VISUAL ART AND OTHER ENCOUNTERS
REVOLUTIONARY OPTIMISM
Sarom Rho in collaboration with Gig Workers United, a part of In Transit
We walk it to make it, we fuel it to burn it, we build it to win it. There are multiple, relational and non-sequential “its” here—can we explore them? On May 1, 2019, Foodsters United, now known as Gig Workers United, publicly announced our struggle and intent to fight misclassification and unionize. To date, multinational tech companies like Uber are pouring millions into a campaign to normalize inequality, precarity and poverty, all in the interests of corporate greed and profit. To date, workers hold our collective line and vow to accept nothing less than full and equal rights for all of us. Our concept of ‘us’ remains ever expansive.
Placed across the city, the Revolutionary Optimism poster project made in collaboration with Gig Workers United looks to the geographies of gig economy organizing and the multi-chaptered story of how low-waged, migrant and racialized gig workers find each other, assemble and root ourselves in an international working class struggle.
Revolutionary Optimism: Poster series across Toronto from May 1st to May 31st.
Revolutionary Optimism: Banner location coming soon.
Revolutionary Optimism and the Migrancies of Gig Economy Organizing: a workshop will happen 2pm, Saturday May 21st as part of In Transit at Dentonia Park.
Sarom Rho
Sarom Rho is a migrant worker and organizer based in Toronto. Of three, two of her organizing homes are with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change and Gig Workers United.
Gig Workers United
Gig Workers United, supported by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), is both full-time and part-time delivery app couriers; racialized and migrant workers; women and trans people; international students; and people with families. We are organizing for the transparent pay, livable wages, improved health and safety conditions, and labour protections we deserve.