Whereas, among the purposes for which United All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) exists are: to educate members through the sharing of knowledge and experiences among workers, to foster class consciousness, and to advance a perspective premised on recognition of the fundamental antagonism between the interests of the capitalist class and those of the working class and of the need for workers themselves ultimately to control production (i.e. a “class struggle perspective”);
Whereas, one effective means of accomplishing these aims is to issue a publication the content of which will be written by workers, for workers, and will propagate a class struggle perspective;
Therefore, be it resolved that the membership of UAWD shall adopt the following proposal for a UAWD publication, which, if the proposal is adopted, will also serve as the publication’s charter;
Be it further resolved that, once constituted, the Editorial Board is encouraged to develop between two and three months’ worth of content before launching the publication and should report back on progress to the membership regularly;
Be it further resolved that, if a Special Membership Meeting is convened before the next General Membership Meeting, resolutions relating to the publication or its content, including the consideration of Membership-approved Positions, will be considered eligible business.
UAWD Publication Charter
I. Objectives
A. The purpose of this publication will be:
i. To raise awareness of the necessity for class struggle and its impact on workers;
ii. To provide UAW members with political education about class struggle unionism and the principles contained in the UAWD Member Platform;
iii. To foster solidarity among UAW members;
iv. To promote a member-led, transparent, democratic, and militant union culture.
B. The publication will aim to reach rank-and-file UAW members across all job classifications and sectors.
II. Editorial Board
A. Responsibilities and Expectations
i. The Editorial Board (EB) will be responsible for overseeing the publication, reviewing submissions and determining whether they are appropriate for the publication, soliciting contributions, editing pieces for publication, and ensuring that new content is regularly published.
ii. The EB will also be responsible for ensuring that published contributions (a) use plain language and relatable analogies, making complex ideas accessible and (b) center the voices of union members, foregrounding workers’ experiences on the shop floor.
iii. Members of the EB are expected to meet the same attendance criteria found in Article VI, Section 7 of the UAWD Bylaws, and shall attend two (2) of every three (3) EB meetings unless properly excused by the EB Co-Chairs.
iv. Each EB member is expected to take on the role of either lead author or editor of at least one piece for publication per month. This may include written or graphical pieces.
v. The EB Co-Chairs shall be responsible for convening EB meetings, communicating with the UAWD Steering Committee, and overseeing the review of submissions and the assignment of editing tasks, all with input and consent of the full EB membership.
B. Composition and Selection
i. The EB shall have at least seven (7) members, and the quorum for EB decisions shall be at least half of the EB members.
ii. Members of the EB may be selected in any of the following manners:
a) The UAWD Steering Committee or UAWD members attending a membership meeting (“membership”) may, based on a majority vote, appoint any member of the Steering Committee to the EB;
b) The Steering Committee may appoint any UAWD member to the EB; for that member to maintain the position, the appointment must be approved by the UAWD membership at the subsequent membership meeting; and
c) The membership may appoint any UAWD member to the EB through passage of a resolution at a membership meeting.
iii. Members of the EB may be removed in the following manner:
a) By a majority vote of the membership; and
b) By a supermajority (2/3) vote of the Steering Committee, which may be overruled by a majority of the membership.
iv. Before a vote on their selection, prospective members of the EB will be asked to complete an interest form, which will include agreeing to the “Responsibilities and Expectations” listed above.
v. Members of the EB will serve on the board until they step down, are duly removed, or after the next Steering Committee election, which shall result in appointment of all new EB members.
vi. The EB or the membership will, by majority vote, select at least two EB members to serve as the Co-Chairs. This role may rotate throughout the term, as determined by the EB or the membership. Any membership decision shall take precedence over the EB decision in the Co-Chair selection.
vii. The EB or the membership will select one UAWD member to serve as Art Director, and this role may rotate throughout the term, as determined by the EB or the membership.
III. Content, Format, and Process
A. Content
i. The publication will produce content founded in the UAWD Member Platform, specifically oriented by the Platform’s five principles: Worker Control, Militancy, Working Class Solidarity, Democracy, and Political Independence.
B. Format and Distribution
i. The publication, as long as it is active, shall maintain a dedicated website.
ii. Articles will be published on a rolling basis on the website, with a target of four (4) per month, and quarterly in a print edition.
iii. The EB shall have broad discretion to choose forms of writing, including but not limited to opinion editorials, investigative news articles, reports, essays, infographics, letters or poems.
iv. The publication may also include a podcast or video or other forms of communication, with a goal of publishing at least one episode each month.
v. New content published on the website will be distributed via email lists, internal text messaging systems, and UAWD’s and the publication’s own social media channels.
vi. The Editorial Board will work with UAWD’s Organizing Committee and other interested members to distribute print copies at workplaces, union meetings, and educational events.
C. Editorial Process
i. Selecting Submissions
a. The website will include a form through which submissions can be made, and an email address will be created to field submissions;
b. Submissions will be in the form of a brief (25 words max.) description of the subject of the proposed contribution and a brief (250 words max.) abstract of its content;
c. Submissions will be accepted from UAW members or those actively organizing with the UAW, with a focus on submissions from UAWD members;
d. The decision to publish a submitted contribution will be made by simple majority vote of the EB.
D. Soliciting Contributions
i. Any member of the EB may propose to solicit a contribution from a particular topic from a particular author;
ii. Such proposals must be approved by majority vote of the EB.
E. Membership-Approved Positions
i. The UAWD membership may pass a motion that directly calls for publication of a piece, either with complete language, partial language, or by calling on the EB to write a piece communicating a position.
ii. If the motion does not include exact language to be published, the EB Co-Chairs shall take on or assign drafting and editing of the piece and make an effort to publish the piece based on the timeline requested by the membership or, if no such timeline was provided, as soon as possible.
iii. Membership-commissioned pieces of this kind shall be denoted as such in the publication, with a web link provided to the membership motion.
F. Editing
i. Once a contribution has been accepted by the EB, two editors will be assigned to it, a first editor, for detailed copy- and content-editing, and a top editor, for a high-level final review;
ii. A title for each contribution will first be solicited from its author, with the EB having final say.
G. Finalization
i. EB Co-Chairs shall review all pieces before they are published and report to the full EB if they feel it is not consistent with the original proposal, the political commitments of this Charter, or the political commitments of the UAWD Member Platform.
ii. Any EB member may bring a vote to block or delay publication of a piece on the basis of this inconsistency, which will be decided by a simple majority vote of the EB.
H. Additional Policies and Criteria
i. The EB shall have the ability to create further policies or criteria for submissions, the editorial process, and published pieces, as long as they are consistent with this Charter.
IV. Title, Logo, and Appearance
A. The title of the publication shall be determined by the EB based on the input of the UAWD membership, which will be solicited at a Membership Meeting.
B. The EB shall be responsible for designing the publication’s logo and appearance and shall seek membership input.
V. Discontinuation
A. The decision to discontinue the publication may be made only by a majority vote of the UAWD membership.
VI. Amendments
A. Amendments to this Charter may be made by majority vote at UAWD Membership Meetings.