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The Baltimore Museum of Industry is now featuring an exhibit exploring the organized labor movement with “Collective/Action: Labor Activism in 21st Century Baltimore,” which opened to the public in May. (Photo by Aaron Curtis for the Baltimore Museum of Industry)
Local labor activism the focus of new exhibition at Baltimore Museum of Industry
The Baltimore Museum of Industry is now featuring an exhibit exploring the organized labor movement with “Collective/Action: Labor Activism in 21st Century Baltimore,” which opened to the public in May.
Rachel Donaldson, curator of collections and exhibitions at the BMI, said labor activism is still a relevant topic in the Baltimore area today. Apple Store workers in Towson, the first of the tech giant’s retail employees to unionize with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) in 2022, made history again by voting in favor of authorizing a strike May 11. The first Starbucks in the state to go union is also located in midtown Baltimore.
Central to the experience of workers has been the long fight for labor rights – higher wages, improved safety, shorter hours and a seat at the bargaining table. Currently, there is a surge of activism being led by a new generation of workers who are galvanizing the labor movement. Through the stories and experiences of working Baltimoreans, this exhibit sheds light on why they are organizing and explore the historical roots of this struggle.
The story of industry and labor is not a singular narrative. The complicated relationship between politics, work, class and economics makes this topic perfect for the Baltimore Museum of Industry to explore, as a place where people come to make sense of what is happening around them in the realm of work and labor.
The exhibition will be open at the BMI at 1415 Key Hwy. through 2025.
