Who we are

The Arts and Cultural Workers Union (ACWU), Local B-778 of the International Alliance of Stage and Theatrical Employees (IATSE), was formed to work in solidarity with the broader labour movement to address the common issues of income precarity, exploitation, and job insecurity in the arts and cultural sector. We are a member-driven union that seeks to build solidarity in the workplace and beyond. We recognize the unique challenges facing contract, freelance, and precarious workers, and we pursue dynamic strategies for organizing ourselves in the face of these challenges.    

We are a social movement union that seeks to support other struggles for social and economic justice, recognizing that together we are stronger. Our solidarity across movements sews the seeds for success in our work and our communities. 

We are a union of independent visual artists, media artists, illustrators, photographers, videographers, sewers, gallery administrators, studio assistants, curators, coordinators, freelance creative practitioners, and tattoo artists. 

We work for non-profit arts organizations, private galleries, studios and shops, and worker-run cooperatives. While the majority of our members are based in British Columbia, ACWU is organizing to build workers’ power in the creative industries across Canada.

The ACWU has long-term goals to build portable, extended benefits plans for arts and cultural workers, create an art workers’ training program, and transform precarious jobs in the arts and culture sector in Canada into quality work. 

Our democratic approach

We are a democratic labour union that propels our work forward through a member working group model. Each working group has a chair or co-chairs, and reports to the general membership during monthly general membership meetings. Members are encouraged to participate in ACWU’s working groups. 

We also have an executive (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Union Representative) that is elected by the general membership annually. To learn more about the roles of the executive and to contact an executive member, visit the contact page. The general membership is the highest governing body of the union. 

ACWU is affiliated with IATSE, and we are entitled to send delegates to IATSE’s international meetings, including bi-annual General Executive Board meetings, its Canadian Convention, District 12 (Western Canada) meetings, and the IATSE International Convention.