at LACMA, before the vote to hear more about the museum’s unionization efforts.

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Let’s begin with the internal tipping point that led to the coordinated union effort. What are some of the most significant structural issues inside LACMA, from your standpoint, that motivated this push toward collective representation?

I can’t say there was one single moment or decision that pushed staff members toward collective representation. Rather, there were various longstanding management issues that my colleagues and I were frustrated with. One recurring issue was burnout—workers left, but their vacancies were not filled, leaving the rest of their team to take on more work. Another problem was precarity—LACMA relies on part-time labor for nearly all of its Educational and Public Programming, which means part-time workers can’t rely on consistent work throughout the year. We’re told there are no hours available during the summer and winter holidays—why? Who decides to allocate resources this way? Opportunities for museum education and public programs don’t suddenly stop when schools go on break.

LACMA’s mission statement says that our goal is to serve the public through meaningful educational and cultural experiences for the widest array of audiences. There is so much more LACMA could be doing—more programs, more events—to live up to our mission statement while also providing year-round, sustainable work to its staff. The lack of transparency about executive decisions regarding program priorities and resources and the top-down way those decisions are made, is another significant........

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