Olivia S. Anastasiadis, Curator Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard Yorba Linda, CA 92886 (714) 993-5075 ext. 224; fax (714) 528-0544; e-mail: [log in to unmask] On Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:22:38 -0700 Paul Apodaca <[log in to unmask]> writes: >The AAM exposes its dubious authority to accredit museums by not >estabishing any criterion or advocacy concerning the protection of >museum >employees from abuse either in substandard compensation or employment >definition. > >Museum employees are understandably intimidated in such a climate and >desiring to hang onto the prestige of the job titles even if their >treatment as employees is less that prestigious. This timidity thwarts >any >attempt at labor organization by casting it as beneath the class level >of >those who aspire to the prestige level intimated by their job title if >not >by their pay. Low financial class workers with high social class >jobs. >This dichotomy leaves museum workers open to exploitation. > >Museum directors protesth too much. Inflated salaries for development >people and directors is encouraged and yes board members do profit in >many, but not all, cases. > >The misguided attempts to go along with the trend of privatization and >business model advocated by the head of AAM and others is short >sighted >and leaves the opportunity for the further erosion of the profession. >Privatizing is placing more and more private collectors on museum >boards, >many of which were balanced in the past with public servants or >representatives of the community, and these boards are then >encouraging >the promotion of art exhibits that increase the value of their own >private >collections. > >The reduction of academic curators increases the wine and cheese view >of >authenticity and programming. Museum directors are no longer content >to >be so and are now being called presidents and vice-presidents. More >and >more non-musum personnell are hired to oversee development goals and >eventually funding opportunities control programming decisions. There >are >a myriad of examples in museums that are being privatized and aligning >themselves with the business model from Orange County to New York. > >But you all know this. It is time to demand that AAM either resign its >accreditation power or enforce a comprehensive overview of all aspects >of >the well being of the museum and not only those which promote the >growing >number of aspiring business executives and private collectors. In >such a >validating move of its basic mission, AAM, would develop separate >accreditations for museums in rural communities such as Indian >reservations and Southern communities so that the majority of museums >in >the US, the small museums, would not be unfairly stigmatized as being >unworthy because they cannot afford the technologies available to a >few >large museums. > >AAM cannot simply take the gravy anymore than can directors, >development >staff, and private collector/board members. Directors can lead an era >of >fairness by taking a reduction in their salaries to be within a >reasonable >percentage of their employees and guarantee that salaries for all >employees are comensurate equally with their education and experience. >There is no reason why a person with an MA in the development office >should make more than a person with an MA in any other part of the >museum. > >Best, > >Paul Apodaca > _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]