Canadian Stuntmen’s Association
CSA CODE OF CONDUCT - April 10, 2020
VALUES
We want our team to be a fun, productive, and safe space for all members. In addition to core values of respect and honesty, there are several ways in which our stunt team distinguishes itself. We work with and alongside other stunt performers and teams.We maintain open lines of communication and foster good working relationships—indeed, friendships—with our colleagues. That collaboration is core to our success.
EXPECTED BEHAVIORS
Every member of the CSA team is expected to work hard, be considerate of their colleagues across the group, and contribute to a collaborative, positive, and healthy environment in which we can all succeed. Be supportive of your colleagues, both proactively and responsively. Offer to help if you see someone struggling or otherwise in need of assistance (taking care not to be patronizing or disrespectful). If someone approaches you looking for help, be generous with your time; if you’re under a deadline, direct them to someone else who may be of assistance. Go out of your way to include people in team discussions, recognizing that we want to build an environment free of cliques.
Be collaborative. Involve your colleagues in brainstorms, planning, and the like. Don’t succumb to either impostor syndrome (believing that you don’t deserve to be here) or blowhard syndrome (believing you can do no wrong). Recognize that in addition to asking for feedback, you are similarly obligated to give it. Be generous and kind in both giving and accepting critique. Good critiques are respectful, clear, and constructive, focused on goals and requirements rather than personal preferences. You are expected to give and receive criticism with grace. Be humane. Be polite and friendly in all forms of communication, especially electronic communication, where opportunities for misunderstanding are greater. Tone is hard to decipher online.
UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIORS
The CSA team is committed to providing a welcoming and safe environment for people of all races, gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientations, physical abilities, physical appearances, socioeconomic backgrounds, life experiences, nationalities, ages, religions, and beliefs. Discrimination and harassment are expressly prohibited.
All CSA Members are expected to show up for work and CSA Meetings on time and in a sober state. Showing up in an impaired state is unacceptable.
Undermining another member through rumors slander, or negative communication with performers,coordinators, directors, producers or any person that can have an adverse effect on one or more CSA Members is unacceptable. Inappropriate Social Media postings that potentially represent CSA or any of its members in a negative light is unacceptable. It is a reflection of our team as a whole. BE WISE WITH YOUR WORDS!
Sensitive information that is shared at meetings or through other in forms of communication, emails, texts, etc. is to remain within the group. You are expected to refrain from sharing this info with non-members. WHAT IS SAID WITHIN THE GROUP, STAYS IN THE GROUP!
REPORTING AND RESOLVING A PROBLEM
It is the goal of the group that we are able to communicate in a POSITIVE manner. If there are concerns about a person in the group you should be able contact that person directly so that you can get their side of the story. If for any reason you don’t feel comfortable contacting them, please refer to the Reporting Guide below.
CSA Code of Conduct - Reporting Guide:
If you believe someone is violating the CSA Code Of Conduct, we ask that you report it to the CSA Executive Board by directly emailing an Executive Board Member. All reports will be kept confidential. In some cases we may determine that a CSA GROUP statement will need to be made. If that's the case, the identity of the person(s) will remain confidential unless those individuals instruct us otherwise. If you believe anyone is in physical danger, please notify appropriate law enforcement first. If you are unsure what law enforcement agency is appropriate, please include this in your report and we will attempt to notify them.
If you are unsure whether the incident is a violation, or whether the space where it happened is covered by this Code of Conduct, we encourage you to still report it.We would much rather have a few extra reports where we decide to take no action, rather than miss a report of an actual violation.We do not look negatively on you if we find the incident is not a violation. And knowing about incidents that are not violations, or happen outside our spaces, can also help us to improve the Code of Conduct or the processes surrounding it.
In your report please include:
- Your contact info (so we can get in touch with you if we need to follow up)
- Names (real, nicknames, or pseudonyms) of any individuals involved. If there were other witnesses
besides you, please try to include them as well.
- When and where the incident occurred. Please be as specific as possible.
- Your account of what occurred. If there is a publicly available record (e.g. a mailing list archive or a public
IRC logger) please include a link.
- Any extra context you believe existed for the incident.
- If you believe this incident is ongoing.
- Any other information you believe we should have.
- What happens after you file a report?
- You will receive an email from the CSA Executive Board acknowledging receipt.
The Board will meet to review the incident and determine:
- What happened.
- Whether this event constitutes a code of conduct violation.
- Who the bad actor was.
- Whether this is an ongoing situation, or if there is a threat to anyone's physical safety.
- If this is determined to be an ongoing incident or a threat to physical safety, the Boards immediate priority
will be to protect everyone involved. This means we may delay an "official" response until we believe that the situation has ended.
Once the CSA Executive Board has a complete account of the events, they will make a decision as to how to response. Responses may include:
* Nothing (if we determine no violation occurred).
* A private reprimand from the CSA Executive Board to the individual(s) involved.
* A public reprimand to the individual(s) involved from the CSA Executive Board to the CSA Stunt Group.
* A request for a public or private apology.
* A CSA group vote for imposed demotion to Probation for one year.
* A CSA group vote for permanent ban and expulsion from the CSA organization.
We will respond to the person who filed the report with either a resolution or an explanation of why the situation is not yet resolved.
Once we've determined our final action, we'll contact the original reporter to let them know what action (if any) we'll be taking.We'll take into account feedback from the reporter, the accused, and other available sources regarding the matter.
What if your report concerns a possible violation by a committee member? If your report concerns a current member of the CSA Executive Board, you may not feel comfortable sending your report to the CSA Executive Board, as all members will see the report. In that case, you can make a report directly to any individual of the current CSA Executive Board (President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer). The chairs will follow the usual enforcement process with the other members, but will exclude the member(s) that the report concerns from any discussion or decision making. TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER
SHOW RESPECT AND SUPPORT!
One of the benefits of being a CSA Member is that we agree to have each other’s backs.We agree to collaborate with a level of TRUST that allows us to freely communicate with each other. Be generous with information and advice that may help fellow members, whether it’s about personal issues or getting work.
When hiring Performers and assigning Cover-Coordinators, we agree to LOOK TO THE GROUP FIRST! What that means is: CSA STUNT COORDINATORS MUST LOOK TO QUALIFIED CSA MEMBERS FIRST BEFORE VENTURING OUTSIDE OF CSA TO FILL THESE SPOTS. No individual CSA Member is entitled to any job just because they are a CSA Member, however, they are entitled to be considered before someone that is not a CSA Member.
COMMITTING TO IMPROVEMENT
We understand that none of us are perfect: It’s expected that all of us, regardless of our backgrounds, will from time to time fail to live up to our very high standards.What matters isn’t having a perfect track record, but owning up to your mistakes and making a clear and persistent effort to improve. If you are approached as having (consciously or otherwise) acted in a way that might make your colleagues feel unwelcome, refrain from being defensive; remember that if someone calls you out, it likely took a great deal of courage for them to do so. The best way to respect that courage is to acknowledge your mistake, apologize, and move on—with a renewed commitment to do better. That said, violations of this code can and will be addressed by the Executive Board, and can lead to disciplinary actions, including termination.
CONTRIBUTING
All active CSA Members are required to contribute to the group. Contribution to the group can occur in many forms such as responding to group texts, emails, surveys, mentoring new members or other forms of communication. Every member of CSA should try to attend all meetings and group functions, be it in person or via electronic communication, i.e. Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, etc.
Members of the CSA team are invited to contribute to this code of conduct by filing an issue to raise a concern or share feedback, or by suggesting changes. If you have a question or suggestion for evolving the policies, file an issue outlining your suggestion, providing as much context as you can. Team members are invited to contribute to discussions around changes. Note, of course, that contributions to the code and discussions around it are themselves governed by the rules of the code.
