Bylaws of Unity–Struggle–Unity Press

Article I. Purpose

Unity–Struggle–Unity Press Corporation shall be a non-stock non-profit corporation with the purpose of providing cost-free political education to working-poor and oppressed people in the United States.

Article II. The Pressworkers Organization

Authority. The ultimate authority of Unity–Struggle–Unity Press shall be the Pressworkers Organization (Pressorg) as expressed through the EB or through the exercise of its veto power.
1. Veto Power. The Pressorg shall have the authority to overturn any EB decision through the presentation of a petition bearing the signatures of at least two-thirds of its Membership in good standing, or else by garnering a two-thirds voting majority in a meeting.
2. Reserve Executive Power. The Pressorg shall, in the absence or incapacity of the EB, have the authority to make all decisions as if it were itself the EB. The existence of such emergency shall be registered by a unanimous vote of all members in good standing, except those who are absented or incapacitated by such emergency, which vote shall be recorded.
3. Elections of the Executive Editors. The Pressworkers shall be responsible for electing the EB.
4. Auditing Power. The Pressworkers shall be entitled to a full accounting of all Press financials upon request. The EB shall disclose any requested report within 48 hours of receipt of such request.
Composition. The Pressorg shall be composed of the working Members of the press who have successfully passed through a candidacy period as defined under Section 6 of this Article below or who have been converted into Pressworkers by action of Section 7 of this Article below.
Eligibility. To be considered for Candidate Membership, prospective members must:
1. be steadfastly committed Marxists;
2. be actively working, through continuous study and practice, to develop into a capable cadre;
3. never have been credibly accused of repeated and/or violent expressions of chauvinism and/or acts of interpersonal abuse.
Dues. Dues shall be assessed for all Pressworkers and calculated as Regular or Special Dues.
1. Due Date. All dues shall become payable on the first, and remain payable until the fifteenth of each calendar month. Dues which are not paid by that date are considered to be late.
2. Regular Dues. Regular Dues shall be calculated for each Pressworker according to one of the regular formulas or, if no such formula exists, their best estimate.
  1. Full-time Employment. Pressworkers who are employed on a full-time basis shall use the following formula: [(H x HC x 2) / (1 + COL / 100)] – RO.
  2. Other. Pressworkers who are not employed on a full-time basis shall use the following formula: [(M x HC) / (80 x [1 + COL / 100])] – RO.
  3. Key. In the above formulas, each letter below shall mean:
    1. H – hourly wage.
    2. M – gross monthly income.
    3. HC – housing coefficient, which shall be 1 if a home-owner, otherwise 2/3.
    4. COL – cost of living adjustment as a positive or negative value greater than -100, to be calculated as the difference between the Pressworkers cost of living and the U.S. average as a percent.
    5. RO – monetary obligations to other organizations that recur on a monthly or yearly basis; RO is not to exceed ⅓ of the dues value prior to RO deduction.
  4. Recalculation. Regular Dues shall be recalculated no more than once per month, either at the request of the Pressworker, whenever there is a substantial change of circumstance, or once yearly, whichever is more frequent.
  5. Minimum Dues. Should the Regular Dues calculation under Subsection 4.2 above be less than $2 USD, that Member’s Regular Dues shall be set at $2.
  6. Variance. Should any Member be unable to pay their dues on a regular basis due to individualized circumstances, that Member shall submit to the EB for a variance on their dues. If such variance is granted, the EB shall determine the amount actually payable, which shall become that Member’s Regular Dues, as well as determine and record the deficient amount, which shall become the basis for Special Dues under Subsection 4.3 of this Article below.
3. Special Dues. Special Dues shall be required of each Member who pays the full amount of their Regular Dues and shall be calculated by adding all deficient amounts among all members as calculated under Subsection 1.4 of this Article above, then dividing that total pro-rata among all other Members.
4. Recording. Dues obligations shall be recorded by the EB and such records kept current and made available to the Pressorg.
Good Standing. All Pressworkers shall be required to maintain good standing. Continuous failure to maintain good standing may result in dismissal or discipline pursuant to the procedures provided in this section.
1. Voting. Only Pressworkers in good standing are eligible to vote on Press matters.
2. Candidacy for Executive Editor. Only Pressworkers who have maintained six months of good standing prior to a regular EB election are eligible to stand for the position of Executive Editor.
3. Labor Duties. To maintain good standing, all Pressworkers shall:
  1. Regularly and frequently (on a basis that is at least twice weekly) engage in constructive correspondence with the Press;
  2. Take on and fulfill the requirements of one of the definite labor roles listed under this subsection, namely:
    1. Writer. Writers shall contribute at least two (2) agitational articles or on-the-ground reports per month, one (1) propagandistic article per month, or their labor equivalent to the mass political newspaper or other periodical.
    2. Artist. Artists shall contribute agitprop and designs for digital and print editions of Press publications on a basis determined through consultation with the EB.
    3. Assistant Editor. Assistant Editors shall line-edit a number of articles per week, on a basis determined through consultation with the EB.
    4. Communications Officer. Communications Officers shall be responsible for a specific area of Press communications and carry out attendant tasks, on a basis determined through consultation with the EB.
    5. Researcher. Long-term researchers shall work on the development of long-term Marxist research and shall update the Pressorg no less than once every other week on the progress of that research.
    6. Web Designer. Web designers shall administer the Press online publications and their maintenance.
4. Leaves of absence. A Pressworker suffering an acute incapacitating personal difficulty or emergency may request a leave of absence (LOA), during which all labor duties are suspended while Pressorg membership and good standing are retained.
  1. The LOA request must state the cause of the leave; if they so wish, the requesting Pressworker may communicate the cause to one of the Editors privately and in confidence; any sensitive medical or potentially incriminating information can and should be withheld.
  2. The LOA request must state the date of departure and the date of return.
  3. The initial term of the LOA may not exceed 3 weeks, but extensions to an existing LOA may be requested, if the initially requested term proves insufficient.
  4. Certification of the LOA request requires approval from two Editors.
  5. The LOA does not suspend or diminish membership dues.
5. Dereliction. A Pressworker who fails to uphold their regular duties and who cannot be contacted by the Editorial Board, except for those on an approved LOA, shall automatically be considered derelict after one week.
  1. The Editorial Board shall be responsible for declaring dereliction; confirmation by two Editors shall be required to apply “derelict” status to a pressworker.
  2. An Editor who is declared derelict shall automatically be removed from their seat, triggering a snap election.
  3. A Pressworker who is derelict for more than one week shall automatically lose their good standing, and may be subject to expulsion at the discretion of the Editorial Board.
6. Failure to Pay Dues. The failure of any Pressworker to maintain currency on their monthly dues as calculated under Section 4 of this Article above shall be grounds to lose good standing. Should any member lose good standing as a result of dues delinquency, they shall be required to pay all back dues owed plus a fee for late dues payments as determined by the EB before they may return to good standing.
Candidate Members. Membership in the Pressorg shall require a period of candidacy of no less than one month.
1. Candidate Membership shall be extended at the discretion of the Editorial Board (“EB”), pursuant to a unanimous EB vote. Such vote shall obligate the EB to extend an Offer of Membership to the prospective Candidate.
2. Upon providing notice of acceptance of an Offer of Membership to the EB, the EB shall record the date of the Candidate Member’s acceptance and the date upon which the Candidate Member shall be eligible for consideration as a Member of the Pressorg.
3. Candidate Members shall meet all obligations required of regular Pressworkers during their Candidacy.
4. At the EB meeting following the date of the Candidate Member’s eligibility for consideration as a Pressworker, the EB shall vote to confirm that Candidate as a Pressworker; if the EB declines to confirm a Candidate Member, the Candidate may reapply after a waiting period of at least one (1) month, and no more than six (6) months, as determined by the EB.
Resignation of Membership. Any Pressworker who wishes to resign from the Pressorg shall submit a written intent of resignation which shall be published and promulgated by the EB not longer than 48 hours after its submission.
1. Readmission. Any member of the Press Organization or any precursor organization who resigned in good standing shall be re-admitted directly to the Pressorg or any successor organization upon application and a unanimous vote by the EB.
2. Standing upon Readmission. It shall be determined by the EB upon a case by case basis whether such member was resigned for a sufficiently long period or under circumstances which otherwise should qualify to interrupt their “continuous good standing.” Such determination shall be promulgated upon announcement of their return to the organization.
Conversion of Membership. At the time of the adoption of these bylaws, all General Staff Volunteer Board Members of the Press shall be converted to Pressworkers and Members of the Pressorg under these bylaws.

Article III. The Editorial Board

Powers and Authority. The EB shall be the executive body of the Press and shall reserve all powers not specifically delegated at times when the Pressorg is not in session.
1. Ideological Leadership. The EB shall be responsible for the ideological leadership of the Press, and the ideological development of the Pressorg. It shall plan the overall direction of the Press, which plan shall be submitted to the Pressorg through the Press Plan and Press Prospectus. It shall be responsible for executing that Plan.
2. Task Assignment. As the executive authority, the EB shall oversee the publications of the Press, approve all content published by the Press, manage the workflows of the Pressorg, and assign tasks or delegate organs or agents to assign them.
3. Weekly Editorial Meetings. The EB shall hold once-weekly meetings, barring emergency or other contingent circumstances, to discuss and arrive at actionable decisions on all matters under its authority. Those meetings shall be open to Pressworkers and specially invited guests.
4. Accountability to the Pressorg. The EB shall be required to explain to the Pressorg, upon request, any decision made by the EB.
5. Record Keeping. The EB shall be responsible for all written records of Press activities. It shall:
  1. Record all financial transactions made by the Press in financial statements and cause such statements to be published, in a public place, no less than once monthly.
  2. Keep minutes of all EB meetings and cause to be published, in a public place, such minutes no later than forty-eight (48) hours after the conclusion of such meetings.
  3. Monitor and record all dues payments, Regular Dues requirements, Special Dues assessments, variances on dues, notices on candidacy, and the standing of Pressworkers.
6. Correspondents. The EB shall organize the Correspondence Network (CN) and maintain it.
Membership. The EB shall be staffed by the Executive Editors of the Press, who shall be chosen by the Pressorg from among its working membership pursuant to Article V governing elections.
1. Seats. The EB shall have three seats until such time as this article is amended.
2. Eligibility. Only Pressworkers who have maintained good standing for six continuous months prior to any Regular Election may stand for that election.
3. Length of Terms. Each Executive Editor shall serve a 9-month term.
Voting Requirements.
1. Residual Clause. All actionable decisions of the EB shall require a simple majority vote unless otherwise specified.
2. Amendment of the Bylaws. The EB shall have the power to amend the bylaws by a unanimous vote, but shall promulgate notice of such amendment to the Pressorg no less than one (1) week prior to their effective date.
Financial Authority. Each Executive Editor shall have full powers to dispose of Press funds, sign checks, access Press bank accounts, and bind the Press in contractual and legal obligations. All instruments shall require the signature of one sitting Executive Editor.
Conversion of Membership. At the time of the adoption of these bylaws, the current EB shall be seated as the EB under these bylaws; their terms shall carry over from the previous bylaws, and their seats shall become available for election on their previous dates.

Article IV. Pressorg Meetings

Scheduling. Any Pressworker may request a Pressorg meeting be scheduled. To schedule a meeting, Pressworkers shall submit a written request for meeting to the EB. Upon receipt of this written notice, the EB shall, no sooner than one (1) week and no later than one (1) month after receipt, schedule such meeting. Barring emergencies, no more than one (1) meeting shall be scheduled for any calendar month.
Opportunity to be Heard. All Pressworkers shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard about their availability to attend such meeting.
Quorum. A Pressorg meeting shall require a quorum of six (6) Pressworkers.
Presiding Chair. An Executive Editor shall be selected to preside over each Pressorg Meeting. In the rare instances where there are no EB members present, the Pressworkers shall begin such meeting by selecting a presiding chair.
Recording Secretary. The Presiding Chair of a Pressorg Meeting will select a Recording Secretary prior to taking attendance.

Article V. Elections

Frequency. Elections for Executive Editor shall be held on a rotating basis, with an election held once every three (3) months.
Term Limits. There shall be no term limit for Executive Editors.
Elections Period. On the first of the month prior to the month in which an EB seat expires or comes due for election, the Board shall announce the beginning of the Elections Period and all qualified Pressworkers will be informed that they may apply.
Candidacy Announcements made by EB. During the Elections Period, the EB shall announce each candidate on the day their application for candidacy is made or shortly thereafter as time allows.
Voting Period. One week prior to the expiration of the seat, the Pressworkers shall be invited to submit their ballots anonymously during the Voting Period. The Voting Period shall close on the morning of the seat’s expiration. The winner of the election shall be announced by 12 PM EST on that day.
Recall. Any Editor who is found to be repeatedly derelict in any of their responsibilities, without reasonable excuse, will be subject to recall by presenting a petition signed by a simple majority of the Pressworkers in good standing to the EB; at that time, the EB shall schedule a recall election within one month.
Incapacity of an Executive Editor; snap elections.
1. Requirements. If any Editor resigns, is recalled, becomes incapacitated, or is otherwise is unable to carry out their duties prior to the expiration of their term of office as determined by the remainder of the EB and confirmed by the Pressorg, this shall trigger a Snap Election to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.
2. Snap Elections Period. The Snap Election shall have a one-week Snap Elections Period.
3. Editor Pro-Tem. At the time the Snap Election begins, the EB shall have the authority to appoint an Editor Pro-Tem. The Editor Pro-Tem shall sit on the EB but shall not have a deciding vote in any matters. At the conclusion of the Snap Election, the Editor Pro-Tem shall step down in favor of the elected Interim Editor. The Editor Pro-Tem shall not be subject to the good standing requirements of office.
4. Interim Editor Requirements. Interim Editor candidates shall not be subject to the good standing requirements of office.
5. Snap Voting Period. At the conclusion of the one-week Snap Elections Period, 48 hours will be set aside as a Snap Voting Period during which time the Pressworkers shall be invited to submit their ballots anonymously.
6. Seating the Interim Editor. The incoming Editor elected in this process shall be an Interim Editor, with all the powers of a full Editor.
Amendment. This article may be amended by either a unanimous vote of the EB or two-thirds-majority vote of the Pressorg.

Article VI. Self and Community Criticism

Seek Truth From Facts. Violations of Pressorg discipline shall be based on the facts with the decisions of the Pressorg as their measure.
Cure the Illness, Save the Patient. The handling of all matters of criticism shall be undertaken with the goal of educating the Pressworker(s).
Disciplinary Sanctions. The types of disciplinary sanctions for Pressworkers shall be:
1. Warnings.
2. Serious warnings.
3. Removal from internal Press positions.
4. Probation.
5. Expulsion from the Press.
Length of Expulsions. Pressworkers expelled from the Press must not be readmitted to the Pressorg for at least three (3) months.
Mitigation. Sanctions may be mitigated under the following conditions:
1. The Pressworker actively confesses their own problems;
2. The Pressworker cooperates with whatever investigation into the allegations is undertaken;
3. The Pressworker actively redresses loss, eliminates harmful impacts, or effectively obstructs the consequences of the behavior which caused the breach;
4. Other meritorious contributions not listed.
Registering a Criticism. Anyone may lodge a criticism against a Pressworker by reporting that criticism either to a member of the EB or another Pressworker who must notify a member of the EB. Once a criticism has been registered, the EB shall cause that criticism to be recorded and published in a public place and provide notice to the Pressorg.
Criticism and Self-Criticism. Should the EB or a majority of the Pressorg determine the criticism to require redress, the EB shall schedule a Criticism and Self-Criticism Meeting (“Struggle Meeting”) pursuant to the meetings procedure under Article IV above. The Criticized Pressworker shall not be permitted to serve as President or Secretary at this meeting. At this meeting, the criticism shall be presented to the Pressworker to answer. The Pressorg shall take testimony from other Pressworkers as to the criticism. The Criticized Member shall be permitted to bring criticisms which are directly related to the criticized behavior or position and which do not create a secondary trial of another Pressworker. Should behavior come to light that requires further criticism, this process shall be lodged against that Pressworker in turn at that or another Struggle Meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Pressorg shall vote upon whether or not such criticism was well-founded, and, if it is found to be well-founded, what sanction is appropriate under Section 3 of this Article above.

Article VII. Supporter of the Press

Any person who contributes occasional effort and regular monies toward the operation of the press at a minimum 2 hours of that individual’s wages or $10 each month of uncompensated financial contributions shall be eligible to become a Supporter of the Press Contributor with the right to voice but no vote in all Pressorg matters.
Individuals shall be admitted to the Pressorg as Supporters of the Press only upon unanimous vote of the EB.

Article VIII. The Correspondence Network

The Correspondence Network (“CN”) shall consist of
1. all repeat contributors to the Press (regular or otherwise);
2. all members of organizations;
3. media outfits (e.g., other presses, new media outfits, etc.), affiliated with the Press;
4. all individual regular distributors of Press publications;
5. any reliably contacted correspondent who wishes to formally affiliate as such; and,
6. all financial supporters of the Press, regardless of amount(s) donated.
The CN shall not be a membership body, formal or otherwise, either for individual persons or for organizations, shall not hold formal meetings, and shall not have voting powers with regard to the Press.
All individuals affiliated with the Press via the CN shall be allowed to join all of the Press’ public-facing spaces, including those within the Unity–Struggle–Unity Discord server, without any other barriers to entry and participation.
Organizations may affiliate with the Press, subject to approval by the EB which shall conduct a review of the potential affiliates bylaws, constitution, membership, and other written documentation as shall be requested by the EB.
Affiliated organizations may elect to have their affiliation with the Press published and advertised; affiliated organizations which have so elected may withdraw consent at any time; by default, the involvement of affiliated organizations in the CN shall not be published or advertised.
The involvement of individual persons in the CN with the Press shall not be published or advertized in any way, unless either (A) the individual in question is serving as the designated representative of an affiliated organization that has so consented or (B) the individual in question functions as the figurehead of an affiliated media outfit (e.g., a host of a YouTube or Twitch channel).

Article IX. Communications

The EB shall be responsible for handling all external communications, except for those assigned to a Pressorg communications officer.
The EB shall have the power to establish new external communications arms for the Press.
The main hub of the Press shall be its website, <https://unity-struggle-unity.org/>.
The Press shall maintain a Discord server to manage its internal communications; the server will be open to all Press members and CN affiliates.
The Press Discord server shall have public-facing and restricted areas, the boundaries of which are to be determined by the EB on an as-needed basis.
The Press shall have an email newsletter, employed to promote articles and other content published by the Press and to provide updates concerning the Press, as well as to solicit subscriptions, content submissions, and (sparingly) donations.
The Press shall have an official, depersonalized Twitter account, employed to promote articles and other content published by the Press and to provide updates concerning the Press; occasional “special” content may be approved by the EB.

Article X. Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Press and the Pressorg in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Press may adopt.

Article XI. Amendment of Bylaws

These bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the Pressorg by a two-thirds vote, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing at least one (1) week prior to that meeting.
These bylaws may be amended pursuant to the procedures of Article III, Subsection 3.2 above.
At the EB meeting following the date upon which the Pressorg reaches a total Membership of 20 or more, these bylaws shall be subject to automatic review.

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USU Editorial Board

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