Several California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) faculty and staff members hand-delivered a letter signed by 64 employees to the office of President Ravi Rajan on Tuesday, December 3, stating their intent to unionize with the backing of 75% of staff. Employees of the Santa Clarita private art school first publicly announced their plan to unionize under the name CalArts United-United Auto Workers (UAW) on Instagram on November 19.
“Too many of us struggle with low pay, unstable benefits, and a lack of job security,” Rodrigo Arruda, an assistant director in admissions at CalArts, told Hyperallergic in a statement. “Our salaries are stagnant, our workloads are increasing, and we have no meaningful recourse in cases of harassment and discrimination.”
Over 900 undergraduate students were enrolled in 2022 across the institution’s visual and performing arts bachelor of fine arts programs. CalArts also grants master of fine arts degrees in disciplines including art, graphic design, and film directing. More than 450 of the 602 full-time and part-time faculty and staff at the institute are in support of forming the union, according to Patrick Schmid, an assistant director of admissions at CalArts and alum.
Schmid told Hyperallergic that since becoming an employee in 2019 he has observed “a significant decline in conditions for staff, faculty, and students.”
Schmid added that staff have been taking on the jobs of employees who have been laid off during restructuring, meaning that “many of us now juggle two jobs or more with no relief.”
“The workload continues to grow with no meaningful changes in sight,” Schmid said. “I’m deeply concerned about both my spouse and me as we face serious health and financial challenges, further complicated by stagnant pay and inaccessible health benefits.”
Since CalArts United-UAW first announced their intent to unionize, the group has called upon employees across the institute’s art, dance, film theater, music, and critical studies schools to sign authorization cards, which signal their support for union representation. The group said they would hold off on filing for an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) until a supermajority of staff were in support, which they have now secured.
To hold an NLRB election and certify the union, CalArts United-UAW would only need 30% of workers to sign authorization cards, but the group is asking for the art school to voluntarily recognize the union instead, which could be a smoother process. If President Rajan does not respond by the end of the semester, workers said they are prepared to file with the NLRB. Members of the group are requesting a meeting with him before December 10.
A spokesperson for CalArts told Hyperallergic that the institution “trusts that the best way to ensure a fair process in which each employee may freely express their choice is through a secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB.”
The spokesperson said CalArts is committed to maintaining a “supportive, creative, and collaborative teaching and learning environment for our students and all members of our community.”
“The Institute views representation by a union as a matter of employee choice, and supports its employees’ right to determine for themselves whether or not they think unionization would be beneficial,” the spokesperson said.
Autumn Wyatt, an access services librarian at CalArts, told Hyperallergic that the new union is in line with other organizing efforts at private educational institutions like the University of Southern California (USC), New York Film Academy (NYFA), and Columbia University, whose unions have negotiated increases in salaries and wages.
This summer, NYFA formed a union after 98% of faculty and staff signed on. Last fall, the Graduate Student Workers Organizing Committee-UAW at USC ratified its first contract that saw gains in stipends and new discrimination protections. Similarly, Columbia Graduate Workers-UAW improved wages and benefits after a 10-week strike that halted classes for several weeks in 2022.
“It feels as though the administration is more focused on maintaining appearances rather than making tangible improvements that truly support the dignity of the community,” Schmid said. “As an alum, it’s heartbreaking to see that so many of us care more about CalArts than it seems to care about us.”
