The following paragraphs are a brief statement intended to give an idea of the core values we hold and the types of policies we support. They are in no way perfect or final as our values are ultimately defined by the actions we take. That said, our core beliefs are the following: democracy, community, class solidarity, and humanization.
Democracy - We aim for a democratic management of scientific institutions. We consider positions of leadership to be a social duty, not just a position of prestige. We the scientific workers should have a vote in the institutional decision-making processes, whether it be for the hiring of professors, electing representatives, or deciding general research direction. We favor policies such as term limits and recall elections that achieve a more horizontal power structure.
Community/Humanity - Science is intricately intertwined with society, requiring public resources to produce potentially life-changing results. Science should address community needs directly, build basic knowledge, and advance technical fields. Science should benefit all members of society, not just corporation’s economic interests. There should be a bilateral exchange between scientists and members of the community who are affected by pressing socio-economic issues. Interaction with society should be an active and acknowledged part of a scientists’ job.
Worker Solidarity - Society is made and shaped by human labor. There is a fundamental material need that sustains society and the only thing that can sustain society is labor. As scientists we are fundamentally workers and need to acknowledge ourselves as workers who have rights. We share a deep solidarity with all workers of the world. We should not act against each other in a competition, but work collaboratively to do work that is useful. Science is fundamentally a worker’s pursuit whether it is towards a direct pragmatic aim or an end in and of itself, it must be a thing for all workers. To express this solidarity we pursue science that is communitarian and aim to build a workplace worth working in.
Humanization/Mental Health - The current structure of academic environments makes us compete against each other for money, students, space, and positions. We think that the economic and physical and mental health issues resulting from this pressure are detrimental to both the well-being of scientific workers and the production of quality science. We seek to make a work place worth working in through structural changes (ie: democracy), not individual solutions. We need to be seen as people, given permanence, place, real community, and agency in the institutions we are a part of. We abhor temporality, credentialism, meritocracy, precarity, and alienation.
While these values will in general stay constant over time, this statement will be updated annually to reflect the evolving nature of our group.