Planting Liberally

I wanted to write something clever and brilliant about the WGA writers' strike, but I see Nathan Newman already beat me to the punch. Newman's take is that the writers' strike showcases perfectly how unions make sense for professionals. In our economy, technological innovation radically reinvents the work of professional workers at a blinding clip. For the writers, the introduction of home video in the 80's was followed quickly by DVD's in the late 90's, and Internet video delivery in the last few years. This video explains perfectly what all these technologies mean for the writers: With this kind of technological backdrop, effective legislation that guarantees fair rights for workers and enables industry growth is nearly impossible to craft. The government simply doesn't move quickly enough, and technological change is accelerating, meaning the problem will only get worse. Union contracts serve as a kind of second tier of law, allowing workers and management to creatively restructure the industry. When workers and management work together creatively, they can determine the appropriate rights and compensation for workers while keeping up with the pace of technological change and maintaining their companies' competitive edge. Union contracts are typically renegotiated every couple of years, whereas the government rewrites things like intellectual property law very rarely. As a result, as Newman puts it, "contracts look quite different in the construction industry compared to the auto industry compared to Hollywood compared to baseball", as they should. I think it's particularly interesting that one of the first shows to be affected by the strike, The Office, serves as a giant exclamation point on this argument. Anyone who's seen the show knows that it is a constant reminder of exactly the reason for professional unionism. Corporate policies are frequently bone-headed, and corporate management all too frequently promotes the wrong person into the wrong job. On top of that, many offices are fraught with many tiny instances of worker abuse which by themseles aren't enough to inspire any kind of drastic action like quitting; but taken together, these thousands of paper cuts create an abusive or simply unpleasant environment which could be made considerably more pleasant with a formal grievance system, like that provided by a union and a responsive shop steward. If you've ever worked in an office, it's easy enough for you to watch the show and sympathize with this basic point. But if you're an office manager or corporate supervisor, you should pay even closer attention. After all, the lack of union representation costs the fictional Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch dearly: sales are lost, good salespeople quit, and precious time is wasted routinely, all becaue the fictional office workers don't have any way in which to protest their condition without fear of being fired. As if the point is too subtle as is, the show examined the boneheadedness of coporate union-busting quite explicitly in a recent episode. I'm also struck, as Digby is, by the solidarity between professionals and blue-collar workers in California. If just compensation and sane working conditions are the meat of a union contract, this kind of class-crossing solidarity is the potatoes and gravy. White-collar and blue-collar unionism are natural complements, since white-collar and blue-collar workers often work side-by-side (in the case of Hollywood, there are several tiers: union actors from SAG, union writers from WGA, and union electricians form IATSE.) The ability to work together with people of a different class background is a rare but important benefit in an increasingly segregated country, and outside of the labor movement, there are very few places which offer that kind of opportunity. More than the intangible benefit of solidarity, though, white- and blue-collar unions can be powerful economic allies: one group of workers can help the other in contract and organizing disputes, by refusing to cross picket lines, slowing-down work, boycotts, and similar means. There's no reason that white- and blue-collar workers should struggle separately under the weight of corporate greed; joint organizing can alleviate economic stress for both groups. If you'd like to support the writers, visit United Hollywood to keep track of the strike and find out how you can help. Let's all hope the writers succeed in getting their fair share of residuals, from DVD rentals, Internet downloads, and so-called "promos". Let's also hope that the WGA strike serves as a call to professionals in many different industries to seriously consider the benefits of union representation.