Approximately 20 workers at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) announced that they are forming a union, and they’re doing so through AFSCME.
After witnessing a string of successful organizing drives that led to workers winning strong contracts at cultural institutions like the Philadelphia Art Museum, Penn Museum and Please Touch Museum, HSP workers knew the power of having a union was real and growing in Philadelphia. And they wanted to be part of it.
Driven by their own concerns over stagnant wages and a lack of job security amidst growing political uncertainty, the workers announced that they are forming a union as the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Staff United (HSPSU), becoming the seventh cultural union to emerge from Philly Cultural Workers United (Philly CWU) Local 397 (District Council 47) in recent years.
Through one-on-one conversations with co-workers, workers turned workplace fears into tangible action and secured supermajority support for a union that would finally give them a voice on the job.
“We are uniting to speak up and represent ourselves in a way that will protect our job security, give us the recognition we deserve, and provide a more balanced and inclusive work environment,” said Aileen Murphy, an access services librarian at HSP.
In addition to improving working conditions for employees, Sarah Nash, who works as a project archival processor, sees the union as a way to protect institutional knowledge at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, which serves as a leading center for the documentation and study of ethnic communities and immigrant experiences in the 20th century as one of the nation’s largest archives of historical documents.
“With historical and cultural institutions under attack, HSP’s mission is essential,” said Nash.
“I want to unionize because I love being part of such a committed team, and I want us to join our museum and library colleagues who are already part of [Philly CWU] in the push for job security, fair wages, and a voice in the institution we all dedicate so much time and care to,” said Bankson Creech, an access services librarian.
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Staff United has requested voluntary recognition of their union but did not receive a response from management by their October 7 deadline. Now, with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) closed and unable to process petitions for a union election, workers and community supporters are urging the library to voluntarily recognize the staff union since it is the only avenue forward until the federal government reopens.
AFSCME Cultural Workers United is leading the largest organizing movement for cultural workers across the country. We represent 50,000 cultural workers at museums, zoos, libraries and other cultural institutions.