Solidarity pledge:
Our strength as a union is founded on our solidarity. We agree that an injury to one is an injury to all. As a community, we commit to being an anti-racist union, and we believe in liberation and solidarity for all. Therefore, racism, white supremacy, colorism, sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, queerphobia, transphobia, classism, ableism, casteism, faith-based discrimination, and any other identity-oriented or group-differentiated discrimination that enables systemic marginalization of any demographic group are not welcome in our union. We agree to be accountable for our decisions, our behavior, and our mistakes, because how we move impacts the safety and capacity of everyone in our community. We agree that we all experience harm and are all capable of causing harm, and we all have the potential to learn, grow, and heal. We acknowledge that we are showing up to this space from various backgrounds and different job categories with varying levels of privilege. Yet we are united in the goal of a just, equitable, and democratic academic union. This involves collaboration between all members, whether elected union official or rank and file; every member has the right to organize and participate in bringing about this just, equitable, and democratic union.
To meet the terms above, we pledge to:
- Celebrate and acknowledge our comrades’ contributions, knowledge, skills, and experiences.
- Be direct in communicating. We talk to, not about, each other, and we do not engage in targeted personal attacks.
- Assume good intentions of our comrades, but communicate the effects of behavior or actions, and be open to feedback.
- Be accountable to our comrades: Take responsibility for our own actions and how they impact our comrades’ safety and capacity.
- Turn conflict and disagreement into opportunities for learning, growth, and strengthening our solidarity, by showing curiosity and generosity to our comrades. Pointing out members’ privileges in terms of job category, race (whiteness), gender, citizenship, sexuality, etc. should not be interpreted as a personal attack, but instead understood as a first step toward learning and growth.
- Speak up if our comrades need our support, and engage in conflict resolution strategies in good faith.
- Engage in good faith mediation principles, and, where applicable, practice restorative justice principles to repair harm to comrades and relationships to maintain solidarity.
- Respect our own time and our comrades’ time by being present in meetings and at union events.
- Be conscious of the inequality of power and hierarchy that exist within and between job categories, as well as between individuals elected to union positions and rank-and-file members, and resist its potential to undermine solidarity and the goal of a just, equitable, and democratic union for all.
- Uphold these principles in all union spaces and among all union members, union staff, Rutgers students, or broader coalition or community members.
- Encourage participation from all our comrades, and seek out perspectives from all members in decision-making, planning, and strategy.
- Encourage members to become aware of and abide by these guidelines and those outlined in the code of conduct.
We also pledge to abide by digital communication guidelines as follows:
- We agree to practice the same standards of communicating with accountability, good faith, and intentionality, as outlined above, in all digital spaces and communications.
- We agree to engage in email threads and other forums thoughtfully, and only send what information is necessary in listserves and other group settings.
- We agree to conduct extensive debate or discussion over an issue in person as much as possible, and not in digital group settings such as a listserv.
- We agree to protect the privacy and safety of our union comrades in digital spaces.