Organizing Power

2019–ongoing

Developed during my YBCA Political Power Fellowship in 2018–2019, Organizing Power grew out of my experience on SFMOMA's union bargaining team, where I became a trusted source for workers at other museums navigating their own labor conditions—and where it became clear they needed a guide of their own. The project launched at YBCA's Public Square in June 2019 with a series of talks, an artwork display, and a booklet aimed at helping arts workers unionize.

Since then, the project has helped art workers form unions and negotiate contracts at over 30 museums nationwide, including MOCA LA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Walker Art Center. The project has been supported with funding from YBCA, Southern Exposure’s Alternative Exposure Grant Program and the Andy Warhol Foundation. 2,000 booklets across two volumes have been freely distributed to workers worldwide. Organizing Power has also brought together worker-organizers through talks at the Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco Art Book Fairs, and has been covered by Hyperallergic, Fast Company, and the Art and Labor podcast.

Learn more about the project and explore resources at OrganizingPower.org.

Organizing Power Volume 1 covers the basics of starting a union. 3,000 copies have been printed over four printings. Over 1,000 copies have been given away for free to workers worldwide.

Organizing Power Volume 2 guides workers through the contract negotiation journey. 1,500 copies have been printed over two printings. 800 copies have been given away for free to workers worldwide.

The project received funding from Southern Exposure’s Alternative Exposure Grant Program and the Andy Warhol Foundation.

How Can You Unionize Your Workplace? talk at YBCA’s Public Square on June 1, 2019 featuring Matt Kennedy (former CCA organizing committee, SEIU Local 1021 organizer) and Nat Naylor (OPEIU Local 29 organizer, SFMOMA union rep). Photo by Minoosh Zomorodinia.

Artwork from the 2019 Oakland teachers’ strike flanked the room.

Risograph prints spelling out “ORGANIZE” were displayed in the windows facing YBCA's public space, Yerba Buena Gardens, and Mission Street.

Organizing Power Volume 1 booklet

Organizing Power Volume 2 booklet

Panel with worker-organizers at the Los Angeles Art Book Fair 2023