Codetermination for Burning Man Employees

August 15th, 2014

Dear Black Rock City, LLC,

Hello, Larry Harvey, Crimson Rose, Danger Ranger, Harley K. DuBois, Marian Goodell, and Will Roger:

Thank you for creating the Burning Man event.  As members of the Burning Man community, we are deeply indebted to you for your years of dedication and hard work.

As you know, the BRC Department of Public Works is an organization of workers committed wholeheartedly to Black Rock City.  We build and strike the infrastructure of one of Nevada’s largest cities.  We love our work.  We love our coworkers.  We love playing a fundamental role in the life of Black Rock City.

Our skills and labor are imperative to the inner workings of Black Rock City, and are incredibly valuable to Burning Man.  

We are confident that you, like us, are personally invested in Black Rock City developing in a progressive and just manner.  We seek to reconcile this difference.  And so, we propose that:

The employees (paid and unpaid) of The Black Rock City, LLC, including but not limited to members of the Department of Public Works, represent 49% of the Board of Directors.

This structure of 49% representation for workers is based on the successful, albeit more complex, German model of codetermination.  Under a codetermination arrangement, worker representatives are active participants in the company's decision-making process.  Codetermination is widely regarded as a major contributing factor in Germany’s economic strength.  More importantly to Burning Man employees, codetermination implements a system of representation that will allow our voices to be heard without fear of retribution.  

We understand that this represents a significant change and we encourage you to do your own research on the subject of codetermination.

We are encouraging our fellow citizens of Black Rock City to participate in a nightly “blackout” from 9:00 pm to 9:30 pm, each night of the Burning Man 2014 event. By extinguishing our lights, we show our solidarity as a community and express our wish for fair representation of the Burning Man workforce.

Please respond by speaking at tomorrow's DPW morning meeting, at 7:30 am at the Depot.  Any questions may be directed towards our legal counsel, Dan Siegel (XXX-XXX-XXXX, or danmsiegel@gmail.com).    

Included is a list of names and signatures of DPW members who are committed to maintaining a sustainable and democratic work environment.  Signatures are being collected on an ongoing basis.  More names of supporters from the Burning Man community can be found at thepetitionsite.com.  

Thank you for recognizing that this complex art project we call Black Rock City is a collaborative effort.  Naturally, the employees who contribute a significant portion of their lives and energy to this project are fully committed to its success.  The voices of these invested individuals should be included, to ensure the future success of our beloved city.  

Thank you very much for considering our request and taking it seriously.  We await your response; it will determine our next action.

In closing, we are including two of our favorite of the Ten Principles.

Participation

Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.

Civic Responsibility

We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

Sincerely,

The Black Rock City Department of Public Works, 2014

As a proud supporter of the Burning Man community, by writing my name below I publicly support democratization of the Black Rock City, LLC's decision-making process. I support a system of codetermination for the future of the Black Rock City employees, including, but not limited to DPW.  I agree that the future of Burning Man will benefit from the inclusion of its labor force in the decision making process.  I agree that all the employees (paid and unpaid) of Black Rock City should represent at least 49% of the board of directors of Black Rock City, LLC.