********************************************************************************************
Membership Equals Activism
by Tim Corley APT Board Member
What does the APT do for me? How many times has that question been asked and answered? Not enough times. The APT doesn’t do anything for you. It does it with you. We are an Alliance. What’s that mean? It means that whether you’re a member or not we keep an eye on safety, professionalism and ethics in our tattoo community. It means we try to educate each other in the ways to practice our craft without endangering ourselves, co-workers or clients. We participate through shared knowledge and education when some inane legislation is proposed.
Since 1992, a relative few, dedicated, concerned people have been standing guard over this business of tattooing. Keeping us all apprised of health and safety concerns, while attempting to build some uniformity in safe tattooing practices. The ranks of the “relative few” have changed over the past 17 years. Some have come and gone. Some have left permanently, because of death or disillusion, and others have taken their places. You have taken their places.
The APT is us! Just think of the possibilities. We don’t tell each other what to tattoo, how to design or place a tattoo, or what tools or techniques to use. We just provide each other and the powers that want to govern us with the accumulated knowledge and common sense to keep our process and the environment SAFE. When there are more of us and I mean a lot more, we would have the power and the voice to purchase low cost health, liability and life insurance. You would have a platform for change and acceptance in your chosen career. You could demand an industry standard for safety, even at conventions.
It doesn’t affect me. Well you are wrong. The APT has had some impact on the Body Art regulations in almost every state that has them. Maybe not through direct participation, but from 17 years of members being involved. Helping their state legislators write fair competent regulations. Working with health departments that usually only inspected restaurants!
There are a lot of tattooers out there. You think OSHA just wanted to pick on us? No they noticed our numbers. You think California just wanted to slap down pigment manufacturers? The point is the government is really starting to take notice and they will regulate or ask someone to have a universal standard for us. The closest organization to the government right now is the Board of Cosmetology. The government sees them as an organization in place that works and would very much like to have us in their fold. Do you want to be regulated or standardized by them? I think not.
As an APT member you have a stake in your future. You have a vote on what we do and who leads this Alliance. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Tattooing was a most secretive and antiestablishment career choice for many, many years. Now anyone can learn anything and you don’t have to know jack to start changing people’s lives forever. It is not as cool or mysterious to be a Tattooist as it once was. Wouldn’t you like to be part of group of Professionals that has at least a minimum requirement to be a member. When the FDA, OSHA, or the IRS steps in to tell you what to do and what they want, wouldn’t you like to have the numbers to scare them into making the right, the fair decisions? You can! Be a member. Encourage your friends to be members. Participate in the way your APT is run. Vote! Communicate! There is strength in numbers and power in unity. We’ve been under the radar a long time, but that stealth anonymity is coming to an end. I guarantee it. There are too many of us to ignore. When they do take notice, if we have one voice, thousands strong, they will pay attention!
Body Art: A Comprehensive Guidebook and Model Code http://www.neha.org/store/797.html
Bob Montagna contributed to this book. Countless heath departments use it as their model.
The Importance of Body Art Regulations
http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/envh/final492paper/BodyArtRegulation.pdf
NIOSH Safety and Health Topic: Body Art
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/bbp/bodyart/
********************************************************************************************
|
Ok, send yours!