Imagine all the staffers
Dictating what you do*
It's kinda touching, the naïvety in the create-space.
Staffers at Image Comics are unionising. Although they are not the actual writers and artists who create revenue, they do work within the rarified create-space, insulated from the real world of commerce. Comic Book Workers United has laid down a number of demands—sorry, goals
—to management, most of which vary from naïve to standard practice for white-collar workers. And, then…
A long term, actionable plan to address the overall lack of diversity in both general staff and management. The authors, artists, and readers who bring comics to life have never been homogenous and the stories we publish can only be improved by staffing our organization in a way that more accurately reflects the demographics of our creators, our readership, and the nation as a whole.
There are ten signatories to this manifesto. Who among them is prepared to hand-over their job to a diversity hire? Assuming that the office is fully-staffed already, that is. If I were management, I'd ask for volunteers from among them: put your job where your principles lie.
But, it's their final demand that's super-special.
Renewed commitment to company values through the addition of a collective voting option to immediately cancel publication of any title whose creator(s) have been found to have engaged in abuse, sexual assault, racism and xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, ableism, etc. until such time as said creators have engaged in meaningful reparations toward affected person(s).
And this is where create-space-meets-reality kicks in. What this amounts to is cancel culture. But, more than that, it's the tail wagging the dog. It's the administrative workforce dictating what the company and the creatives—the ones who do the meaningful revenue-generating work—can, and cannot, do. Neither white- nor blue-collar workers in any other industry have that influence; if they disagree with a company's lawful business practice, their only option is to leave and find another job.
Besides that, have been found
by whom? Tittle-tattle amongst the whisper network, or full legal process? Does engaged
mean actively practising, or simply thematic usage? Frank Miller's allegedly Islamophobic
Holy Terror was enough for a proud Muslim woman
to completely lose her shit, getting him uninvited from a convention. What does etc.
cover? All religions in addition to Islam and Judaism, or are Christians, for example, still fair game? What are meaningful reparations
, other than extortion?
Jesus, these people have gotta hope that Image Comics' management has no spine is as progressive as it professes to be, and doesn't sack the lot of them. Because they'd fucking die in the real world of business.
* With apologies to John Lennon. He probably wouldn't approve of my appropriating Imagine like this. But it's not as if I was ever a fan, so I don't give that much of a shit.
UPDATE: 6:25PM, 11/05/2021 As of November 5th, Image Comics has failed to formally acknowledge our request for voluntary recognition. We are interpreting that lack of formal response, coupled with a Twitter post the company made indicating their intention to force us into a totally unnecessary election, as a denial of our request. This is disappointing, given that 10 of the 12 eligible staff members have already voted to form and publicly support our union, but we are strong in our principles and the pending election changes nothing. It is not too late for voluntary recognition to happen. We are asking our community of supporters to continue emailing, writing, and tweeting that Image Comics can still voluntarily recognize the CBWU.
The ten are standing true to their cause, and asking the Twitter mob to harass the company to accede. I'm not sure how being forced
into a vote that they've already had, with only two of their number dissenting, is in any way disappointing. Hey ho, the workers are united!
UPDATE: 4:30PM, 12/3/2021 We now have an election timeline for when we will vote to certify our union. Ballots will be mailed to us on December 14th, and our votes will be counted on January 4th, 2022. The 10 of 12 Image employees who originally publicly announced support of CBWU remain #drawninsolidarity and are looking forward to casting our ballots in just two weeks' time. Image Comics still has the chance to be comic industry trailblazers by voluntarily recognizing Comic Book Workers United before the secret ballot election. They have already taken a step in the right direction by recently addressing our union by name for the first time. Your voices of support still matter! Please continue to root for our cause and request that Image Comics voluntarily recognizes Comic Book Workers United.
The IC10 are inching closer to emancipation. If Image Comics doesn't seize the chance to be comic industry trailblazers, by voluntarily recognising CBWU before the secret ballot election, they'll be sorry, an' no mistake. Karl Marx would be chuffed to bits.
The votes have been cast by now. And the result will be known in a little over two weeks, depending on how long it takes to count the ballot papers; probably about two minutes. And then, the dawn of a new era for staffing nonentities the office over. Grab the pitchforks!
Workers of comic books unite. You have nothing to lose but your (bookstore) chains!
UPDATE: 5:12PM, 1/6/2022 We're beyond thrilled to announce that today we, Comic Book Workers United, have WON our union election, making Image Comics the FIRST unionized comic book publisher in the United States. All 12 Image staffers submitted ballots, leading to a 7:2 result in favor of the union. At this time, three staffers' ballots are subject to a frivolous legal challenge on eligibility, thus their ballots were not opened. Although these three ballots were not opened, their challenge had no impact on our supermajority win. CBWU and the CWA continue to push for their inclusion in the democratic process. Winning this election is only the beginning -- as always, we are #drawninsolidarity and are eager to continue working together with CWA on the next steps towards securing a strong, fair, and exemplary first contract for comic book publishing workers. We want to stress how crucial it is for all workers to know they are worthy of respect, fair treatment, fair compensation, and recognition for their time and effort. The NLRB, NLRBGC, and the CWA have been a boon of resources on how to get started on the path to unionization. It is our sincere hope that today's win inspires our peers to organize for a democratic voice. CBWU is ready to stand with you to help create a better and more equitable comics industry for all.
The count is in, and it's a supermajority win
: seven votes in favour; two against; and three Floridians—The chads! The chads!
If the workers are united, they will never be divided. Sham 69 would be chuffed to bits.
As for workers knowing they are worthy of respect; fair treatment; fair compensation; and recognition for their time and effort, was that ever in doubt? It's the demand by administrative staffers to have the power of veto over management and independent creators that's drawn criticism and contempt. Notice how they don't mention that!