Membership

Points of Unity

• The Arts Union represents all workers in the arts, whether making art or installing it, curating art or protecting it, writing about art or maintaining the spaces in which it is shown. Our labor may be self-employed, salaried, contracted, or temporary. Despite different roles, income levels, and degrees of visibility, we organize to improve each other’s daily lives.
• Everyone has the right to a living wage and safe working conditions, including the right to work free from harassment based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, or age. We reject the notion that exposure, opportunity, or experience are acceptable substitutes for fair financial compensation and equitable treatment.
• We demand the decentering of whiteness and, ultimately, the abolition of white supremacy. We acknowledge the fundamental violence of white supremacy in shaping property relations and commit to dismantling whiteness as it manifests in the arts and in the world. We recognize that no organizing effort can succeed in creating real justice without directly combatting the ways in which racism and anti-Blackness continue to structure every aspect of our social, political, and economic relations. We reject whiteness as a scientific category or legitimate ethnic group, and we understand whiteness as a relatively recent historical invention and tool of oppression.
• Art is a symbolic representation and is not a substitute for material change. A “political” artist is one who engages in active solidarity with other arts workers, activists, communities, and labor organizations.
• Our work begins where we are, in the deeply compromised and instrumentalized realm of art and culture, a microcosm of the white patriarchal capitalist system in which we live. But complicity is not an excuse for inaction. We are organizing to improve our working conditions within the industry as it currently exists, while simultaneously fighting to abolish and remake it anew. 
• We advocate for robust public funding for the arts, including community-led spaces and arts education programs, and the removal of economic barriers such as higher-education tuition and museum-admission fees.  
• We are organizing to support cooperative labor, solidarity economies, and mutual aid in place of extractive capitalism and donor-class philanthropic structures, which are built on violence and expropriation. These forms encourage artwashing, reputation laundering, financial exploitation, and harmful speculation. We challenge the hegemonic control of culture by the ruling class.
• We are fighting against all intersected forms of oppression: settler colonialism, whiteness, capitalism, patriarchy, cis-heteronormativity, sexism, ableism, ageism, xenophobia, neurotypicality, and environmental racism. We believe that land restitution, reparations for the descendants of slavery and the abolition of capitalism are imperative to our collective survival. We see the art world as a site of opportunity to enact many of these revolutionary initiatives now.
• The Arts Union works to support labor organizing in all industries. Our collective struggles are intertwined, and we act in solidarity with like-minded groups around the world. 

FAQ

The goal of this FAQ is to help clarify the status of, and introduce potential members to, the group’s ongoing work. The document will be edited to reflect our conversations.

Bylaws of The Arts Union

ARTICLE I: NAME AND LOCATION

• Section 1. Name.
  Until a name is ratified by the membership, the organization will be referred to as “The Arts Union.”
• Section 2. Location.
  The Arts Union was formed in the United States.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE

• Section 1. Purpose.
  The Arts Union is a democratically controlled membership organization seeking to build power, solidarity, and organize workers within the global art industry. The Arts Union is committed to working against the forces of settler colonialism, anti-blackness, and white supremacy—in and outside of the arts industry.
• Section 2. Points of Unity.
  The Arts Union has outlined several Points of Unity that can be found in the living “Points of Unity” document. These key points are essential to the founding, purpose, and mission of The Arts Union.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

• Section 1. Eligibility.
  Membership is open to all artists and arts workers regardless of location who determine that they have a shared interest in the purpose of The Arts Union and agree to our Points of Unity. Exceptions to our open membership policy may be made on a case-by-case basis by The Arts Union with a discussion and vote (two-third majority) in any meeting. Membership eligibility is envisioned to exceed the limitations normally imposed on traditional labor organizing.
• Section 2. Becoming a Member.
  Any eligible person can become a member of The Arts Union upon attending one meeting and submitting the membership intake form to The Arts Union. Prospective members must attend one on-boarding meeting, then subsequently maintain good standing. Membership intake and public listing in the Union will occur after every general meeting. The Organizing Committee is responsible for facilitating the membership process and maintaining records.
• Section 3. Defining Membership.
  1. Members in good standing have the right to submit proposals for discussion and ratification in any membership meeting. See Article V Section 3.
  2. Members in good standing have the right to vote in any election that occurs in any meeting at which they are in virtual or physical attendance.
  3. All members are eligible to join any committee, subject to the limitations determined by the committee in question.
  4. Members can form any working group or subcommittee that they want to organize, see Article IV Section 3.
  5. Members who uphold the aforementioned Community Agreements and the member duties shall be considered in good standing.
• Section 4. Member Duties.
  1. Members are required to attend at least four Meetings per year. At least two must be Regular Meetings.
  2. The names of all members are publicly documented.
  3. Members must participate in good faith in community accountability.
  4. All members must pay membership dues to The Arts Union, if applicable, and when The Arts Union determines to levy them.
• Section 5. Community Agreement.
  All members are expected to adhere to standards of behavior outlined in the document called Community Agreement.
• Section 6. Termination.
  1. Members can voluntarily terminate their membership at any time by informing The Arts Union in writing.
  2. Inactivity (not attending meetings) for a year may result in involuntary termination from membership. Members will be notified to the best ability of the Union prior to removal.
  3. Failure to pay dues may result in involuntary termination, members will be notified to the best ability of the Union prior to their removal.
  4. Involuntary termination of any member for any other reason than inactivity must pass a super majority vote.

ARTICLE IV: OFFICER COMMITTEES

• Section 1. Organizing Committee.
  1. The Organizing Committee, herein referred to as the “OC,” is responsible for maintaining the meetings calendar, creating and distributing agendas, and bottom-lining and facilitating Regular Meetings, in addition to all other duties outlined and mentioned in the bylaws.
  2. The OC is committed to progressively representing a necessary breadth of perspectives and experiences in its membership.
  3. The OC is responsible for processing membership, and the subsequent on-boarding meeting required by Becoming A Member guidelines outlined in Article III
  4. Section 2.
     1. The OC is currently responsible for assigning and filling roles to perform all of its necessary administrative and organizational functions of The Arts Union.
     2. The OC is responsible for processing members dues.
     3. The OC is a volunteer-led formation that any Member can join. Any restrictions for a Member to join the OC must be brought to and approved by membership with a Super Majority vote.
• Section 2. Forming Sub-Committees.
  Members in good standing are invited to form sub-committees by using the following process. Once formed, it will be expected that committees keep minutes, publicize meetings, and report-back to general membership.
  1. Sub-Committees are self-selective and based on the interests of members of good standing. It is up to the members forming the sub committee to determine the scope, purpose, and goals of the sub-committee.
  2. Sub-Committees can be formed and dissolved at will and as needed by any three members.
  3. Membership has the ability to impose elected positions, term-limits, etc., on committees.
  4. Sub-Committees are subject to approval by a simple majority vote in a Regular Meeting.

ARTICLE V: MEETINGS

• Section 1. Regular Meetings.
  All Regular Meetings follow standards set in the Community Agreements.
  1. The OC programs Regular Meetings every other week. The OC determines the best date and time by polling members. The OC ensures that Regular meetings will be facilitated.
  2. The OC drafts and distributes the agendas at least one day before Regular Meetings.
  3. Any Member can submit agenda items by sending them to the OC at least one day in advance of the meeting.
  4. The purpose of Regular Meetings is to facilitate ongoing conversations, hold proposal ratifications, and facilitate special presentations and activities.
  5. The OC records notes and makes them available to all members. One audio recording is taken and archived for internal purposes only.
  6. Any member can propose changes to the protocol, format and documentation of a meeting through a proposal to the facilitator prior to the meeting.
• Section 2. Organizing Committee Meetings.
  1. The OC holds separate organizing meetings on an ad-hoc and as needed basis.
  2. These meetings are open to all members, all members have access to the calendar for said organizer meetings.
• Section 3. Voting (or Decision-Making procedures for General Meetings).
  1. Membership voting is the primary decision-making tool of The Arts Union.
     1. Determining vote type:
        1. Check bylaws to see if proposal falls into specific voting categories mentioned;
        2. Proposal contains specific vote types;
     2. Otherwise all votes are a regular simple majority.
  2. All members in good standing with the organization can vote. The majority requirements of each vote are specified in the bylaws regarding the topic of the vote, otherwise the majority requirements are determined by the member raising the issue to be voted on — another member can require a simple majority vote to approve the proposed requirements.
     1. Members that identify as black or indigenous can cast two votes whenever they choose.
  3. Any member can propose a vote, which will be facilitated by the OC. Members who wish to call a vote on a specific proposal must email an OC member directly at least three days before the meeting intended for the vote to take place.
     1. The proposal should include whether it is a Union-wide vote or a meeting vote. This requires consensus from the organizing committee to proceed, and if there is no consensus it will be put to a simple majority meeting vote to determine vote type.
     2. Proposals should be submitted in writing, between 100 and 200 words.
  4. A meeting must have a minimum of 15 members present to vote.
  5. For issues that arise during a meeting that require an immediate vote, any member can call for such a vote and needs both a second from an additional member and approval from the meetings facilitator.
  6. To vote, a member must be present in the meeting that the vote takes place.
     1. Any one or more members may participate in general meetings by means of a conference telephone, video chat, or similar communications equipment as long as all persons participating in the meeting can communicate with each other at the same time. Such participation shall be considered attendance at the meeting for all purposes, including determination of a quorum.
     2. Vote types that require Union-wide membership are the exceptions to this rule and may be conducted remotely outside of meetings.
  7. Voting mechanisms are typically not anonymous, however if any member or group of members prefers that votes be cast anonymously they can include this request with their proposal to the OC.
  8. The results of a vote take immediate effect, unless otherwise specified.

ARTICLE VI: AMENDMENTS

• Section 1. Amending Documents.
  Any document can be amended by a membership vote that reaches 75% approval. The OC is responsible for archiving old versions of all documents, as well as managing the meeting notes. It is wholly expected that this living document will be amended to accommodate the growth of the Union and its goals and functions. To levy member dues, the Bylaws will need to be amended to accommodate spending and fiscal procedures.

ARTICLE VII: TERM

• Section 1. Ratifying aforementioned Bylaws.
  The Bylaws will take effect on January 19, 2021 and remain in effect until amended. The Bylaws will be approved once confirmed unanimously be all provisional members by an electronic vote. The bylaws will be reviewed every 3 years, after a 6-month “open revision” period, and will only be ratified after a two-thirds majority membership vote. Amendments can be proposed to the bylaws by membership at any time.
• Section 2. Advisory Committee.
  The Advisory Committee, herein referred to as the “AC,” is a temporary group of provisional arts Union members responsible for discussing, editing, and ultimately ratifying the Bylaws. The AC dissolves when the bylaws are ratified on January 19, 2021. 5