Workers at Meow Wolf vote to unionize
Meow Wolf is now a union shop. The Meow Wolf Workers Collective won majority approval from its 130-member bargaining unit to be immediately recognized by the company’s management as an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America.
“Workers want a seat at the table as our company prepares to break into new markets outside of Santa Fe,” the collective said in a news release Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 20). “Unionizing is our most powerful tool for representation in the workplace.”
The bargaining unit will now meet to set priorities and elect members to represent the union in contract negotiations with Meow Wolf’s three co-CEOs, said Bill Rodgers, a Workers Collective representative.
Meow Wolf’s top management – known as the Office of the Chief Executive Officers – said it also is ready to move forward with the new reality.
“This process has created valuable discussion within the company and Meow Wolf appreciates the varying points of view brought forward from the different perspectives within the bargaining unit and looks forward to working together with the CWA, AFL-CIO and Meow Wolf Workers Collective on policies and practices that will continue to ensure Meow Wolf is a great place to work,” the CEOs said in a prepared statement.
Meow Wolf has about 270 employees.
Only 7 percent of New Mexico workers are in unions, and they are predominantly in education and government, said Reilly S. White, associate professor of finance at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management.
“We don’t see this a lot,” White said. “[But] we are seeing a lot more interest in labor unions. This will be part of an increasingly popular phenomenon. The impetus for any labor action is always about fair treatment of workers.”
The increasing wage gap across the country between bosses and workers is a driver in organizing labor, he said.
Pay equity, diversity and inclusion are the tent poles for the Meow Wolf Workers Collective,
Rodgers said.
“This is about maintaining Meow Wolf’s collective roots,” Rodgers said in an interview. “It’s hav
ing a direct democratic say in the condition of your workplace.”
The CEOs were conciliatory in their statement following the vote
count, which took place online Monday and through noon Tuesday.
“[ We] understand the importance of the healing process after such a disruptive journey and look forward to working with the [unions] on ways that we can mend the delicate fabric of our Meow Wolf culture while encouraging practices that are supportive and nurturing to this culture in the future,” the CEOs said in a statement.
Meow Wolf has three co-CEOs: Ali Rubinstein, Carl Christensen and Jim Ward.
Rubinstein and Meow Wolf cofounder and Senior Creative Director Matt King acknowledged last week that not until the last month or two did they become aware of the many labor issues percolating among employees. The Workers Collective went public with its
plans Sept. 3.
“[ We] are also proud of the entire workforce and the way they have both spoken their truth and represented themselves during this process,” the CEOs wrote. “This further reinforces the uniqueness of their employees and their confidence in the ability of Meow Wolf, as a social impact art project, to bend minds with future exhibitions opening next year.”
In negotiations, the CEOs won concession from the Workers Collective to exclude about half the employees from the bargaining unit. Rodgers said the union eventually wants to include more employees, and for now will negotiate with Meow Wolf for better conditions for nonmembers.
“We want to be a voice for all Meow Wolf employees,” he said. “We want to grow our power as a union.”