Workers at Sage and Coombe Architects Unionize
The firm behind the Noguchi Museum renovation is the second private U.S. architecture office to do so.
This week, workers at Sage and Coombe Architects (SCA) announced that they had unionized under Architectural Workers United, an affiliate of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. SCA Union is now the country’s second private-sector architecture union after workers at Bernheimer Architecture formed theirs in 2022. Both were voluntarily recognized by firm management, eliminating the requirement to hold an election through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Sage and Coombe currently lists 14 staff members on its website; as reported by Architect Magazine, the firm’s small size and "collegial nature" fostered a smooth organizing process.
The victory comes at the heels of Snøhetta’s union election loss earlier this year, after which organizers at Architectural Workers United filed an Unfair Labor Practice with the NLRB, alleging that firm management unlawfully discriminated against several employees because of their support for union organizing.
Top photo: Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, designed by Sage and Coombe Architects. Courtesy Tdorante10/Creative Commons
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