Employees of the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia adopted their first union contract this month, joining a wave of museum worker organizing in recent years.
The 22 workers covered by the new contract are represented by the AFSCME District Council 47, Local 397, and work in visitor services, education, marketing, and communications roles, among other jobs.
“The Fabric Workshop and Museum’s commitment to creating a space of artistic experimentation is propelled by its staff, who bring a unique sense of creativity and care to their work,” Local 397 president Halcyone Schiller said. “Our collective bargaining agreement ensures that on-the-job protections and pay structures will enable staff to continue to do this exciting work for years to come.”
The museum voluntarily recognized the union in May 2025, and bargaining started in October. The workers ratified the new contract on July 23, a spokesperson for the Fabric Workshop and Museum confirmed.
Local 397 was established in 2020, with employees of the Philadelphia Museum of Art who voted to unionize that year. The following year, workers at the Penn Museum joined their ranks, and then employees of the Please Touch Museum voted to unionize with the local in 2023.
The three-year contract went into effect Aug. 1 and includes raises, as well as a guarantee that internal candidates get preference during hiring for union jobs.
Under the new union contract, the minimum annual salary increased to $45,000 from $40,000, and the minimum hourly wage is increasing to $17 from $16.
Over the course of the contract, salaried employees will see an 11% pay increase as well, according to a spokesperson for the Fabric Workshop and Museum. The starting hourly wage will increase to $18.04 over the course of the three-year contract, the spokesperson said.
Workers are also guaranteed “at least one dedicated, annual professional development opportunity focused on core museum or studio skills,” the spokesperson said, as part of the new agreement.
“The negotiation process called on us to work together with kindness and respect to achieve the best outcome for our staff and the institution we all care for deeply,” said Kelly Shindler, executive and artistic director of the Fabric Workshop and Museum. “This contract proudly affirms our commitment to artists — first and foremost those on our staff — and to fostering a vibrant and accountable organization.”