The Truth About Unions
For close to a century, certain scholars and businessmen have painted a clear picture of unions: at best they are petulant and childish with no understanding of economics, and at worst they represent radical revolutionary socialism. This narrative has been pushed so relentlessly that a shocking number of people on the right and left have come to believe it. The joint actors-writers’ strike in Hollywood proves them wrong. The strike reveals that unions, far from being a revolutionary force, actually stand against the unthinking radical progress of greedy industries.
A month ago, all screenwriters in America went on strike when negotiations broke down between the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (which bargains on behalf of Hollywood companies) and the Writer’s Guild of America. Several weeks later the actors’ union joined the strike when their negotiations also broke down. Much of the discussion between the unions and industry consisted of the usual fare – wages, benefits, and so on. But the real sticking point that led to the end of the bargaining is unique – artificial intelligence. The Writers Guild wanted firm assurances that A.I. would not be used to replace them. Likewise, the actors walked out in horror when industry officials came very close to openly proposing replacing acting jobs with A.I. generated figures. No part of this story fits the usual narrative that surrounds unions. Most people involved in the negotiations are reasonably wealthy, no radical demands were made on behalf of workers, and, most importantly, the business interests are the ones pushing unending, ill-thought out, progress.
The nature of these events makes obvious just how false popular conceptions of unions truly are. Perhaps even more importantly, the recent strike in Hollywood reveals the true purpose of unions – to preserve the human aspect of the economy. By this I do not mean merely defending the rights of workers (though unions certainly do this) but something much deeper – preventing industries from becoming exclusively soulless money-making machines. Unions stand against the naturally greedy tendency of capitalism and thus create a more benevolent economic system. History tells a clear story of what happens when economic greed is left unchecked: environmental devastation, child labor, impoverished workers, and the list goes on. Unions help put a stop to all of this. The rise of artificial intelligence in filmmaking poses another opportunity for greed to destroy the human aspect of an industry. A.I. Would allow Hollywood to function without actors or writers and in the end destroy cinema as genuine art. All in the name of making more money.
Though often accused of socialism, by checking the worst tendencies of a free market economy unions do a great deal to keep capitalism healthy. They show that worker ran organizations can often substitute for overweening government regulations. Unions may also hold capitalists to account and thus thwart the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a few wealthy men - a state of affairs that is almost always a prelude to class revolution. In short, unions are in an odd way a conservative force – preserving capitalism and staving off a worker's revolt.
For all their usefulness and even with the very public strike in Hollywood, unions have fallen on hard times. Union membership dropped to record lows in 2022 and states across the country have made it harder both to form and join a union. The recent efforts of Hollywood actors and writers should show the foolishness of such policies and remind us just how important unions are. Going forward all liberals should do everything they can to ensure the flourishing of the American labor movement.
