Union election dates set at Art Institute, SAIC

The dates of historic union elections at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) and its affiliated School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) have been set by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The elections will be conducted by mail.

On Wednesday, December 8, the NLRB will mail ballots to the home addresses of all employees. They must be returned by mail and received by the Labor Board no later than Monday, January 10.

The NLRB will count the votes on the morning of Tuesday, January 11, for AIC museum employees, and Wednesday, January 12, for SAIC school employees.

More than 600 employees of the museum and school are forming their union, Art Institute of Chicago Workers United (AICWU), in affiliation with AFSCME Council 31. They want fair pay, transparent and accountable leadership, and a voice in the decisions that affect them.

Strong majorities of workers at both institutions signed union authorization cards, triggering the election.

Part of a nationwide wave of union organizing among museum employees and other cultural workers, AICWU would be the first wall-to-wall union at a major museum in Chicago.

Yesterday, US Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Sean Casten, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and dozens more elected officials and other community leaders joined AIC and SAIC workers at a news conference on the museum steps. They called for management to stop interfering with employees' right to organize and to agree to principles for true neutrality going forward. After the event, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a strong statement of support for the workers.