I’m fundamentally against unions. I believe that the biggest beneficiaries of unions are the leaders and the lawyers. Below-average workers are the next level and above-average workers are handicapped and incentivized to not produce. The rank-and-file are commoditized.
The WGA strike is ending. During this strike, writers and actors did no creative work for 146 days. The point of a strike is to show your employer, your negotiating counterpart, that this is what life would look like if we didn’t exist. Negotiating is a matter of building leverage and the strike shows your boss that they need you.
What if the writers and actors created their own work during this time? If they actively competed against their employers? The barriers to entry have fallen, anyone can start a podcast or Youtube channel. They have experience and credibility. They would not only show their former bosses that they’re needed, but threaten their existence.
But they wouldn’t have status. They wouldn’t be able to say they worked on this HBO show or have their names listed in the credits. And they play someone else’s game.