The following draft of a proposed statement and recommendations have their origin in a working group that convened at the NCPH 2023 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, to address longstanding concerns about labor conditions in public history. That working group evolved into the NCPH’s Labor Task Force (LTF) in 2024, the collective author of the statement and recommendations that appear below. The LTF was charged with articulating the NCPH’s official position on unionization and workers’ rights. Specifically, members of the LTF were instructed to:Draft a general statement of support for labor/unions to form a basis for response when NCPH is asked to comment on labor issues. This statement should address salary/benefits, solidarity with other laborers, and accessibility in job descriptions, as well as other issues the Task Force deems necessary.Honoring the transparency that so many activists and advocates have identified as central to creating more just workplaces, the LTF is grateful to have the chance to share an initial draft statement with TPH readers. We welcome your feedback and comments, as the LTF finalizes this proposed statement—and partners with other NCPH committees—so that the NCPH Board can review and then formally adopt it.Even in the forthcoming formal, adopted versions, the statement and recommendations offered here will not be the final word. They are foundations for ongoing conversations among public historians about the conditions of our work and the economy we operate in. Since the LTF’s creation, the importance of unions and protections for workers has only grown more urgent. Cultural institutions face mounting funding pressures, an increased reliance on contingent labor, and sharp pay inequities within organizations and across jobs, among other workplace-based pressures.In addition to becoming the basis for the NCPH’s public responses to future labor-related inquiries, we hope the information provided here can also serve as a guiding document for employers, managers, faculty and students in higher education, and workers interested in trying to create ethical employment practices in public history. The recommendations here double as the LTF’s 2026 statement on best practices, to be updated as future NCPH members see fit.Note: the statement included below is a draft proposal that has not been reviewed or adopted by the NCPH Board at the time of publication.The National Council on Public History (NCPH) aims to support the ongoing efforts by public and applied historians to make their working lives better. The creation of the LTF, the primary author of this statement, demonstrates this point. We believe that the NCPH should avow that the choice of public history workers to form or join a union (or to refrain from doing so) is a legal right of great importance to public and applied historians, just as it is for all public or private workers. Durable labor rights sustain a living, equitable, and healthy public history sector. Fairly treated workers create and disseminate high-quality public history.The LTF specifically recommends the following practices and guidelines as applicable and important to any public history workplace, regardless of the size, focus, location, or public/private status of the institution. Many of these measures are standard to union contracts and collective bargaining procedures, but all can be implemented and advanced, with or without the legal structure of a workplace union.Fair Compensation and Comprehensive Benefits: Public history professionals deserve compensation that reflects their education, experience, and foundational role as stakeholders in communities and society. NCPH supports fair, transparent compensation and comprehensive benefits that allow people to live comfortably and that truly support the health and well-being of employees. In keeping with broader NCPH statements around paid internships, the Labor Task Force reaffirms that fair and transparent compensation applies to interns as well as staff, to ensure more equitable entry-points to the field for emerging professionals. Additionally, workplaces should implement transparent and equitable policies around overtime pay, hazard pay, temporary assignment pay, and longevity pay, and consider reimbursements or subsidizing the costs of uniforms, cell phones, and transportation. Comprehensive benefits, such as proactive healthcare policies, vacation days, paid (parental, bereavement, sick, domestic survivor, etc.) leave, lactation protections, and retirement policies can help counter systemic inequities and support overall employee well-being. Offering these benefits to both full- and part-time employees supports the diversity of the field and sustainability of public history careers.Industry-Wide Representation and Transparency: The NCPH aims to be open to and represent all public history workers as a professional organization, no matter their workplace or position. We can work together and support honesty across the field to improve working conditions and support each other when we need to collectively bargain. Transparency about compensation at the hiring stage is essential for equity across the field and is one of the most concrete, actionable things to help combat the longstanding pay inequities in public history. A transparent hiring process attracts a workforce that reflects the entirety of the communities that public history serves. Demystifying hiring and promotion criteria, disciplinary processes, and layoff procedures helps build trust and level the playing field for public history workers at all career stages.Inclusive and Accessible Job Descriptions: the NCPH supports clear, unbiased, and accurate job descriptions that genuinely reflect the skills and experience needed for each position, with salary ranges included in all postings. Clear and accessible job descriptions protect workers from assuming duties and responsibilities beyond their pay grade and ensure transparent criteria for performance evaluations.Supporting Unionization Efforts: The NCPH stands with public history workers who are organizing, joining, or represented by unions to negotiate for fair pay, benefits, and better working conditions. NCPH calls on institutions to voluntarily recognize new unionization efforts, to bargain with unions in good faith, and to refrain from interfering with workers’ legal rights to organize. The NCPH supports the National Labor Relations Act as policy and established law.Ultimately, pro-employee workplaces benefit not only workers, but also the institutions and our visitors. A field that supports its practitioners in archives, museums, classrooms, and beyond is a stronger one.
A Fri, study studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: