Have Unions jumped the shark?

Just in the last few weeks I've wondered if the days of Unions helping employees have passed. I believe they had a season where they were necessary, but some things occurring lately make me wonder if something else needs to evolve.

We've been closely watching the economic conditions in Spain, anticipating our return. The government is close to or probably past going bankrupt like Greece. They have called for austerity measures and because of that the unions of every type representing mostly people paid by the government, which is most of the people, are staging protests.

Protests that THEIR pay cannot be cut; it's not possible. Of course, the fact of the matter is that the government cannot keep up. They've already raised taxes a few times and lowered the retirement age trying to force more jobs for the 20 percent unemployed. 

I hear of Michigan which was a mecca of union jobs, but it appears they raised the bar so many times on the employers that the employers fled. It's almost as if the unions disregard common sense or the circumstances of the day, and just keep the benefits or pay going higher regardless of whether the industry can sustain it.

In Hollywood, the movie industry has unionized to the point of one person who loads film, one who takes it to the processors, one who shows the daily developed film. You can get in trouble if you do something logical like adjust a light if you are a camera person. Two things are wrong. The jobs have all become contract because no one wants to pay anyone fulltime for this tiny single job that the union allows them to do. It makes people not be able to cover multiple roles at one time - to multitask if you will. The other thing that is wrong is that media is changing. It's smaller; it's more streamlined; it doesn't need actual film anymore. The jobs are not as singular as they were 40 years ago. The union is holding fast to the former days and may lose the race. A team of 7 or 8 nonunion hobbyists in the industry are making up the cutting edge of film in Vietnam and they are being backed financially by new media types. Times they are a-changing.

Is it possible that one can over protect a job so much as to protect yourself out of the business completely?

Media, Publishing, Gutenberg days

We are living through an incredible time in publishing/media history. I mean, for one thing you can't just call it publishing anymore. Things like book trailers are out there. Advanced software and marketing tools exist to promote a (fill in the blank) movie, book, blog, website, all of the above.

When I started learning the Communications field you had to choose which niche you wanted to specialize in. Back then my choices were broadcasting, journalism, drama/speech. I went journalism. I'm glad because the firm hand on writing has carried over to everything else I've ended up doing.

My significant other, Kerry, and I were talking this morning about living through a media revolution and how incredible it is. I was reading blog analysis and debate on the book industry with Google releasing their online book distribution, ereaders, and New York Times is saying they are going to do a best seller elist for ebooks next year. That's just books.

I talked to a friend last night in film school who is exploring documentaries. People after they make a couple of these that are moderately successful are making a living. Not a multi-million dollar living but with basic equipment and good ideas you can share your ideas with the world.

Another article I read about a maverick who is creating a hybrid media group that will team writers and ideas for no money up front but 30-50% of what eventually comes in for projects, books or movies or whatever they turn out to be. That is amazing -- traditional publishing for a traditional book is NOT paying that. The odd thing is they are trying on purpose to be the next Harry Potter phenomena. A book didn't sell to a publisher so they shopped it to DreamWorks who are releasing a movie next year almost before the publishers can get back in line to buy the book. Oh, and the screenplays of the book have now modified that about to be released book. This is radical stuff. The guy behind it is universally loved and hated. Read article here.

It's not to say I'm for or against any of this, it's just amazing to watch something that is going to be in text books unfold before your eyes. The software for movies is radicalizing too, shrinking and getting more accessible. It is truly "media" now because it all bleeds over onto each other and gets more accessible to the rabble masses rather than elites in ivory publishing, movie towers.