The Writers Guild of America, who writes for TV, went on strike this week. They want higher pay, better benefits, more residuals and increased pay for streaming services. The “Industry” response has been that streaming has decimated profits and they cannot afford to meet the demands. I have no idea if this is true or not.
Amazon workers have been trying to unionize since the pandemic. There have been reports of Amazon using anti-union and union busting tactics to prevent this. The same goes for Starbucks and its workers.
In Pittsburgh, workers for the Post-Gazette have been on strike for 6 months. They want better health benefits, pay increases and job guarantees. Since 2004, the paper has been cutting wages, positions and production. The former 7 day weekly paper moved to 5 days a week in 2018, then 3 days a week in 2019, before finally cutting to 2 days a week in 2021.
———
I have never been in a union. When I was a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, I remember many steelworker unions being on-strike as the industry crumbled around them. Eventually all the steelworkers had to retire, find other jobs or move away.
I remember having high school teachers who were in a union. Some of these teachers were good and others were pathetic. The union protected all of them. We had ditto man – who handed out the same ditto worksheets for 30 years to his Spanish classes. I had 2 years of his Spanish class and can barely speak a word of it. Another protected teacher Mrs. A, taught Chemistry. She gave us open book tests. To prepare us for standardized test (which she was evaluated on), she gave us worksheets with all the the answers on them the day before the exams. I’m fairly certain these teachers milked the system for 30 years until retirement without ever being called on the carpet for their mediocre to abysmal teaching. Teachers in Pittsburgh, back in the 1980s earned $40-60K a year plus great benefits which is equivalent to $120-175K today.
When I had to work at trade shows, I dreaded if the convention center workers were unionized. When they were, it meant I couldn’t unload my own boxes, setup or breakdown my booth by myself. Instead, I had to wait for the union workers to do it. It meant setup took at least ½ an extra day and breakdown was always logjam.
So I cannot say I’ve had positive experiences with unions.
———
As for the current strikes, I do have some thoughts.
The print newspaper industry has been dying a prolonged death since the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. First Craiglist, then Facebook and eventually Google decimated print newspaper ad revenues. Simultaneously, major advertisers were shutting down their businesses – retailers, malls, and department stores all were driven out of business by Walmart and Amazon.
I distinctly remember the quality of writing in newspapers dropped of a cliff starting around 2003, due undoubtedly, to the elimination of writers, reporters, editors and staff.
If I was in that business, I wouldn’t strike. I’d leave the industry.
———
TV Writers had a sweet deal with residuals. They got paid to write and then would receive years of residual payments as the show continued to run. Apparently, this sweet deal is going away.
They also had guaranteed minimum pay rates for various types of shows and movies.
I wish I had ever received residuals in any job I had. And guaranteed contracts sounds like a dream come true. Every job I ever worked was a “right to work” position which in reality meant the company could fire me at any time, for any reason and did not have to pay me anything except for the time I had worked up until that point. I lost several jobs that went just like that. I think I only got paid severance once (which was for a few weeks).
I completely understand why writers want it guarantees, residuals and set minimum rates. They also want assurances that they won’t be replaced by AI bot scriptwriting.
Good luck with that. Management will due everything possible to squeeze every dime of profit it can and will do this at the expense of the writers. I am 100% confident of this.
———
As for Starbucks, Walmart, Amazon and the like – right now there are still more service jobs than workers to fill them. This was a pandemic fueled phenomenon that has temporarily shifted some of the power from management to workers. As a result, these companies, and others in fast food, retail and support industries have had to increase wages from bare bottom minimum to a few dollars an hour more.
That will change. Eventually ownership and management will figure out how to replace higher wage workers with automation and/or lower wage employees. Or they’ll cut service levels in order to do without as many employees.
I’m certain of that too. I’ve seen this play before.
If I was working is service, I’d negotiate and with jobs to get the highest hourly wage possible while this wage bubble is running. At the same time, I’d be getting trained so I could move into a skilled trade position – like electrician, mechanic or plumbing.
———
Even if the strikes are successful, I have doubts that anything gained will be long lasting.
This is an old story with a familiar end.