The No Labor Day: Why Christians Should Be Thankful for Unions
Article By Nathaniel Darnell
Ever wonder why most folks take off from work on Labor Day? Doesn’t it seem like Labor Day would be the one day in the year that people would labor?
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “[t]he first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.” U.S. Department of Labor, The History of Labor Day (2007). Not until 1894, however, did Congress make Labor Day a national holiday. Id.
I’m not a fan of unions, which have a nack for increasing worker inefficiency, hiking prices, and creating arbitrary rules that hinder achievement. Here are some interesting facts relating to unions in the film industry:
- George Lucas received a fine from the Screen Actor’s Guild union for not have credits at beginning of his movie The Empire Strikes Back. As anyone who is familiar with the Star Wars movies knows, the films begin with scrolling text in space introducing the story. The feel created by this effect would have been totally ruined by having credits at the beginning of the movie, but SAG didn’t care. Lucas was so outraged by the fine that he dropped out the guild and has never returned.
- Peter Jackson was able to make The Lord of the Rings movies for a fraction of the price he would have paid in the United States because there are no film unions in New Zealand. He was also able to get more flexible labor hours from his crew due to the lack of unions.
- Laos, Nigeria has become a booming movie-production town for Africa, releasing over 2,500 movies in 2004 alone. Nigeria employs some 200,000 film crew workers, none of which belong to a union. The films are popular with Africans and they are making money. Isaac Botkin, Outside Hollywood 213 (Vision Forum, 2007).
Interestingly enough, American unions may literally be a God-send for up-and-coming Christian filmmakers eager to create a replacement industry. By offering flexible work hours, lower costs, and a positive team spirit, independent Christian filmmakers have the potential of out-producing Hollywood. So perhaps we should be thankful for Labor Day and the American unions who brought it about.
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Hmm...that's a new perspective. I never thought of it that way, and I didn't know about George Lucas's trouble with unions.
By the way, great blog, I love your posts. Really helps.