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Quoting Jim Doria <jimdoria -at- techie -dot- com>:
>
> But the idea of a guild - now that has merit. Whereas
> a union is a "you're
> in or you're out" proposition, a guild has various
> levels of achievment, and
> could consequently provide for varying levels of
> compensation for it's
> workers. A properly-run guild can insure the quality
> of its members in a way
> that a union can't (or won't). Employers can choose to
> use guild members or
> not, but if all goes well, they should choose to do
> so, just to ensure the
> quality of the work.
LOL! Probably the most powerful writer's "union" in America is the Writer's Guild of America, West. That's "GUILD", not union, but there's no real difference. It has dues, membership requirements, negotiates a closed shop, and definitely goes on strike when necessary.
Let's look at some of the things that this union does for its members, all writers:
1. Guarantees a minimum pay level for all work.
2. Guarantees a maximum number of "rewrites" without pay; any rewrites required by management (producers) trigger a second round of payment/negotiation.
3. Assures that writers are credited for their work; this is important because a writer's credit is his/her entry ticket into WGA.
4. Mediates on behalf of its members in contract disputes.
5. Stipulates a minimum basic contract (the Minimum Basic Agreement) to be used as the basis for ALL contracts.
6. Protects writers from exploitation by requiring that "first drafts" be paid for if reviewed by management.
7. Provides medical and other insurance coverage for its members, most of whom are freelance.
The effect of all these actions is that producers can be assured that when they hire WGA affiliated talent, they are getting someone of proven worth. When they need to set up a contract with a writer, there's a template in place; everyone knows what is expected and time wasted re-inventing the wheel is minimized. Writers get protected from exploitative management and unreasonable demands for rewrites. Their work cannot be summarily appropriated by the people who hire them. There is a readily available forum to work out grievances.
The downside, of course, is that it's damned hard to join. But then, getting a college degree, or finishing a craft apprenticeship is hard. The good stuff is worth working at.
I don't know why you think unions don't police themselves. It's in their interest to make sure members meet minimum quality standards, or the whole membership suffers. Don't we get blamed for bad documentation written by incompetent flacks? Haven't you ever had to clean up after a lousy writer? Wouldn't it be great if you could be part of an organization dedicated to weeding them out or training them to do better?
Unions have gotten a bad rap in this country for decades, thanks to political situations that are off topic. But as far as the profession of technical writing is concerned, it's long past time we took the idea seriously.
As far as calling it a "guild", well, I'm a writer. I call 'em as I see 'em. The ABA and the AMA may call themselves whatever they like, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, I call it a union.
--
Sarah Stegall
Technical Writer
sarah_stegall -at- dcprojects -dot- com
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