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The Maryland Institute College of Art announced “broad staff layoffs” this week.
Artforum reported that the layoffs “eliminate roughly 10 percent of the union’s bargaining unit ahead of initial contract negotiations.” The union is a reference to the Service Employees International Union, which employees voted 86 to 17 to join in May. Last month, the SEIU asked the administration to refrain from making changes in employees’ status until negotiations start for the SEIU’s first contract. The administration did not respond to the petition.
Siân Evans, an instructional librarian and a union member, said, “While we believe there are other options to realize cost savings at the college, and we don’t believe that these options have been explored, we are in the process of attempting to negotiate a fair and balanced severance package for our members.”
The institute released a statement that said in part, “During the pandemic, MICA experienced smaller incoming classes. This year, the undergraduate enrollment recovery we were expecting has not happened. Having absorbed three academic years of reduced campus-based student cohorts, MICA is effectively a smaller residential college and the current restructuring reflects this reality and is organizationally responsible. Overall, less than 10 percent of MICA’s total positions have been eliminated and the impact is fairly distributed among all ranks. The eliminations are split nearly evenly between union and non-union members.”
