Organizing Power Volume 1
2019 · Risograph, saddle-stitched, 20 pages
Covers the basics of starting a union, from early conversations with trusted coworkers through building a campaign and winning an election. It addresses common employer push-back and what organizing looks like in practice, built from worker experiences across cultural institutions.
From the introduction:
Organizing Power Volume 1 was conceived during Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ 2018-2019 Fellows program in San Francisco. We were asked, “How might we reimagine our political power?” I thought to reassess current approaches to promoting unionization. My goal was to update the aesthetics of unionizing for an art audience and make the information compact and accessible.
Over the past six years, 2,000 copies of Organizing Power Volume 1 have been distributed across the world. Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, now unionized with AFSCME District Council 47, used the booklet in their early stages of organizing:
It was a core part of our union introduction. We would bring a copy to early meetings as a resource, and I think the format resonated with so many colleagues. Organizing Power spoke our language!
Seattle Art Museum security guards used it in their initial unionization campaign as well:
The booklets really helped communicate complicated ideas to our bargaining unit. We're an independent union so this is particularly important in our case.
Published by Current Edtions -> Available
Learn more about the project and explore resources at OrganizingPower.org
Organizing Power Volume 1
By Jessalyn Aaland, Ana Fox-Hodess and Nat Naylor
Illustrations by Tanna Tucker
Graphic design by Paul Morgan
Contributions from Piper Alldredge, Amber Bales, Richard Cheung, Clyde Lanier, and Stella Lochman.
Risograph, saddle-stitched
5.2 × 7.8 inches, 20 pages
First edition, 2019, 500 copies
Second edition, first printing, 2021, 500 copies
Second edition, second printing, 2023, 1000 copies
Second edition, third printing, 2025, 825 copies
Published by Current Editions
Collections: American University, Bender Library, Washington, DC, George Mason University, Fenwick Library, Fairfax, VA, University of Michigan, Hatcher Graduate Library, Ann Arbor, MI, Reed College, Hauser Library, Portland, OR, The Claremont Colleges, Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont, CA, Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA, Michigan State University, MSU Libraries, East Lansing, MI, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR, University of Pennsylvania, Penn Libraries, Philadelphia, PA, Tufts University, Tisch Library, Medford, MA, University of California, University Library, Santa Cruz, CA, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Wilson Library, Minneapolis, MN, Western Washington University, Wilson Library, Bellingham, WA
Organizing Power Volume 1
2019 · Risograph, saddle-stitched, 20 pages
Covers the basics of starting a union, from early conversations with trusted coworkers through building a campaign and winning an election. It addresses common employer push-back and what organizing looks like in practice, built from worker experiences across cultural institutions.
From the introduction:
Organizing Power Volume 1 was conceived during Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ 2018-2019 Fellows program in San Francisco. We were asked, “How might we reimagine our political power?” I thought to reassess current approaches to promoting unionization. My goal was to update the aesthetics of unionizing for an art audience and make the information compact and accessible.
Over the past six years, 2,000 copies of Organizing Power Volume 1 have been distributed across the world. Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, now unionized with AFSCME District Council 47, used the booklet in their early stages of organizing:
It was a core part of our union introduction. We would bring a copy to early meetings as a resource, and I think the format resonated with so many colleagues. Organizing Power spoke our language!
Seattle Art Museum security guards used it in their initial unionization campaign as well:
The booklets really helped communicate complicated ideas to our bargaining unit. We're an independent union so this is particularly important in our case.
Published by Current Edtions -> Available
Learn more about the project and explore resources at OrganizingPower.org
Organizing Power Volume 1
By Jessalyn Aaland, Ana Fox-Hodess and Nat Naylor
Illustrations by Tanna Tucker
Graphic design by Paul Morgan
Contributions from Piper Alldredge, Amber Bales, Richard Cheung, Clyde Lanier, and Stella Lochman.
Risograph, saddle-stitched
5.2 × 7.8 inches, 20 pages
First edition, 2019, 500 copies
Second edition, first printing, 2021, 500 copies
Second edition, second printing, 2023, 1000 copies
Second edition, third printing, 2025, 825 copies
Published by Current Editions
Collections: American University, Bender Library, Washington, DC, George Mason University, Fenwick Library, Fairfax, VA, University of Michigan, Hatcher Graduate Library, Ann Arbor, MI, Reed College, Hauser Library, Portland, OR, The Claremont Colleges, Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont, CA, Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA, Michigan State University, MSU Libraries, East Lansing, MI, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR, University of Pennsylvania, Penn Libraries, Philadelphia, PA, Tufts University, Tisch Library, Medford, MA, University of California, University Library, Santa Cruz, CA, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Wilson Library, Minneapolis, MN, Western Washington University, Wilson Library, Bellingham, WA
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