Video Game Unions and Paying People Money

[Scaldrew]

Some people here are saying voice actors are not instrumental to the experience and I have to interject. Voice acting can make or break a game and is mentioned in almost every review, especially if it's really good or really bad. Some games in particular even become fan favourites due to the delivery of certain lines, games like GTA San Andreas or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. These two examples also feature really campy lines and delivery, so even bad voice acting can become good voice acting. It also adds to the charm of a game if it's trying really hard to be taken seriously, but ends up failing while the gameplay is enjoyable enough. Voice acting is definitely one of those aspects of game design that people take for granted, kind of like bug testing. Once giant flesh-eating bugs start showing up, however, people clamour in support of proper QA, eager to forgive their own misgivings.

It's true that voice actors aren't as necessary as programmers or designers or even producers, but to say that they're inconsequential is simply not true. I doubt anyone would argue the contrary, but I wanted to have it said regardless.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Public sector doesn't work like that. There, a politician (let's say a mayor, or some representative of the mayor) is negotiating the contract with the union. The mayor agrees to provide certain increases in salary, pensions, benefits, whatever, and in return the union will encourage its members to vote for that mayor. In a large city this can amount to thousands of votes, plenty enough to sway an election. Then the taxpayers are on the hook. The relationship between politician and union isn't adversarial, the politician has no reason to try to give the union as little as possible.

See: The State of Illinois, budget problems/fiscal irresponsibility

[johnnys]

unless its a big name actor, who's name will be used in marketing. And that person does not need a union, they have an agent.

Actually, big name actors with agents are mostly in the SAG union, and their agents negotiate terms of the standard union agreement more than they give the actor career advice contrary to what you saw on Entourage.

[footrat]

As a libertarian, a fireman, and a member of my local, I would agree that public sector unions are sometimes abominations of the right to freely associate.

For the reasons previously listed, where union membership can trade positive negotiations for votes, public sector unions are a major interference in the ability of government to operate efficiently or fairly to the citizens it serves.

But what about those public sector workers who are not eligible to vote in elections in the government for which they work? I live an hour away from my department. Additionally, Georgia has laws prohibiting public safety employees from engaging in a strike or slowdown.

I feel that those are fair concessions, given the nature of our profession and what a strike would mean to the citizenry.

[Mark Rippetoe]

But what about those public sector workers who are not eligible to vote in elections in the government for which they work? I live an hour away from my department. Additionally, Georgia has laws prohibiting public safety employees from engaging in a strike or slowdown.

Since those public sector workers represent a small fraction of the union membership, they do not change the fact that public sector unions essentially represent the collective members of a monopoly. Monopolies are bad, right? They're especially bad when they get paid with tax money, and when politicians who want to be reelected get to decide what they get paid and how big their pensions are.

[Pawn]

Some people here are saying voice actors are not instrumental to the experience and I have to interject. Voice acting can make or break a game and is mentioned in almost every review, especially if it's really good or really bad. Some games in particular even become fan favourites due to the delivery of certain lines, games like GTA San Andreas or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. These two examples also feature really campy lines and delivery, so even bad voice acting can become good voice acting. It also adds to the charm of a game if it's trying really hard to be taken seriously, but ends up failing while the gameplay is enjoyable enough. Voice acting is definitely one of those aspects of game design that people take for granted, kind of like bug testing. Once giant flesh-eating bugs start showing up, however, people clamour in support of proper QA, eager to forgive their own misgivings.

It's true that voice actors aren't as necessary as programmers or designers or even producers, but to say that they're inconsequential is simply not true. I doubt anyone would argue the contrary, but I wanted to have it said regardless.

Yes, particular lines have become fan favourites, but good dialogue delivery doesn't make a game. I would assume (feel free to prove me wrong) that far less than 1% of the public consider the voice actors when purchasing a game. There will be more people interested in Engine, Developer, Director, Writer, Producer etc. Most of the most ubiquitous lines in games come from 'horrible' voice acting.

[Mark D]

As a libertarian, a fireman, and a member of my local, I would agree that public sector unions are sometimes abominations of the right to freely associate.

For the reasons previously listed, where union membership can trade positive negotiations for votes, public sector unions are a major interference in the ability of government to operate efficiently or fairly to the citizens it serves.

But what about those public sector workers who are not eligible to vote in elections in the government for which they work? I live an hour away from my department. Additionally, Georgia has laws prohibiting public safety employees from engaging in a strike or slowdown.

I feel that those are fair concessions, given the nature of our profession and what a strike would mean to the citizenry.

I have to wonder just what you get thru your union membership then, if you belong to a union but are forbidden to strike or slow down.

[Ryan Foster]

If public sector unions were illegal what would be the best way to ensure public sector employees got fair wages and benefits?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Here's a novel approach: if you don't think the wages and benefits are fair, you don't accept the job. Unless, of course, you have been sold into slavery to the state and have no say about where you work.

[Mark D]

If public sector unions were illegal what would be the best way to ensure public sector employees got fair wages and benefits?

I've been employed full time for almost 32 years, never been unemployed. My last union job was the first one out of college (I worked as a programmer for NYC Mayor's Office of Operations. I left after 18 months to take a consulting gig and got a 70% raise). I'm paid fairly, because if I'm not I look for employment elsewhere. If I can't find a job that pays more, obviously I'm over-valuing myself and need to adjust my attitude (hint, that's never happened).