A rare union vote could reshape the architecture industry

Voting is underway on what could be an industry-altering union. Employees at the U.S. studios of international architecture and design firm Snøhetta are now deciding whether to form a labor union. It would be only the second private sector architecture firm in the U.S. to unionize.

Known for its redesign of New York’s Times Square and the iceberg-like Oslo opera house, Snøhetta is a large and well-regarded design firm, with 350 employees and nine offices including studios in Oslo, New York, San Francisco, Australia, and Asia. Its union vote is one the industry is watching closely.

In May, workers in Snøhetta’s U.S.-based studios filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union and join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents workers at companies including Boeing, United Airlines, and Harley-Davidson. Because the election involves some mail ballots, tallying of votes will happen in a few weeks, on July 7.

The union vote is a rare occurrence in a field that has long been criticized from within for its long hours, low pay, and layoff-prone jobs. Despite these precarious conditions, unions have been largely absent from the industry for more than 80 years.

This vote comes on the heels of the establishment of the first architecture union, at the small, New York City-based firm Bernheimer Architects. The 22-person firm had its union voluntarily recognized by company founder Andrew Bernheimer in September, and a collective bargaining agreement is currently being negotiated. In conjunction with the IAMAW, a new group called Architectural Workers United has formed to assist employees at architecture firms who are considering forming unions. The organization came about during a campaign to form a union at another big New York architecture firm, SHoP, which was ultimately abandoned in February 2022.

But organizing efforts continued elsewhere, and Architectural Workers United scored a legitimizing win with the formation of a union at Bernheimer Architects. Snøhetta’s union effort is the first to go public since then, and AWU organizer Andrew Daley says several other efforts have started around the country since the May announcement.

A successful campaign at Snøhetta could open the gates for more unionization in the architecture and design industry, at firms of all sizes.