Labor — Blog — Healy Chen

Increasing feedback loop

A new bill in California going into effect next year will see fast food workers - in chains with at least 60 locations throughout the United States - earn at least a $20 minimum wage. That is great news for the workers, but bad news for patrons. McDonald’s and Chipotle already signaled plans to increase menu prices in response. In a time when eating a full meal at McDonald’s is already upwards of $10, prices getting even more expensive is kind of grating.

And it won’t be just McDonald’s and Chipotle, that’s for damn sure.

Because corporations aren’t going to cut into (often times fat) profits to pay its workers more. Shareholders simply wouldn’t have it: “What do you mean there’s less profits this quarter due to labor cost?!” That burden gets passed onto the customers. The UAW strike against the American big three automakers? The concessions made by the automakers will no doubt increase vehicle prices. Kaiser Permanente staff successfully bargaining for a raise? Insurance plans pricing is going up!

Isn’t it all kind of creating its own feedback loop? Labor costs go up, so prices increase in response. Then that makes people feel like their money doesn’t buy as much anymore. So they ask for wage increase at their place of employment (collectively bargained or otherwise). Of course, whatever that employer sells will have to go up in price (remember: got to protect the profits). Back and forth in symbiosis: workers get paid more, things get more expensive. An inflation arms race.

I am all for labor getting more money. I am a proud union member, super fortunate to enjoy collectively-bargained wage increases on a regular basis. That said, sometimes I wonder: what good is more pay, if everything else gets more expensive? It all cancels out! I’m not kidding: last year’s wage increase all went to paying for food, which has price inflated tremendously in recent years.

In solidarity!

The Writers Guild have gone on strike. I can remember the last time the writers picketed, back in 2007. The beloved show The Office was nearly cancelled because of it. Many other shows did get cancelled, and those that survive had their storylines hugely affected. Depending on how this strike goes, the effect on your favorite show may be devastating.

Don’t get me wrong, I am squarely on the side of the striking writers. As a member of a union myself, I have nothing but solidarity with members of other unions. Inflation continues to be an issue, so workers have to fight for every bit of increase just to keep up with expenses. Last year my union negotiated a 7% increase for the members, for which I am extremely grateful. The increase definitely eases the pain of the current inflationary environment. From an already frugal base, I didn’t have to alter my spending that much, if at all.

The writers also have to contend with the existential crisis of being replaced by AI. I directly know people who are already using ChatGPT (and the like) to help them write long form. The same technology can no doubt be leveraged by TV and movie studios to write stories and dialogue. You can employ less writers if all you need is for them to tidy up the output from an AI bot. The time is right now for human writers to negotiate a future in which their role is protected for years to come.

Our favorite shows might be on pause for a long time because of the strike, but these are real people with real families to take care of. These aren’t the Hollywood elites living in the hills. Most writers earn a middle-income wage like you and I. They deserve every bit they can get from the studios. In solidarity!