Unionizing American Archaeology

Two things everybody’s missing about the Riyadh Comedy Festival.

Opinion | The moment I knew the world would try to move on from Jamal Khashoggi I could see it coming at Time’s 2018 Person of the Year celebration.

The Saudi government murdered Jamal Khashoggi seven years ago today. His editor @karenattiah.bsky.social wrote this two years ago.

🏺

White text on Black background. Statement on American Cultural Resource Management Companies and Saudi Arabia In recent days, the news of comedians accepting money from the government of Saudi Arabia to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival has cast a spotlight on the ethics surrounding business ties to a government with a documented history of human rights abuses including slavery, the murder of journalists, and financial support of terrorism. While the current media cycle focuses on the involvement of celebrity comedians, we take this opportunity to condemn the lesser known, but no less unethical, business relationships between the American cultural resource management industry and the government of Saudi Arabia. Namely, Chronicle Heritage, AECOM, and WSP each have extensive contracts with the Saudi government, with Chronicle Heritage specifically providing archaeological services to the Saudi government through the Royal Commission for Al-Ula to support the development of their cultural tourism industry. These business entanglements are especially troubling as they directly support the advancement of development projects that will almost certainly be carried out by exploited slave laborers, as is the case with countless projects sponsored by the Saudi government. As a collective of cultural resource management professionals organizing for better labor conditions for archaeological technicians in the United States, Unionizing American Archaeology stands in solidarity with exploited workers around the globe, and strongly condemns the participation of American CRM companies in Saudi government development projects. Archaeological technicians who work for multiple companies on a contract basis are in a unique position to take a stand against this massive ethical violation by refusing employment offers from companies with business relationships with the Saudi government. We urge archaeological technicians to refuse work with Chronicle Heritage, AECOM, WSP, and an…

Statement on American Cultural Resource Management Companies and Saudi Arabia

A black outline map of the continental United States. The map is titled "Join a union, join the MOVEMENT" and subtitled " CRM Union Elections...so far!" 4 states are colored in, which represent the states where CRM union elections have been held. Each state is labeled with a text box with an arrow pointing to a locator pin at the city where the election was held. The text boxes read: Salt Lake City, UT March 2024 Archaeologists at SWCA Environmental Consultants vote to join Teamsters Local 222 Denver, CO July 2025 Archaeologists at SWCA Environmental Consultants vote to join Teamsters Local 455 Pittsburgh, PA* January 2025 Archaeologists at SWCA Environmental Consultants vote to join Teamsters Local 341 *Election held, ballot tally pending Frederick, MD June 2024 Archaeologists at Goodwin & Associates vote to join Teamsters Local 992

Archaeological field technicians are long overdue for a union and the time to organize is NOW! If you're a field tech in CRM and interested in organizing your workplace, let us know and we can help connect you with the resources to get started!

Workers at two popular California national parks are unionizing Facing waves of cuts to national park workforces and programs, federal lands workers in California voted to join a national union of government employees.

Facing waves of cuts to national park workforces and programs, federal lands workers in California voted to join a national union of government employees.

US federalization of Labor Day was intentionally designed to disconnect the day from international Labor Day (May 1st). To weaken international solidarity and US worker consciousness about transnational labor power.

Best of "The Underground" From 1993 to 1995, The Underground was a zine written by and for people who lived in motels- archaeological field technicians. The Underground functioned as a community space in a pre-internet age by providing a way for archaeological workers to widely discuss both the positive and negative aspects of the CRM industry and of the field as a whole. Its role as a trusted venue for honestly reporting personal accounts of the poor labor conditions in field archaeology makes it an invaluable archive covering a significant period in the history of unions in CRM, as well as an intimate lens into the experiences of field techs 30 years ago... Ask yourself why they sound so familiar.

Why zines? Because archaeological field techs have been using zines to discuss labor issues in cultural resource management since the 90s! 🏺

Digital image of two light blue stick figures centered on a light gray background. They are holding shovels with a speech bubble above one of them indicating they are talking to each other. White text above them reads, "it starts with a conversation" and white text below them reads, "talk to your coworkers!"

Digital image with white text written over multiple faded blue speech bubble graphics on a light gray background. Text at the top of the image is written on a blue title banner that reads, "Start A Conversation" and the white text over the speech bubbles reads, "Bosses want you to believe that talking about wages and other benefits will lead to tension, but the truth is being transparent with your coworkers builds solidarity!"

There's no such thing as a union of one, so start talking to your coworkers and build solidarity in the workplace!

Graphic with a green clip art image of two hands shaking on a light gray background with white text above it reading "Find your allies"

Graphic with white text over a light green image of 3 stick figures standing with their arms around each other. The top of the image has a dark green title banner with white text that reads, "Find your allies" The text over the image reads "if you're thinking about organizing, chances are you aren't the only one. Organizing takes work, and there is strength in numbers, so finding other ready to put in the time is key"

Once you get the conversation started, it's important to identify other people in your workplace who can commit to helping you organize! 1/3

Mutual Aid Network Launching a Mutual Aid Network for Historic Preservation and Cultural Resources Workers We're Coming Together The past year has brought seismic shifts in the historic preservation community. Across th...

Check out this new mutual aid network for people working in historic preservation and cultural resources! 🏺 We're all stronger together!

🏺🪏

A black outline map of the continental United States. The map is titled "Join a union, join the MOVEMENT" and subtitled " CRM Union Elections...so far!" 4 states are colored in, which represent the states where CRM union elections have been held. Each state is labeled with a text box with an arrow pointing to a locator pin at the city where the election was held. The text boxes read: Salt Lake City, UT March 2024 Archaeologists at SWCA Environmental Consultants vote to join Teamsters Local 222 Denver, CO July 2025 Archaeologists at SWCA Environmental Consultants vote to join Teamsters Local 455 Pittsburgh, PA* January 2025 Archaeologists at SWCA Environmental Consultants vote to join Teamsters Local 341 *Election held, ballot tally pending Frederick, MD June 2024 Archaeologists at Goodwin & Associates vote to join Teamsters Local 992

Archaeological field technicians are long overdue for a union and the time to organize is NOW! If you're a field tech in CRM and interested in organizing your workplace, let us know and we can help connect you with the resources to get started!

Screenshot of an email. Subject line reads: [ShovelBums] Archaeological Field Technician Opportunity in Ligonier, PA - The Markosky Engineering Group Inc. Email reads: June 25 To: ShovelBums@groups.io Please post: Job Description: Archaeological Tec nician - Hourly rate: $13.00-20.00 FSA Status: Non-exempt Feports to: Principal Investigator/Archaeological Coup Leader (directly to Field Cupervisor/Field Director when in the field Job Summary: Archaeological Technicians provide general archaeological support with fieldwork, lab work, inventorying, and curation. If their training allows, assist with artifact identification, or other specialization.

Screenshot of an email. Subject line reads: EXT: [ShovelBums] (Wages corrected) Archaeological Field Technician Opportunity in Ligonier, PA - The Markosky Engineering Group Email reads: to ShovelBums [Edited Message Follows] [Reason: Salary updated to $21-23/hr] Job Description: Archaeological Technician - Hourly rate: $21-23/hr

This is what companies wish they could get away with but we won't let them!!
A recent job posting on shovelbums was retracted and reposted after receiving backlash for trying to offer $13/hr for a tech position (a living wage in Pennsylvania is estimated to be $22.91/hr) 🏺

Graphic image with white text over a faded light green image of a social network graph. There is a dark green title banner at the top of the graphic with white text that reads, "Build your network." The white text over the image reads, "The more support you can build amongst your coworkers, the more successful your campaigns will be. Meet your coworkers where they are and you can learn together the ways a union can change your workplace for the better."

Start with a core group of organizers and build out from there! 3/3

Graphic with white text overlain on a faded light green image of street map in the shape of a speech bubble. There is a dark green title banner at the top of the image with white text that reads, "map your workplace." The text over the image reads, "Who talks to who? Who do people turn to for leadership? What motivates your coworkers? What do they value? Understanding your coworkers & how they interact will help you connect w them & build momentum."

Mapping your workplace is an important early step in the organizing process 2/3

Graphic with a green clip art image of two hands shaking on a light gray background with white text above it reading "Find your allies"

Graphic with white text over a light green image of 3 stick figures standing with their arms around each other. The top of the image has a dark green title banner with white text that reads, "Find your allies" The text over the image reads "if you're thinking about organizing, chances are you aren't the only one. Organizing takes work, and there is strength in numbers, so finding other ready to put in the time is key"

Once you get the conversation started, it's important to identify other people in your workplace who can commit to helping you organize! 1/3

Want more specifics? Check out this page from our zine on the basics of organizing

Digital image of two light blue stick figures centered on a light gray background. They are holding shovels with a speech bubble above one of them indicating they are talking to each other. White text above them reads, "it starts with a conversation" and white text below them reads, "talk to your coworkers!"

Digital image with white text written over multiple faded blue speech bubble graphics on a light gray background. Text at the top of the image is written on a blue title banner that reads, "Start A Conversation" and the white text over the speech bubbles reads, "Bosses want you to believe that talking about wages and other benefits will lead to tension, but the truth is being transparent with your coworkers builds solidarity!"

There's no such thing as a union of one, so start talking to your coworkers and build solidarity in the workplace!

Trump administration attacks the preservation of archaeological resources Funding and staff cuts will gut the protection of archaeological sites under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Good article laying out how the administration is stripping cultural resource protections 🧪🏺

EVERYBODY WATCH.

ICE IS OUT OF CONTROL.

Video of SEIU California’s President David Huerta getting assaulted & arrested during an ICE raid in the warehouse district of Downtown Los Angeles today.

He’s an LA native, American citizen and labor leader.

Don’t turn away.

The Underground Zine and the Labor Movement in 1990s Compliance Archaeology | Bulletin of the History of Archaeology

Want to learn more about how The Underground built class solidarity and community amongst archaeological field technicians? Check out last year's article in the Bulletin of the History of Archaeology: archaeologybulletin.org/articles/10....

You can find archived issues of The Underground, along with photos and related articles from the time, at The Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR)🏺: core.tdar.org/project/4905...

Repatriation and Ethics-Part of the Conversation Zine text: Field techs were at the forefront of some of the longest running ethical debates in archaeology. The Underground editors and readers were voicing their support for Indigenous rights decades before these positions were widely accepted. Even today, some of the ethical critiques presented in The Underground would be considered radical, especially when it came to anti-capitalist critique of the industry. Text excerpts from The Underground: "One Archaeologist on Ethics & Activism- Owing to the mix of people at the conference (collectors academics, contract folk) the consensus was pretty much repatriation is something to be dealt with unfortunately. I am constantly surprised how hostile "archaeologist" are toward the native americans they devote their lives to studying." "Development the very bread and butter of our professional existance is quickly destroying the natural environment that existed in this country for the entire history of the aboriginals we study. Native American rights are still ignored by our government and archaeologists feel that they are antagonistic toward our aims well what have you done for them lately?"

Repatriation and Ethics- Part of the Conversation

Life on the road Zine text: The Underground covered the highs and lows of the traveling field tech. Their 1993 poll found that travel was one of the most popular aspects of the job, along with working outdoors and meeting new people on the road. But let's face it, terrible motels are a universal, no matter what year it is...At least we can say that sharing rooms is mostly a thing of the past! Text excerpt from The Underground: "The Worst Hotel I Ever Stayed In (to be a regular feature) Without a doubt, the worst hotel I ever stayed in was ZOLTARS outside of Kittaning, PA. A craft show in town forced us out of our plush 1 Comfort Inn and into motel hell. When the crew motorcade arrived in the parking lot the looks on the faces of his crew left no doubt in the field director's mind that mutiny could indeed take place on land. "Isn't there any place else..." "Do you live within driving distance of your usual employer? yes-11, no-16" "Do you usually have own room? Have own room-10, share room-19 "The Worst Motel I Ever Stayed In Archaeologists who have been in the field for a while look forward to reporting to a motel with a familiar sounding name. Be at the Days Inn or the Econo-Lodge Sunday night... fine | I know what to expect. But I couldn't! help but cringe when I heard I would be staying at The Daniel Boone Motor Lodge for four weeks in Hazard, KY."

Life on the road.

"OK, So We Are Not In It For The Money, But !!??" Zine text: One of the most common complaints voiced in The Underground is the persistent devaluing of archaeological field labor. A poll circulated in the zine in 1993 found that the average respondent (primarily techs working east of the Mississippi) made only $8/hr, the equivalent of $17.67/hr in 2025. In 2022, the average tech made $20.89/hr (from CRM in the Field, Nelson 2024) 1993 median income: $31,241 ($15/hr) Tech Pay = $7 less 2022 median income: $74,580 ($36/hr) Tech Pay = $15 less Text excerpts from The Underground: (2025 Equivalent value provided in parentheses) "How much do you (tech) usually make an hour? Less than $7 (Less than $15.46) - 0 $7-$7.50 ($15.46-$16.56) - 3 $7.50-$8 ($16.56-$17.67) - 12 $8-$8.50 ($17.67-$18.77) - 9 $8.50-$9 ($18.77-$19.87) - 2 $9-$9.50 ($19.87-$20.98) - 2 $9.50-$10 ($20.98-$22.08)- 1 More than $10 (More than $22.08) - 0" "Why is the work we do so undervalued/undercompensated? It would seem that the way the profession is set up you are not expected to be able to make a living as a field archaeologist at the technician level. The way it works now field folks will work for a while and then either move up to higher paying, usually office type positions, or move on to another profession when they ge tired of living from paycheck to pay-check. We believe this is wrong." "HIP, HIP, HOORAY !! WE FINALLY SAVED ENOUGH MONEY TO JOIN THE SAA !!!"

"OK, So We Are Not In It For The Money, But !!??"

With a little help from my friends Zine text: In the absence of formal industry resources for skills development and networking, The Underground was a place for field techs to pool their knowledge and share tips and tricks with one another to improve the quality of archaeological fieldwork. The editors circulated updates about new projects, regulations, and academic research, many of which were submitted to the zine by its sprawling network of readers. Text excerpts from The Underground: "***** JOB HINTS ***** You can get a list with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the companies conducting archaeological fieldwork in a particular state by calling that state's Historic Preservation Office." "[Text under image of soil texture chart scanned from a textbook] The above graph shows how to classify soils. We use it alot and its a good idea to have it handy we suggest copying it and laminating it to the back of your field clipboard (from the USDA)" "Many people thought that I solidarity among field techs was an important issue, we I need to demand certain I standards be met before we will work for a company"

What we need is a union!

With a little help from my friends Zine text: In the absence of formal industry resources for skills development and networking, The Underground was a place for field techs to pool their knowledge and share tips and tricks with one another to improve the quality of archaeological fieldwork. The editors circulated updates about new projects, regulations, and academic research, many of which were submitted to the zine by its sprawling network of readers. Text excerpts from The Underground: "***** JOB HINTS ***** You can get a list with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the companies conducting archaeological fieldwork in a particular state by calling that state's Historic Preservation Office." "[Text under image of soil texture chart scanned from a textbook] The above graph shows how to classify soils. We use it alot and its a good idea to have it handy we suggest copying it and laminating it to the back of your field clipboard (from the USDA)" "Many people thought that I solidarity among field techs was an important issue, we I need to demand certain I standards be met before we will work for a company"

With a little help from my friends...

What makes a "professional" archaeologist? Zine text: More than one CRM manager wrote in to voice the widely held opinion that field technicians are not "professional" archaeologists. Text excerpt from The Underground: "Dear "Underground":. Quit your whining. If you want to get paid more and move into more responsible positions in cultural resource management, then go to graduate school and get the credentials required by the Federal regulations implementing the National Historic Preservation Act." Zine text: In the 1990s, federal job categories and professional organizations tried to codify the definition of an archaeologist to exclude the vast majority of the people who worked in archaeology. Text excerpts from The Underground: "*The Arch Tech" described here sounds like an archaeologist to us -The Eds" "SOPA -Or "The Society of Professional Archaeologists" is a national organization that "certifies" its mem-bers as "professional archaologists". (Try telling a field tech who has been living in the field for a few years that they are not "professional archaeologists we know better!)"

What makes a "professional" archaeologist?

Best of "The Underground" From 1993 to 1995, The Underground was a zine written by and for people who lived in motels- archaeological field technicians. The Underground functioned as a community space in a pre-internet age by providing a way for archaeological workers to widely discuss both the positive and negative aspects of the CRM industry and of the field as a whole. Its role as a trusted venue for honestly reporting personal accounts of the poor labor conditions in field archaeology makes it an invaluable archive covering a significant period in the history of unions in CRM, as well as an intimate lens into the experiences of field techs 30 years ago... Ask yourself why they sound so familiar.

Why zines? Because archaeological field techs have been using zines to discuss labor issues in cultural resource management since the 90s! 🏺