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Hey hows it going I'm going to make some quick points about my experience trying to get guilds or unions going in comics. My experiences aren't everyone's but I do think sharing information can help.
Also I'm avoiding work I really should be doing because it's hard.
Here are some big hurdles:
-Comics is now international. If you want to protect everyone, you need to some how also protect people around the world. Currently I am unaware of any legal way to do this. Secondly, many companies can easily outsource, are already motivated to do so
-Comics is now international. If you want to protect everyone, you need to some how also protect people around the world. Currently I am unaware of any legal way to do this. Secondly, many companies can easily outsource, are already motivated to do so
-People who have the time to build things tend not to have the social capital to convince a bunch of people to join in.
-People who have the social capital tend to neither have the time nor will and in some cases should not be trusted with the leadership
-People who have the social capital tend to neither have the time nor will and in some cases should not be trusted with the leadership
-Many niches of the industry are unable or uninterested in helping other niches.
-Some of the people who need protection because they lack social capital (Letterers, flatters, colorists) are overlooked and their contributions are not considered worth investment in
-Some of the people who need protection because they lack social capital (Letterers, flatters, colorists) are overlooked and their contributions are not considered worth investment in
-With out mediation freelancers are still left very vulnerable to asymmetrical power structures.
-With out mediation personal conflicts can fester
-Everyone is super broke and tired
-Working with established unions/guilds tends to be out of the price range of comics ppl
-With out mediation personal conflicts can fester
-Everyone is super broke and tired
-Working with established unions/guilds tends to be out of the price range of comics ppl
-Guilds/unions cannot protect against sexual assault
-Guilds/unions cannot protect against rumors/personal issues
-They are just collective bargaining & so many publishers run on razor thin margins they'd just shut down (this is not good for anyone!)
-Guilds/unions cannot protect against rumors/personal issues
-They are just collective bargaining & so many publishers run on razor thin margins they'd just shut down (this is not good for anyone!)
-Getting enough people together to form significant power is very boring, tedious, time consuming & takes years.
-We forget the work of the people who went before us
-Indie & mainstream are totally different systems
-Maybe guilds can protect self publishers? But I'm not sure
-We forget the work of the people who went before us
-Indie & mainstream are totally different systems
-Maybe guilds can protect self publishers? But I'm not sure
Anyway, it's hard. I'm tired.
I guess I like seeing people say "Why don't we use more collective bargaining?!?!?" but I kind of wouldn't mind if the assumption weren't that people are too lazy or ignorant, but rather there are complex hurdles
I guess I like seeing people say "Why don't we use more collective bargaining?!?!?" but I kind of wouldn't mind if the assumption weren't that people are too lazy or ignorant, but rather there are complex hurdles
Fees being expensive might be too imprecise a word, but basically a lot of letterers/colorists/flatters earn less than 20k/yr. That's a tough amount to live on! So any fee prices them out. Fees are fair! They are important, I just don't know how to square those two facts!
