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Chris Vargas, New Museum in MOTHA drag, 2018, digital image.
COURTESY THE ARTIST AND NEW MUSEUM, NEW YORK
In an open letter released on Friday, a group of artists and arts professionals implored the New Museum in New York to let its staff organize a union. The letter, which was first published by Artforum, begins, “We stand in solidarity with the New Museum Union.”
Among the signees of the letter are e-flux founder and restaurateur Anton Vidokle; writer Fred Moten; and artists Nayland Blake, Justin Vivian Bond, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Andrea Fraser, and Chris E. Vargas. (Vargas and his collective MOTHA are currently the subject of a New Museum show.)
The letter refers to museum’s alleged attempts to halt a union effort that is being by led 74 New Museum employees. Representatives from the union organizers told ARTnews last week that the museum had engaged in “fear-mongering” by bringing on the Kentucky-based consulting firm Adams Nash Haskell & Sheridan to halt their unionization. In a release, the union said the museum was leading “a harsh union-busting campaign.” An election for the proposed union is currently set for January 24.
In response to today’s letter, the New Museum released a statement that reads, in part, “When we learned that a group of staff members had petitioned to unionize, we engaged several consultants, including ANHS, to provide an initial assessment and to guide us on working with employees who have multiple viewpoints on the issue. That engagement has concluded. We respect our employees’ right to self-organize and will respect whatever decision they make. We will continue to work together to advance the museum’s special mission.”
The letter follows in full below.
We stand in solidarity with the New Museum Union.
We are troubled by New Museum leadership’s decision to hire an anti-union firm to sow fear and hostility and to misinform both management and staff about the role of unions in the workplace. Intimidation and misinformation do not constitute open engagement with the museum employees. Moreover, such behavior goes against everything that the museum has historically stood for—that is, equity, diversity, and a commitment to institutional responsibility.
We implore New Museum leadership to do the right thing and allow their employees to form a union without interference. We also urge leadership to bargain with the New Museum Union in good faith for a fair contract. Your coworkers are not simply union supporters but devoted colleagues who deeply love and believe in the institution and are fully committed to its future.
Signed:
Julie Ault, Artist
Andy Bichlbaum, the Yes Men
Claire Bishop, Professor, PhD Program in Art History, CUNY Graduate Center
Hannah Black, Artist
Nayland Blake, Artist, Chair ICP-Bard MFA
Jennifer Bolande, Professor, New Genres, UCLA Dept. of Art
Justin Vivian Bond, Transgenre Artist
Gregg Bordowitz, Artist
A.K. Burns, Artist
Paul Chan, Artist
Howie Chen, Curator
Liz Collins, Artist
Leah DeVun, Associate Professor, Rutgers University (Member, AAUP-AFT Local 06323)
Kimberly Drew, Writer and Independent Curator
Andrea Fraser, Professor and Chair, UCLA Department of Art
Malik Gaines, Artist
Liam Gillick, Artist
The Guerrilla Girls, Artists
Miguel Gutierrez, Artist
House of Ladosha
Sharon Hayes, Artist
Katherine Hubbard, Artist
Juliana Huxtable, Artist
David Joselit, Distinguished Professor, PhD Program in Art History, CUNY Graduate Center
Alhena Katsof, Curator
Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Artist and Writer
Nicole Killian, Artist and Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University
Devin Kenny, Artist
Kate Kraczon, Curator
Molly Larkey, Artist
Simon Leung, Artist and Professor of Art, UC Irvine
Monica Majoli, Artist and Professor, UC Irvine
Yong Soon Min, Professor Emerita, UC Irvine
Fred Moten, Professor, New York University
Carlos Motta, Artist
Gala Porras-Kim, Artist
R.H. Quaytman, Artist
Halsey Rodman, Artist; Co-Chair of Sculpture, Bard MFA; Critic, Yale School of Art, Painting and Printmaking
Martha Rosler, Artist
Alexandro Segade, Artist
Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Artist; Visiting Artist Faculty, California Institute for the Arts and Bard Summer MFA
Gregory Sholette, PhD, Professor, Queens College Art Dept, CUNY
Patrick Staff, Artist
Eric A. Stanley, Assistant Professor, Gender and Women’s Studies, UC Berkeley
A.L. Steiner, Artist
Eric Golo Stone, Writer, Artist, and Curator
Lincoln Tobier, Artist, Otis College of Art and Design / SEIU Local 721
Mariana Valencia, Artist
Chris E. Vargas, Artist
Anton Vidokle, Artist and Founder of e-flux
Matt Wolf, Filmmaker
Yellow Jackets Collective
Update, 10:05 p.m.: This post has been updated with a statement that the New Museum made in response to today’s open letter.
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