Architecture Workers Are Building Power on the Job

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Architecture Workers Are Building Power on the Job

Eloise Sherrid

Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee

July 21, 2025

Excerpt:

“I think the exhibit really got people thinking. It was one of maybe two or three genuinely political projects in this entire massive exhibition, and it was the only one that talked about labor. The other ones about politics were about housing.

Also, we managed to pull off something very fun, which was writing “THANK YOU FOR YOUR FREE LABOR” in a giant sign across the outside face of our cubicle. It was visible on the stage right behind where all of the jet-setting famous architects were doing lectures and giving big press conferences. Our project reminded the audience that nobody got paid for creating work for the Biennale. ”

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Architecture Workers Are Building Power on the Job

Eloise Sherrid Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee July 21, 2025 Excerpt: “I think the exhibit really got people thinking. It was one of maybe two or three genuinely political projects in this entire massive exhibition, and it was the only one that talked about labor. The other ones about politics were about housing. Also, we managed […]

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Our Manifesto

Build worker power and collective agency through unions and cooperatives.
A living wage, benefits, job security, and wage transparency across the discipline.
No more free labor; no unpaid internships, unpaid overtime, or unpaid competitions.
Center the importance of labor in our understanding of architecture. Architecture is work!
Stop peddling buildings as products. Demand compensation based on the value and impact our work creates.
End oppression based on gender within and enabled by the discipline.
Confront the complicity of architecture in racism. Confront racism in our workplaces.
Design for the full spectrum of human life. Universal design is not an afterthought.
Challenge the concept of licensure. Expand the right to practice.
Celebrate the collective process of producing architecture. Demystify architecture as the work of a solo creative genius.
Climate justice as the basis of all architectural work. There can be no sustainable future without sustainable labor practices.
Fight for democratic alternatives to the capitalist system of development.

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