Museums, Unions and Creating a Culture of Transparency

Open discussions of pay lay bare some of the basic contradictions that govern so many workplaces, which claim to embrace their workers like family while insisting, all the while, on professionalism and discretion. They are communities whose members care about one another and yet also know that their respective right to belong is based on their utility, perceived or actual. To ask a co-worker her salary — especially one who has worked at an institution for years — opens up deeper, unsettling questions. How valued are you in this community? Are you more valued than I am, or beyond what I perceive as your worth? Or have you undervalued yourself, been timid, clueless, exploited? Here's a place to start: Employee Compensation: 2020 Best Practices for Nonprofits Unions are appealing because staff want a voice, want to be taken seriously, and  compensated fairly. How often do historians and pundits comb through the past and point to the seeds of what happens decades later, saying see, "It was already here." Museums who arrive in the mid-21st century with an old hierarchical model, and a huge wage gap between director and public-facing staff, may find themselves sitting down with union reps more often than they'd like. Why? Because museum staff has found its voice. How many times has this blog ended with a plea for clear, transparent communication?The answer is too many to count. If you want staff support, if you want to lead the best museum your town or city's ever experienced, you need everybody's buy-in. From the fanciest board member to the housekeeping staff, they serve your organization. Give them the opportunity to talk about why, and compensate them accordingly. Joan Baldwin P.S. I recognize the 2020 conference season for museum people is well underway, and that barring disruption by COVID-19, hundreds of us will gather to meet and talk in the coming months. That said, isn't it time we made 2021 the year of the museum worker because isn't it time we spoke face-to-face about compensation, benefits, unions, workplace harassment, and the gender pay gap? Image: The Globe and Mail