Ever since President Trump took over the Kennedy Center, the arts institution has been overhauled, cancelling shows and letting go of nearly 40 employees. Now the remaining staff members of the Washington, D.C. arts organization, which number more than 90, have announced that they have formed a union, known as the .
The move to unionize comes with the support of The International Union, United Automobile, and Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW).
In a statement, the Kennedy Center UAW said: 鈥淲e demand transparent and consistent terms for hiring and firing, a return to ethical norms, freedom from partisan interference in programming, free speech protections, and the right to negotiate the terms of our employment. Union organizing is an unparalleled method of gaining power in the workplace and advancing our shared goals鈥攊ncluding preservation of our world class artistic programming and industry leading workforce. Forming as Kennedy Center United Arts Workers will position us firmly inside a powerful local鈥攁nd national鈥攏etwork of unionized workers fighting for workplace rights and fair treatment.鈥�
UAW also said that since Trump's takeover, which saw the firing of numerous board members and the appointing of his loyalists to head the institution, the Kennedy Center has lost its bipartisan structure. Previously, both Republicans and Democrats made up the center's leadership. UAW also said that staff members have been "threatened with censorship...We no longer believe our institution trusts us and we no longer trust our institution."
Since Trump had taken over the Kennedy Center, the institution has cancelled numerous shows, including a number of Pride events and a children's musical called Finn, that featured themes which could be interpreted as queer. The Kennedy Center run of Broadway's Eureka Day, currently a 2025 Tony nominee for Best Revival of a Play, was also cancelled. The Jonathan Spector-penned work is about the anti-vax movement and its effect on discourse.
This change of leadership has garnered numerous responses in the artistic community. The Hamilton tour stop was cancelled by the production, while a number of actors are refusing to perform during the June 11 performance of Les Mis茅rables, where Trump will be in attendance. In response, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, who was appointed by Trump, said those performers should be blacklisted: "We think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn鈥檛 hire."
The venue's new leadership has not been forthcoming with its exact programming guidelines, though Trump has written in social media posts that he wanted to rid the venue of "drag shows鈥� and "woke" programming, without defining that word or specifying what previous Kennedy Center presentations he found objectionable.
In addition to programming changes, Trump is also focused on the building itself. He recently asked Congress to allocate $257 million to the Kennedy Center for capital repairs and other expenses, an interesting choice after all but eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts whose work of providing grants to arts organization nationwide was budgeted at $207 million. Trump has repeatedly and publicly complained about the building's current condition. The center typically receives $43 million. Congress still needs to vote on that proposal.
Trump's focus on the Kennedy Center, as well as his administration's move to cut staff and funding at the National Endowment for the Arts, shows an intention to influence the arts nationally.
