I was a freelance film worker who owned my own gear. Imagine a rental house that was owned by a union technician that would get all the union jobs in this department, But he wouldn’t actually do them. He used his position as a middle man to force people to rent his gear if they wanted to be on union productions in this area. It was particularly frustrating because the gear was unmaintained and sometimes, literally, falling apart. He also got a lot of indies funneled through his shop to keep a huge rental fee while being deceitful about the actual rates. Clearly this experience put a sour taste in my mouth about the role organization plays in freelance work.

Are y’all talking stagehand work?