Workers at the Guggenheim in New York vote to authorise a strike

Unionized workers at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, represented by UAW Local 2110, voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize a strike if contract negotiations with museum administrators continue to stall. The union said 93% of affected workers voted yes, as bargaining over a new contract has been ongoing since December 2025 after the prior agreement expired at the end of that month. The dispute follows layoffs of 20 employees (about 7% of the museum’s workforce) in February 2025 and the spring hiring of former Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden leader Melissa Chiu as the Guggenheim’s new director. The union cited entry-level pay of $49,920 and said about half of staff earn under $71,000 (a level New York City deems necessary for a single adult to afford living there), proposing a three-year deal with 5% raises in year one and 4.25% thereafter, while the museum is reportedly offering a four-year deal with a 3% raise retroactive to 2026 and 2.75% increases in the next three years as NYC inflation ran 5.1% year over year in May.

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