Dear Arts Community,

The Minneapolis Institute of Art presides as a cultural hub in the metro that retains many kinds of employees, in many different departments.  In this structure of employment, the museum has consistently used temporary employees (nicknamed “Casuals”) in times where there is a need for a temporarily increased workforce (e.g. special events, special exhibitions, etc.). Casuals easily represent the museum’s most diverse set of employees, varying in race, sexual orientation, ability, gender identity, ethnicity, age, and more.

Across the decades that Mia has utilized the Casual employment structure, they have consistently underfunded Casual salaries, not provided work benefits (such as medical insurance, retirement savings, etc.), and in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, ruthlessly laid off a massive amount of these workers. To provide clarity, the data we have shows that at the beginning of 2020, the museum employed over 100 casuals. In the time of the pandemic, the museum has cut this number by at least two-thirds, a layoff of over 65 employees. Further, this is only data we have about office workers; we know the museum has also drastically reduced permanent and temporary security staff.

When pressed for the purpose of these layoffs, the museum points to the economic deficit they’re facing due to the pandemic, and subsequent losses of revenue due to decreased attendance in subsequent months. All of this coming from the largest arts organization in Minnesota, of which nearly half of its funding comes from a century-old Hennepin County property tax. There have been no outward mentions of starting a fund for Casual staff employment (funded by internal donations from the Board or salaried staff), increasing cuts to Leadership salaries (Mia’s Leadership Team only cut their salaries by 15%, while other institutions’ Leadership teams cut theirs by up to 60%), or by selling art that hasn’t been hung on the museum’s walls in 5+ years. Instead, Mia officials decided to layoff those that are in the lowest-paid positions and the most precarious of financial positions. As a result, these decisions have disproportionately affected Mia’s BIPOC staff (which primarily retain non-managerial or grant-funded positions in the museum). 

Based on averages from Mia's publically available Form 990 for Fiscal Years ended June 30, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, the average annual reportable compensation from the museum (W-2/1099-MISC) for the following positions is as follows: 

$730,063 Director & President* 

$506,824 Assistant Treasurer 

$265,252 Deputy Director & Chief Curator 

$222,844 Chief Digital Officer 

$265,252 Director of Advancement 

$188,691 Head of Audience Engagement 

$165,540 Director of Learning Innovation

According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, a family of four in Minnesota (with two guardians working and two children) requires a base income of $104,040. As mentioned earlier, Leadership has taken 15% cuts to their salaries. This percentage out of the Director’s reported salary results in that position still earning $620,554 annually. With other institutions’ top officials taking drastically larger pay cuts and Mia’s status as a leader in the arts community, we Casuals are calling on Mia to do better.

What we as Casuals are petitioning for is the tangible, transformative recognition from Mia’s Leadership what their lipservice has told us through the years; that we are the lifeblood of the museum, that we generate huge amounts of revenue through staffing of events and exhibitions that draw their biggest audiences, and that we are an essential part of the Mia team. 

Since the Leadership Team has failed in caring for Casuals, we have decided to unionize. Such a large, diverse labor class deserves more priority from a community-based institution that touts progressive ideals. 

_____________________________________

Thus, our demands are as follows:

1. Voluntary recognition of the union, immediately triggering negotiations between Mia’s Leadership Team and a negotiating body of Casuals.

2. Assurances that Mia will not wage an institutional campaign of any sort against the formation of this Casuals Union. 

3. Assurances from Mia Leadership to increase job security for Casuals, as well as assurances that returning Casuals will receive preferential hiring in their returning contract considerations.

4. Assurances that Mia will pay Casuals a fair wage for their work; as of now, most Casuals do not even make the City of Minneapolis-suggested wage of $15 an hour.

5. Assurances that Mia will provide affordable health insurance for Casuals, a labor class they have chronically underpaid and sacrificed job security first to increase their profits.

5. Fair negotiation tactics once we gain recognition as a Union, whether through voluntary recognition or through NLRB general election.

 

Please consider signing to support this effort. Making our voices heard has never been more important than now. We need you, and we need Mia to do better for all its employees.

 

In solidarity,

Mia’s Casuals

Charlie Tirey, Erin Sandsmark, Starasea Camara, Elizabeth Ginsberg, Semira Mesfin, Misty Rinkenberger, Johana Cornejo-Cisneros, Jerilyn Rogers, Josephine Lampone, Scotty Monten, Alexa Atkinson, Akiko Ostlund, Alison Johnson, Erin Holt, Trinity Ek, Etienne Angulo-Umana, Anna Johnson, Minna Jain, Christopher Menne, Ivan Munkres, Jenna Farnham, Madeline Hellig, Emily LeCrone, Emily Ross, Elizabeth Schacterle, Scotty Monten, Emma Eubanks, Marlena Myles, Derek Mondock, Tyler Jackson, Brigid Higgins, Tamira Amin, Suhani Garg, Fiona Avocado, Alex Patterson, Daniela Bonifaz, and Emilia Westerberg.