WGA Solidarity? No Damn Way

Today (or I should say, the day this post was first published) is November 26th. And according to some, I shouldn’t be blogging today. Not just me, but every member off the blogosphere. Why? Well in the mind of some, it is important that members of the “new media” (bloggers, podcasters, ect) show their support for the writers who are going on strike as part of the WGA. Naturally, most bloggers from the serious to the lame, from the tech bloggers to the political bloggers, are having no part of it. In some cases, it is because the blogs are written by non-American authors, and they therefore are unconcerned either way. For others, it is the realization that such a strike is pointless, devoid of impact, and does nothing other than harm their own level of traffic, and in some cases income. While those are both valid reasons for not involving oneself in this poorly organized, poorly promoted, unpopular protest effort, neither are why I am have elected to blog on this day.

I have long held that unions are afforded too much legitimacy in the negotiation process, by the government and the population at large. While I respect the right of voluntary association, and therefore would not advocate the outright banning of unions within our borders, I see their existence as an issue. The entertainment industry has a particularly poor relationship with unions, as it is often the case that companies come under threat if they try and hire non-union workers. In other words, the companies are forced to work exclusively within unions for major positions, and are then forced to continually re-negotiate already generous contracts every few years to prevent a total shutdown. As some might recall, the last WGA strike cost the industry a half a billion dollars. Is there any reason to expect this to be different?

As far as I’m concerned, the unions use coercion and blackmail to unduly restrain industry. And, worst of all, they do so with the unfettered approval of the populous and its elected leadership. Unions are seen as a way to fight corporate excess, with people forgetting that without big business, society would be far worse off. No, that doesn’t mean you have to shop at Wal-Mart or name your first kid Sears. It does mean that writing them off as bad, simply because they aim to deliver value to their shareholders (who are themselves average Americans), is asinine. In the case of the WGA, the writers are paid quite well in general, and its members aren’t on the verge of needing welfare. Pay is already high, and an increase will eventually translate into higher movie ticket prices, more costly DVDs, and other unpleasant commercial realities. And frankly, I don’t see how I benefit from that, or how justice is better served.

For those who might feel differently politically, and really feel that unions were and are still important, and side the WGA, I have some questions. Given the continued decline in the quality of Hollywood produced entertainment, and the shift away from strong plots and dialogue in favor of intense CGI and more explicit displays of sex, do the writers really deserve money? Has their job become more burdensome, or their performance improved?

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy these recent articles:

• Previously Unreleased: The Changing Nature of Dhimmitude and the Jizyah
• In Defense of the EDL
• How Liberal Politics Ruined Student Life
• My Resignation From Student Life
• Srebrenica: More Myth Than Massacre