A New Craft Unionism: How Unions Help the

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A New Craft UnionismHow Unions Help the
Self-Employed like Artists and Artisans
Organize their Industries, their Work and their
Lives

• Larry Haiven, Saint Marys University
• Susan Wallace, Canadian Actors Equity
• Catherine Middleton, Directors Guild of Canada,
  Ontario

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Wagnerist Model of Union Organizing

• a creature of Fordist accumulation
• organize large workplace (factory)
• certification guarantees sole exclusive
  jurisdiction to represent bargaining unit
• negotiate collective agreement
• dues checkoff
• business unionism

Employer
Employees
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Unravelling of vertical firm into networks
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Taxi drivers
Other Taxi drivers
Municipal Regulators
Dispatch Companies
Provincial Regulators
Taxi Driver/Owner
Automobile
Commercial inputs
Other accessories
Gasoline
Cab Owner
Parts repairs
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Musicians
Other musicians
Impresarios/purchasers
Government agencies
Schools
Managers
Distributors
Musician
Automobile
Commercial inputs
Equipment
Record Labels
Instruments
Fans fashion
Booking agents
Intellectual Property Capture Agencies
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Film video artisans
Assistant Location Manager
Assistant Accountant
Chief Accountant
Bookkeeper
Picture Editor
Location Manager
Supervising Picture Editor
Assistant Production Manager
1st Assistant Picture Editor
Production Manager
2nd Assistant Picture Editor
Producer
Sound Editor
1st Assistant Director
Unit Manager
Set Designer
Production Designer
2nd Assistant Director
Art Director
Director
2nd Asst Art Director
3rd Assistant Director
1st Asst Art Director
Trainee Assistant Director
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Networks

• Compared to old hierarchical firm, networks look
  deceivingly egalitarian
• Flow of value to power
• Castells Materials for exploratory theory of the
  network
• The rule is individualization of the
  relationship between capital and labor.
• critical cleavage within labor becomes the one
  between networked labor and switched-off labor,
  which ultimately becomes non-labor.
• second, fundamental cleavage, between
  self-programmable labor and generic labor. While
  for generic labor, its strategy is survival the
  key issue becomes not be be degraded to the realm
  of discarded or devalued labor, either by
  automation, or globalization, or both.

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Value flow in network

• Less upward to top of hierarchical organization
• More inward to key nodes
• Control access to inputs and access to markets
• Best able to capture intellectual property value
• Like a gravity drawing wealth
• From single dependency to multitudinous
  dependencies
• Dependency influences flow of value
• Interests of network members sometimes coincide,
  sometimes clash

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Intellectual property

• More individuals able to produce on their own
• E.g. music, filmmaking, new media
• Technology allows personal production
  reproduction
• Key elements still missing
• Capital for startup
• Livelihood
• Input costs
• Career management
• Distribution of outputs

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Intellectual property (2)

• Like quicksilver
• Technology makes it easier to produce but harder
  to hold and capture value
• 2 problems
• Value flows to those with power, organization and
  access
• New technology allows leakage of valorization
  potential (piracy)
• Creators of intellectual property constant
  struggle to capture value of i.p.
• Or at least conscious positive giving it away

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Intellectual Property Capture Agencies(e.g. for
musicians)

• Mechanical royalty from sale of manufactured and
  distributed phonorecord

Cdn Musical Reproduction Rights Agency MCRRA
funded by commission of proceeds of licenses
issued

• Synchronization royalty when song is in
  commercials, TV shows or films (requires a
  licence)

Society of Composers, Authors and Music
Publishers of Canada SOCAN similar agencies
in the US Europe

• Performance royalty whenever the song is aired
  on radio, TV, in bars, restaurants, malls, over
  the telephone while youre waiting

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Collectivities of labour

• Wagnerist model based on old hierarchical
  structure
• Enmeshed in network webs, workers must and do
  form own collectivities
• Unions only one type of collectivity
• Others e.g.
• Cooperatives
• Professional societies
• Intellectual property capture agencies
• Ethnic, gender, religious, cultural associations
• Consumer organizations

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Unions need to.(and/or)

• Realize changes transforming value creation
• Increase scope of what they do for members
• Beyond workplace citizens, consumers,
  neighbours, identities, self-employment
• Help capture intellectual property rights
• Increase scope of membership to those outside
  standard workplaces employment
• To non-standard-employed
• Even to self-employed
• Work with unions of non-standard work
  arrangements
• Work/contend with other interest associations

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Stone From Widgets to Digits

• A new craft unionism
• Organize high tech workforce on basis of common
  skills
• Offer services employers not willing to offer
• Story of NABET vs. IATSE
• NABET followed rigid, Wagnerist model as film
  video industry moving away from it
• Firm-centred, stable employment, collective terms
• Bypassed by tricks technology
• IATSE
• More fluid operation
• Represented members as insider conractors
• Embedded contract bargaining
• Encouraged mutual self-help
• Geographically-based citizen unionism

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Examples of Artists artisans unions

• American Federation of Musicians
• Canadian Actors Equity
• Directors Guild of Canada
• ACTRA
• CARFAC
• Professional Writers Association of Canada
• Some Quebec equivalents

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Features of artist/an unionism

• Self-employment personal service contracts
• Framework agreement contract only union labour
  establish minimum or scale
• Provide boilerplate contracts advice
• Trust funds from industry agreements
• Hiring halls/referrals
• Gig-based benefits (e.g. pension, disability
  insurance)
• Member-paid benefits (e.g. other insurance,
  discounts)

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Features (2)

• Travel cross-border issues
• Professional development, advice assistance
• Legal and other professional services
• Public policy advocacy
• Intellectual property capture
• Organizing an inherently chaotic industry
• Fight for status of artist legislation

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Status of the Artist Legislation

• Canadian Artists and Producers Professional
  Relations Tribunal
• Similar Quebec legislation
• Emulates collective bargaining
• collectivity of self-employed artists acts as
  bargaining agent
• names collectivity of producers
• legally obliged to bargain in good faith
• At impasse, can apply pressure tactics
• Legally enforceable agreement