Arts & Labor stands in solidarity with B &H Warehouse workers! photo by @rrraquiii / Instagram

Arts & Labor stands in solidarity with the warehouse workers at B&H!
Read more about warehouse workers fight for a union at B&H on Hyperallergic:

On Eve of Union Vote, Hundreds of Arts Professionals Sign Open Letter Supporting B&H Photo Workers by Claire Voon 11/3/15

In Landslide Vote, B&H Photo Workers Decide to Unionize by Claire Voon 11/4/15.

Art Worker Formations: Unions, Guilds, & Cooperatives Summer

Session #2: Sunday, July 20th, 2014
5:00-7:00pm – Washington Square Park, at West 4th St. and Washington Square East (find us on the grass southeast of the fountain) *Rain location at Think Coffee, 248 Mercer St.

In this second session of Alternative Economie’s (a working group of Arts & Labor) summer series, we will discuss the history of Art Worker Formations (Unions, Guilds & Cooperatives), discuss labor in the culture industry – including past and present collectivization, and consider the common needs of an art worker in the United States and the viability of forming a union to address those needs.

More info + Readings…

DEMAND THAT THE FRIEZE NY ART FAIR GIVE 1% OF ITS REVENUE BACK TO ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS IN EAST HARLEM & THE SOUTH BRONX

Frieze NY is a multi-million dollar annual art fair that takes place on Randall’s Island.

• Arts & Labor, an activist group that fights against economic inequality in the arts, has developed a community benefit agreement that demands Frieze NY give 1% of its revenue to artists & arts organizations in East Harlem and the South Bronx.

• Frieze’s stay on Randall’s Island will facilitate the exchange of millions of dollars in sales of contemporary art. We believe that Frieze has a responsibility to give back to the neighborhoods surrounding Randall’s Island to redress Frieze’s preclusion of recreational and other public uses on this land during its stay.

• On May 13, the Economic Development, Culture & Tourism Committee passed a resolution supporting the demand, providing that neighborhood representatives would take part in the distribution process for the money.

• On June 17, the full board will vote on whether to also support this resolution.

PACK THE CB11 MTG ON JUNE 17th TO SUPPORT THIS 1% COMMUNITY BENEFIT!

FRIEZE NEW YORK…

• Brings in $8 million in revenue from gallery booth rentals alone.
• Pays less than $1/sq foot on public park land on which it mounts its massive tent.

EAST HARLEM & SOUTH BRONX…

• Have a median household income that is between $20,000 to $30,000 respectively, one-third of the cost of a booth rented by a blue chip gallery.
• Have long been fighting against privatization and to keep Randall’s Island accessible to its local residents.

FRIEZE SHOULD GIVE BACK

• What if Frieze New York gave back to the neighborhoods that surround Randall’s Island in return for its takeover of public land?
• What if Frieze New York redistributed the massive accumulation of wealth it participates in each year during the fair?
• What if 1% of the estimated $8 million fair revenue were granted to artists and arts organizations in East Harlem and South Bronx?

Arts & Labor has put together this timeline to help the public understand the series of direct actions and political events that led to Frieze New York going Union. This victory was the result of actions carried out by a broad solidarity network over time.

Mid April 2012: District Council of Carpenters set up first picket line at Frieze New York sponsor Deutsche Bank at headquarters on 60 Wall Street.
May 4-7, 2012: Unions including District Council of Carpenters and Teamsters Joint Council 16 put up picket line at Frieze New York.
May 8, 2012: Occupy Museums erects Freedom Cage at Frieze, part of the 2nd Free Art for Fair Exchange.
Mid April 2013: Unions put up second picket line at Frieze New York sponsor Deutsche Bank headquarters on 60 Wall Street.

April 17, 2013: Arts & Labor issues a statement of support to Teamsters Joint Council 16, IATSE Local 829, IATSE Local 1 and District Council 9 of Painters to demand that Frieze hire union and local labor.
April 17, 2013: Unions deliver a press conference on the steps of the City Hall.
April 18, 2013: Paper Monument withdrew participation from Frieze New York in protest of Frieze’s New York’s labor practice.
May 1, 2013: As part of the May Day city-wide demonstration, Arts & Labor along with members 99 Pickets and Rude Mechanical Orchestra visit the Frieze office to demand that the art fair negotiate with the unions.
May 2, 2013: City Council holds a hearing about Frieze Art Fair. Unions, community groups, and a Arts & Labor member give testimony.
May 5, 2013: Arts & Labor renames Frieze New York Art Fair, Frieze New York RAT FAIR.
May 6, 2013: Arts & Labor issued a letter to participating artists, galleries and attendees, along with panelists speaking at Frieze New York programs. A handful of members from the arts community contact the Frieze organizers in support of union demands.
May 8, 9, 10 2013: Union Coalition sets up picket line once again. Politicians including John Lui, Melissa Mark Viverito and Scott Stringer attend rally.
May 9, 2013: Andrea Bowers posts a letter criticizing Frieze’s labor practices next to her work in Susanne Vielmetter and Kaufman Repetto’s booths. That night, the letter is removed without the artists consent.
May 10, 2013: Andrea Bowers letter is re-posted.
May 10, 2013: Suzanne Lacy and Nato Thompson give Teamsters and Arts & Labor 10 minutes during their panel to read a statement. Despite an initial agreement, Teamsters are not allowed to speak last minute, forcing Arts & Labor to deliver both statements.
May 11, 2013: Arts & Labor and members of 99 Pickets carries out a series of direct actions inside the fair to inform the public and participating galleries about Frieze’s labor practices. Tactics include leafleting, mic checks, air horns, rat masks, and t-shirts.
September 2013: Arts & Labor begins outreach to arts & community groups surrounding Randall’s Island.
October 3, 2013: Parks hearing convened by Melissa Mark Viverito with emphasis on Frieze. Viverito represents District 8 which is home to Randall’s Island. Teamsters and Carpenter unions testify.
November 5, 2013: Bill De Blasio elected Mayor

January, 2014: Melissa Mark Viverito named Speaker of City Council.
January, 2014: Teamsters reach out to Randall’s Island Park Alliance to inquire the status of Community Board involvement and timing of permits. Frieze hires Capalino & Company to represent them in discussion with Unions.
February 3, 2014: Artists spark a twitter storm around #strikefriezeny
February 28, 2014: Frieze New York and union negotiations become public. Arts & Labor further raises awareness through social media.
March 7, 2014: Arts & Labor meets with Frieze.
March 2014: Unions and Frieze continue to negotiate a contract.
April 9, 2014: Frieze New York announces it will hire union for the construction of the 250,000 square foot tent starting 2015.

Will Frieze Do the Right Thing? 

Last year, Arts & Labor launched a campaign in solidarity with Teamsters Joint Council 16, IATSE Local 829, IATSE Local 1 and District Council 9 of Painters to demand that Frieze hire union and local labor in the construction of its tent. We continue to organize as a coalition around these demands.

In 2014, Arts & Labor will continue to advocate for union jobs and against exploitative conditions for all art workers at the fair. Arts & Labor also demands that Frieze NY, a multimillion dollar operation held in a public park, support the surrounding neighborhood-based arts communities.

SOME FACTS ABOUT FRIEZE & RANDALL’S ISLAND
• Last year Frieze hired the company Production Glue to construct its massive tent. Production Glue refused to hire local and union, and instead brought in workers from as far away as Wisconsin, paying them a fraction of the wages that NYC workers receive.
• Frieze takes place on public park land and pays less than $1/square foot (this may be the cheapest rent in all of NYC)
• Frieze is inaccessible for many New Yorkers with its ticket prices of $44/person.
• Randall’s Island is managed by a public-private partnership called the “Randall’s Island Park Alliance” (RIPA)
• There is a longstanding fight against privatization and to keep Randall’s Island accessible to the surrounding neighborhoods of East Harlem and the South Bronx. There is a comprehensive of this history on East Harlem Preservation’s website.

Arts & Labor 2013 Actions
April 17, 2013: Arts & Labor issues a statement of support to Teamsters Joint Council 16, IATSE Local 829, IATSE Local 1 and District Council 9 of Painters to demand that Frieze hire union and local labor.
May 1, 2013: Arts & Labor storms the Frieze office on Mayday with a marching band demanding that Frieze negotiate with the unions (unfortunately due to the high-stress nature of this action there was no documentation!)
May 2, 2013: Arts & Labor participates in a public hearing about the Frieze Art Fair in front of city council.
May 5, 2013: Arts & Labor renames Frieze NY, Frieze NY RAT FAIR
May 6, 2013: Arts & Labor issues a letter to panelists speaking at the Frieze NY Art Fair and to participating artists, galleries and attendees. A number of participating artists and members of the public contacted the Frieze organizers to demand fair pay and union jobs at the event.
May 10, 2013: Arts & Labor & The Teamsters speak on Suzanne Lacy and Nato Thompson panel. The Teamsters are not allowed to speak at the last minute, and Arts & Labor reads statement for them (view raw footage here and skip to 15:40).
May 11, 2013: Arts & Labor does a series of direct actions inside the fair that include rat masks, flyers, air horns and mic checks  to inform the public and participating galleries about conditions at the fair. (photos below)

Check out the post on the Intern Labor Rights site!

• Letter to panelists
• Letter to artists, gallerists, fair workers, and attendees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2013   

LABOR LEADERS TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ON FRIEZE NEW YORK ART FAIR AND CALL UPON ELECTED OFFICIALS TO CHANGE PARKS PERMITTING

Elected officials will join members of Teamsters Joint Council 16, IATSE Local 829, IATSE Local 1 and District Council 9 of Painters, at a press conference on the steps of City Hall Wednesday at 1:00 PM to confront the organizers of the Frieze New York Art show and their local events coordinator, Production Glue, LLC on their continuing discrimination against hiring New York City’s union workers.

Labor leaders contend that Frieze NY and Production Glue refuse to hire professional exhibition workers and hire workers from as far away as Wisconsin to avoid paying a fair wage. Art world enthusiasts speculate that London based Frieze will become a permanent yearly fixture at Randall’s Island. Production Glue also ran the event in 2012 and refused to employ union workers to construct the fairgrounds and facilitate the event.

These unions will demand that Frieze Art Fair end its practice of freezing out New York workers, and engage good, local, union employers effective immediately. They will also call upon the New York City Parks Department to pursue a new permitting process that evaluates labor standards for these major private events that make major profits while displacing families from enjoying local parks.

Frieze New York, which will run on Randall’s Island May 10-13, 2013, is an international contemporary art fair and will feature works from more than 1,000 artists from around the world.

On Wednesday, April 17, 2013, Teamsters Joint Council 16 President George Miranda, NYC Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez, Councilmember Jessica Lappin, Exhibition Employees Union Local 829 President Kenny Kerrigan, IATSE and members of several local unions will speak out on this lack of support and call for Frieze New York’s sponsors to acknowledge the rights of New York City’s union workers.

When:            Wednesday, April 17, 2013 1:00 P.M.
Where:           Steps of City Hall, City Hall Park Broadway, New York, NY 10007
Who:              Labor Leaders and Elected Officials