OUR COMPANY PLEDGES
Updated as of 2/23/26:
Formerly titled "DEI Initiatives" which we can no longer say because of this horrible administration (can't believe we have to preface this by saying that), Unattended Baggage has set forth a new set of "Company Pledges", revised from our previous statements.
In the interest of complete transparency, we are extremely low on funds and are currently fundraising for future projects. With a severely limited company budget, we have had to revise some of our past pledges and re-instate new ones.
Here's what we've come up with.
ACCESIBILITY PLEDGE
At the heart of our collective, accessibility to the work we put out into the world is essential.
When UB began in 2017, our collective was made up of a few scrappy, broke, 20-somethings who couldn't afford to see the kind of work we wanted to make (site-specific and immersive stuff, specifically). Together, we pledged we would create work that we could afford to see with our low-income wages. Since Unattended Baggage's inception, our company model has always been incredibly DIY, which has impacted our fundraising model and revenue stream quite a bit, especially since keeping ticket sales low has always been our first priority.
As a result of keeping ticket sales low, our projects have been historically low budget, and we have often relied on volunteer work and grassroots funding to make our projects happen. This is all to say, we have always been limited in the amounts we have been able to compensate our artists and staff (at this time, we can only provide small honorariums/stipends, meals every once in a while, and school credit, if necessary).
As of February 2026, we will continue our pledge to keep ticket prices to view our work as financially accessible as possible ($25 and under) with at least one event per year being free and/or pay-what-you-can. We can't pledge that this is always possible because sometimes we are forced by the venues we're working with to set higher ticket prices, but we can pledge to producing at least one event under this tier annually.
In terms of physically making our work accessible for the Disabled community, this is still something we are working towards. At present, we pledge that for any of our film releases will have a subtitle option.
We have not yet had a live performance with interpreters, assisted listening devices, or autism-friendly performances due to extreme budgetary constraints, but this is something we aspire to be able to provide in the future. Our other biggest hurdle at present as its pertains to physical accessibility is trying to work in venues that are affordable for us as producers that are also ADA-compliant. House shows have been at the heart of UB since the start, and most of the time, house venues unfortunately generally have stairs.
We will pledge that with written notice to our inbox 24 hours in advance, we will attempt to help service any physical accessibility needs with patrons in need. From this point forward, we pledge to work with venue owners to accommodate our Disabled audience members to the fullest extent possible if we are notified properly. We cannot always guarantee we can find a solution, but we can pledge to try.
RACIAL AND BODY DIVERSITY PLEDGE
As a primarily queer production company, racial and body diversity is extremely important to us. We previously pledged that by 2025 we would have 50/50 racial parity in terms of leadership and programming. While we have gotten extremely close to achieving this, we missed the mark by a little bit.
At this time, we remain committed to our pledge to end the practice of curating all-white productions, stand up shows, or events. While we cannot pledge to exact 50/50 racial parity in every production/event, we can pledge that considering non-white and Disabled artists in front of and behind the scenes remains an utmost priority that we take very seriously.
ANTI-AI PLEDGE
We pledge to keep our advertising and creative materials free from AI influence entirely. We'll keep it human over here, thanks!
ANTI-ICE PLEDGE
We pledge to say f*** ICE, forever and always. If we catch wind that ICE will be present near one of our events, to give our audiences as heads up as soon as we know.
ANTI-GENOCIDE PLEDGE
We pledge to remain committed to being vocal on our stance on calling for an end to genocide in Gaza, Sudan, and the Congo. We pledge to share information on efforts on how to help these efforts via social media.
CHARITY/MUTUAL AID PLEDGE
We pledge that at least one of our projects each year donate proceeds to a mutual aid or charity organization. It's just the right thing to do.
That's all for now--
Love,
Your Friends over at UB