Marciano Foundation, Guess, closes it's museum because employees form a "Union".
Guess owners, Paul and Maurice Marciano, founded in 2017, a private museum, the Marciano Art Foundation. The goal of the Marciano brothers is to exhibit their collection of contemporary art and support the young Californian art scene in full expansion.
But this "generous" project did not last long. The foundation closed on November 7, shortly after employees announced their intention to form a union. In particular, they want their wages to be revalued.
"We are paid the minimum wage ($ 14.25 per hour), but what we expect is more than a typical minimum wage" . "We are asked to do research on the works on display and to pass this knowledge on to visitors. "
Following this announcement, the museum said the museum would be closed until further notice, stating that there was currently no plan to reopen. No explanation has been given, except for the fact that there has been too little use of exhibition space in recent weeks.
Employees see this sudden closure as an illegal move. "It shows that they would rather close their institution than raise salaries," said Spencer Longo, a former museum employee at the Los Angeles Times. However, under federal law in the United States, employers can not "dismiss or take adverse action against employees because they support a union or participate in union activities. "
The private museum is housed in a former Scottish Freemason Temple on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The building purchased for $ 8 million, required extensive restoration work.
The Marciano Foundation, with its four levels and 90,000 square meters, has nothing to envy to the many museums of contemporary art in the city of Los Angeles.
The entrance to the museum - when it was open - was free, subject to registering on the website for an entrance schedule to admire nearly 1,500 works, including those of artists such as Paul McCarthy, Takashi Murakami, or Danh Vo. And at the same time to increase the value of these private works.
