In fact, one museum guard said no overtures of any kind were made to the museum guards until four days before the election. Bylaws, dues and initiation fees were all determined by the security guards.

"Now we'll be paying dues for an organization we're not sure can represent our personal interests," said the museum attendant.

Museum attendant Shaun Bennet said initiation fees for the new union will be $30 higher than those for Local 254. Bennet and Johnson also expressed concern that security guards might want to work in the museums and take away museum guard hours.

"These people have a job that we're not trained to do, and we have a job that they're not trained to do," said Johnson.

But security guards said they were not interested in the jobs of museum workers, primarily because the attendants are not as well paid.

Despite their differences, Bennet was confident that all the guards could work together to negotiate a new contract.

"Who knows? This could be a fresh start for us all," he said.

Jal D. Mehta contributed to the reporting of this story.