Guggenheim Workers Vote 93% to Authorize Strike as Contract Talks Continue
Unionized employees at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York have moved one step closer to a possible strike, after 93% of affected workers represented by UAW Local 2110 voted to authorize work stoppage if negotiations with museum administrators fail to progress. The vote comes as talks over a new contract, which began in December 2025, remain unresolved more than six months after the previous collective bargaining agreement expired.
The dispute has unfolded against a backdrop of upheaval at the museum. In February 2025, the Guggenheim laid off 20 employees, roughly 7% of its workforce. This spring, the institution also appointed Melissa Chiu, longtime leader of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, as its new director. For workers, the combination of staffing cuts and leadership change has intensified concerns about workload, pay, and job security.
Drew Reynolds, an educator at the Guggenheim and chair of the union, said in a statement that the layoffs were handled “chaotically,” adding that laid-off staff were told to leave without advance notice or union representation. He said the remaining workforce absorbed additional duties while museum leadership did not reduce its own salaries. Anton Sherin, an archivist at the museum, said management is offering a contract that does little to address “job security or the financial hardship of frontline staff.”
The financial stakes are clear. According to the union, entry-level Guggenheim staff currently earn $49,920 a year, and about half of employees make less than $71,000, a figure the city says is needed for a single adult to afford life in New York. The union is seeking lower healthcare costs for workers earning under $75,000, along with a three-year contract that would raise salaries 5% in the first year and 4.25% in the following years. The museum is reportedly proposing a four-year agreement with a 3% increase retroactive to all of 2026, followed by 2.75% annual increases.
The Guggenheim said it is bargaining “in good faith” and remains ready to continue discussions. A spokesperson said the museum values its employees and is hopeful for a positive outcome. The talks are taking place as New York City inflation reached 5.1% in May, underscoring the pressure on museum workers whose wages have not kept pace with the cost of living.
The Guggenheim’s unionized staff first organized in 2021 and approved their first contract in 2023, which ran from July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2025, and guaranteed a minimum 9% pay increase over its term. For the museum, the current negotiations are now testing how far a major cultural institution can stretch between fiscal caution and the demands of the people who keep it running.
