Not to say that it’s all rainbows and daisies. Part of the guilds’ power is that they have rules and agreements with the other unions that disallow using non-u

Not to say that it’s all rainbows and daisies. Part of the guilds’ power is that they have rules and agreements with the other unions that disallow using non-union labor if other union labor is involved. Or if certain rules are broken. Bargaining is much more powerful when the actual product cannot be shipped if the unions strike or don’t work on your project. Software does not really have this restriction. And as someone who also has many friends across various roles in the Industry (and once tried to break in), there is one not-oft talked about downside: it is rather difficult to get into the guilds, with a lot of unpaid internships and nepotism involved. And even with the great union contracts, hours are long, the work sometimes dirty, and the culture on set often times incredibly toxic. So yes. The guild model probably the one that is more applicable to SWEs. But also don’t copy the model Hollywood has built too closely.