Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Sage and Coombe Architects Workers Ratify Contact

Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Members of Architectural Workers United (AWU)—an affiliate of IAM Union—who work at New York-based firm Sage and Coombe Architects (SCA) have unanimously voted to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement.

The SCA Union bargaining unit won voluntary recognition with AWU in 2023 and is the second U.S. studio in the private architecture industry to successfully form a union. In a field of work where long hours are common and union contracts are not, members are celebrating a deal that will give them a powerful voice on the job.

“Today, after unanimous ratification by the union, the collective bargaining agreement at Sage and Coombe Architects takes effect,” AWU said in a social media post. “This is the culmination of countless hours of organizing, brainstorming, and collaboration. This contract, the second in the industry, sets a standard for workers at Sage and Coombe and beyond. A heartfelt thanks to everyone at Sage and Coombe for their work to raise the bar of this profession.”