“The union makes us strong”

I have never belonged to a labor union. Outside of my friends who are members, my only direct interactions with labor unions were when I registered a screenplay with the WGA before submitting it to an agent and a UAW label on my car. But I benefit from labor unions. And so do you.

Unions are why we have weekends, sick leave, worker’s compensation, forty-hour work weeks, and overtime. They’re why we have minimum wage and safety regulations. Thanks to labor unions, I didn’t have to work in a sweatshop when I was eight. Labor unions worked side-by-side with the civil rights movement. Many of the freedoms and prosperity we enjoy today are the result of labor unions.

This is why I support unions, and I stand with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA in their strike against the AMPTP. The issues they’re striking about go beyond entertainment and can determine the future of all industries.

When politicians and billionaires talk about bringing America back to the “good ol’ days,” it seems like they’re talking about the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. These were the days of robber barons, monopolies, widespread government corruption, and non-existent regulation. Workers (including children) toiled for long hours in dangerous conditions for paltry wages. Consumers dealt with unsafe products and patent medicines with false claims while living in polluted cities…