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Members of the newly recognized New York Transit Museum union \u2014 the Transit Museum Collective.<\/p>\n
Photo courtesy of Ava Dennis<\/p>\n
New York Transit Museum<\/a> workers voted unanimously to unionize last week, seeking higher wages and better job security from management.\n<\/p>\n The newly formed bargaining unit \u2014 dubbed the Transit Museum Collective \u2014 consists of 30 full and part-time museum employees who work in its education, collections, and visitor experience departments. They won union recognition through a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election last Friday and were organized as part of District Council 37 AFSCME<\/a> \u2014 the city\u2019s largest municipal employees union.<\/p>\n The vote came nearly two months after the union launched its public campaign on Feb. 4 after management, with Friends of the New York Transit Museum \u2014 the nonprofit that runs the institution \u2014 initially declined to voluntarily recognize the unit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had 100% of the votes were a yes, so it was pretty exciting, not super surprising, but yeah, we\u2019re all very happy about it,\u201d Ava Dennis, a part-time museum educator who was involved in the union effort, told amNewYork.<\/p>\n \u201cThe general vibe is very positive at the museum right now, and we\u2019re looking forward to going into bargaining,\u201d she added.\n<\/p>\n amNewYork reached out to a museum spokesperson and is awaiting a response.\n<\/p>\n The museum\u2019s retail workers, who work directly for the MTA, rather than the museum nonprofit, recently unionized on their own with the Transport Workers Union Local 100.<\/a><\/p>\n DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido said in a statement that \u201cIt\u2019s clear these workers are passionate about carrying out the museum\u2019s mission, and they have done an incredible job fighting for their right to unionize.\u201d<\/p>\n But the union and Garrido both stressed that its work is only just beginning as it gears up for contract negotiations with museum management.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we celebrate this victory, we also have our eyes firmly set on bargaining our first contract, which will codify the rights and protections we have fought so hard for and know we deserve,\u201d the collective said in a Friday Instagram post.<\/p>\n The museum has showcased the history of the city\u2019s over-a-century-old public transit system since its founding in 1976.\n<\/p>\n In its central location, inside the decommissioned IND Court St subway station in Downtown Brooklyn, the museum boasts a collection of vintage rail cars that visitors can explore. It also features exhibits illustrating how the city\u2019s trains and buses have expanded and changed over the last hundred years.<\/p>\n