(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Following the lead of employees at the Art Institute of Chicago, workers at the Field Museum are in the process of forming a labor union.
It was the pandemic that brought some issues to light.
“Like the fact that there was little to no safety net for when you were to get sick and all of the lost wages that come with that,” says Matteo Hintz, who is in productions and exhibitions at the Field Museum.
Hintz is one of the organizers of the Field Museum Workers United group, which is in the process of organizing 330 workers to join AFSCME.
“I don’t think employees are being supported in a way that they should be in order to want them to stick around. Turnover has been insane here. No one wants to stay here for more than a year, if that,” he said.
Big priorities for Hintz and other union organizers is wage increases and better benefits.
The Field Museum issues this statement through a spokesperson: "We fully respect our employees’ right to form a union if they choose to do so. We believe that both the Museum and our employees benefit most when we can work directly with each other rather than through a third-party union unfamiliar with the Museum’s mission, culture, and community. The Field Museum has been and remains committed to cultivating its relationship with our employees, keeping the lines of communication open, and improving working conditions for all employees."
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