Chris Beck, a member of IAM Architecture Workers United (AWU) and former employee at Bernheimer Architecture, has released his first book titled The Labor of Architecture: Creativity, Design, and the Possibility of a New Class Consciousness. Published by Monthly Review Press, the book examines how unionization efforts in the architecture field could reshape the profession by connecting creativity, labor, and class identity.
Beck played a key role in organizing Bernheimer Architecture to become the first private-sector architecture firm to unionize in over a century. Reflecting on this experience’s impact on his writing process, Beck stated: “A lot of it came out of the work with the IAM and organizing Bernheimer. Part of the book recounts that story—how we started organizing, what we achieved in our collective bargaining agreement—but it also asks a bigger question: What took so long for architecture to get here? We have unionized teachers, nurses, engineers—so why not architects?”
In developing his ideas for the book, Beck drew from courses he took while teaching at The New School’s Parsons School of Design. These classes covered philosophy, history, and economics and allowed him to relate architectural work to larger social and labor issues.
“Architecture isn’t very good at thinking about labor and economics,” said Beck. “Taking those classes gave me a better way to talk about the relationship between creativity, class, and inequality and how we can build a more conscious and collective future for designers and architects.”
The Labor of Architecture addresses common misconceptions about financial privilege within architecture. Instead of viewing architects as part of an elite group, Beck places them within the broader working class who often face long hours with modest pay.
“It’s not uncommon to graduate with a master’s degree and make $60,000 a year while working 50 or 60 hours a week,” Beck said. “There’s this idea of status and privilege that keeps people going—but that same mindset makes it harder to recognize that we’re workers, too.”
Beck remains active with Architecture Workers United by consulting with IAM Union organizers as they seek to bring more firms into the movement nationwide. He underscores education as essential for empowering workers—a theme he hopes readers will take from his book.
“Worker education is really where I want to focus,” Beck said. “I had the privilege to study and write about this, but most people don’t get that opportunity. We need more spaces for working people to step back, reflect, and connect what they do every day to the bigger picture.”
The Labor of Architecture is now available through Monthly Review Press as well as independent bookstores. On November 6th in Baltimore at Red Emma’s Bookstore, Beck will discuss his work alongside unionized artists from Maryland Institute College of Art.
