Architectural Professionals Self-Report Support for Unions, Change in the Industry

Employed in an industry that requires high levels of education and often demands grueling hours for modest salaries, architectural professionals want a voice for change with a union. This finding comes from our non-scientific survey of architectural professionals, where over 80% of respondents said they would support a proposal for a union in their workplace. Additionally, two-thirds of those who participated in the survey said they would caution against joining the architectural profession. The architectural industry clearly needs improvement.

Our survey of architectural professionals was conducted after learning about concerns related to lack of equity, diversity, and representation in the industry. For example, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey data for 2020, women, Black, and Lantix employees are underrepresented in architecture. Women architects also earn 18% less on average than male architects. But as our survey revealed, issues in architectural workplaces aren’t limited to diversity, equity, and inclusion concerns; the problems in the industry run far and wide, and include basic work conditions.

Other survey findings include:

• A majority (51%) of architectural professionals surveyed are dissatisfied with their wages.
• 63% said they lacked a voice in policy making at their firm.
• 55% of respondents surveyed fear retaliation for speaking out about issues at their firm.
• Almost half of respondents say they’ve been told to underreport excessive hours at least once in a while.
• 90% of those surveyed want to see changes at their architectural firm.

The survey also asked questions about the number of hours architectural professionals work on deadline weeks and whether their scheduled time off has ever been interrupted by work duties. Most respondents work over 50 hours on deadline weeks and shockingly, some (12%) work 90 hours or more during deadline weeks. Additionally, the vast majority of architectural professionals who responded to the survey had their scheduled time off interrupted by work at least occasionally.

DPE conducted the non-scientific survey of architectural professionals’ work conditions from early March through early May 2022. The survey received over 400 voluntary responses from architectural professionals across the U.S.

Overall, DPE’s non-scientific survey revealed that most architectural professionals want to see some sort of change in their workplaces. Like other professionals, architectural employees can improve their industry by joining together in union and gaining a legally protected say in their pay, benefits, and working conditions. In September 2022, professionals at Bernheimer Architecture in New York City became the first group of private sector employees at an architectural firm to form a union. They organized to uplift the architecture profession and raise standards in the industry.

If you are interested in joining these architectural professionals to create change in your workplace and the industry, contact us at organize@dpeaflcio.org.