#Speakingout & the case for a pro wrestling union.

PART 1 : THE CASE FOR A UNION - WHY NEED ONE?

The conversation surrounding a pro wrestling union first gained prominence in the 80s, specifically in 1984 when Jesse Ventura tried attempting to organize the wrestlers working for the then WWF. As the story goes his attempts were squashed by a politicking Hulk Hogan who informed Vince McMahon of Ventura’s plans before any solid progress could have been made. This was in 1984 and in the 3.5 decades since then any conversation surrounding a union still lives and dies by the assumption that it would not work due to backstage politics. However, for more reasons than one could list in an article introduction, wrestling is drastically different in 2020 both structurally and culturally than it was during the era of Hulkamania. Wrestlers appear more willing to work with each other, you can see this by examining the change in pro wrestling style, the faster pace the multiple kick outs, wrestlers are more willing to let all participants look good and get everyone over rather than just one person. Pro Wrestling commentators such as Brian Last often deride this as a negative, claiming that it hurts the quality of the in ring product, and opinions vary on if he’s right or wrong when he says that. Regardless I see this as an indictment of a wrestling culture with less overall political backstabbing. There are other examples of course such as how wrestlers expose and talk about each other in a non-kayfabe manner online & the increased awareness of what happens behind the scenes that fans have gained due to the rise of the internet wrestling community.

Another factor as to why pro wrestling is ready to re-address the issue of a union is that it's becoming a more prominently discussed fact that wrestlers yield very little power in their decision making. Companies own wrestlers and can refuse to release them upon request even going so far as to freeze their contracts and can also put wrestlers into potentially hazardous situations such as what happened in Saudi Arabia last November. Wrestlers have for years reported inadequate health and safety in wrestling, such as CM Punk in 2014 and of course the recent Dark Side of the Ring documentary on Owen Hart shows how strongly wrestling can emphasize the show over the performer. Finally should you need more evidence for why the discussion of forming a wrestling union is needed now more than ever, look no further than what is being revealed by the #Speakingoutmovement. Not only does this highlight issues outside of the WWE sphere, it clearly displays an industry wide problem: wrestlers are not safe. A problem that as always affects the most marginalized of a community the worst. Wrestling is culturally a boys club, an environment of “hazing rituals” “low pay” and an alarming mortality rate. It is also a corporate club, one that sees its performers as resources to be used and often exploited. A wrestling union is needed, so the question is, what would this look like?

A labor union of any creed’s primary goal is to ensure a safer, fairer and more financially satisfying working environment for its members. A union lobbies to ensure that its members are protected and cannot be unjustly fired or mistreated by an employer. A wrestling union therefore would first look to prioritize better safety for wrestlers on both the independent circuit and the larger promotions. In light of recent revelations, a major focus would be placed on having separate accommodation & locker rooms for male, female & non-binary wrestlers. This would work to ensure an adequate level of privacy, protection and professionalism before, during and after the show. At the very least it would give wrestlers a safe space to avoid predatory behaviour. A union would do well to insist on lockable doors for both locker rooms, further increasing the safety of the room.

A union would also be able to insist on adequate health and safety at every show including but not limited to: trained on site medical staff, safe and sufficiently sanitized equipment, the banning of known harmful props such as fluorescent light tubes, safer more controlled spots that limit the risk of serious injury and allow wrestlers a greater autonomy with regard to refusing to do stunts they do not deem to be safe. Along this same vein, a union could establish an independent HR department where wrestlers can report issues such as those that have come out in recent days. A union would ensure reported issues of harassment / intimidation are handled appropriately and suitable discipline is taken such as the removal from the union of members who violate the HR policy. A union could insist on equality measures such as ensuring wrestling schools feature female staff and writing departments feature contributors from diverse ethnic, gender and sexuality backgrounds to ensure all storylines used are non-derogatory or exploitative.

Perhaps the most important aspect a union would work to address is that of healthcare, regardless of what country a talent is based out of, healthcare costs can become high and good coverage can be difficult to come by due to the increased probability of an agency needing to pay out for injuries suffered. A union could force the bigger organisations to pay for their contracted wrestler’s healthcare and or could make deals with insurance firms to cover union members regardless of their employment status in the business. It is important to note WWE does often cover surgery costs for their talent and AEW claim to do the same. A Union would make this an industry standard wherever possible and work to protect those in situations where it is not possible.

A well run union takes great care to ensure proper financial benefit for its members and though it is true both AEW and WWE pay their talent very well, expenses can still be high & independent wrestlers make nowhere near the money a preliminary star of the major promotions earns. As such a wrestling union would seek to push to lower wrestler expenses. A union could push for promoters to pay for accommodation & travel expenses or look to strike deals with motels, hotels, hostels, caravan parks, rental car companies et cetera to ease the expense wrestlers endure each time they are on the road. A union could look to strike similar deals with gym chains and fitness companies to help wrestlers maintain their needed athleticism at a reduced cost. Regarding cost, a good union will also ensure protection of its members after they leave the workforce, a wrestling union would look to establish a pension fund paid out upon retirement. It has been long discussed how brutal the WWE schedule in particular can be for talent, a wrestling union would work to ensure guaranteed paid time off each year for staff, paid sick leave & mandatory paternity and maternity time as industry standard for all contracted talent.

A Union would also ensure fairer contracts and look to put more control in the hands of its members. Wrestling particularly within the major promotions has always had an interesting relationship with the term “independent contractor” as recently discussed by John Oliver on HBO’s Last week Tonight. A union would seek to clearly define the rules of what this contract status means and insist on strict adherence to these rules. A union would as such help ensure a wrestler has adequate control over when and where they work and go to great lengths to ensure a wrestler is not punished for refusing to work under certain conditions or in certain parts of the world. A union would also protect wrestler’s right to leave a contract thus ending the aforementioned culture of companies refusing to release talent when they request it, adding time to deals due to accidental injury & could potentially reduce or remove the infamous no compete clause from contracts allowing wrestlers to begin work elsewhere immediately if they so choose in the event that they quit or are fired.

A Union could insist on fairer more substantial royalty pay-outs for talent by pushing for a minimum pay out, for argument’s sake we’ll say a minimum royalty of 6% for all merchandising sold, and could establish a culture where part of a talent’s contract negotiation can be based around the royalty percentage they receive. A union could work similar to a talent manager in regard to helping wrestlers secure the best deal with a company. People like this already exist and have a track record of working with mainstream talent. A union could also push to ensure wrestlers regardless of where they work are free to pursue outside interests such as accompanying boxers/ MMA fighters to ringside, appearing in movies/ television, accepting modelling jobs and running their own YouTube channels without company interference or punishment. A union would reshape the very foundations of professional wrestling for the better. So, what would a union look like?

For a small annual or monthly paid fee wrestlers and promotions would be entered into the union and issued a license. This would allow wrestlers easier access to bookings and promoters easier access to talent. Any show or talent not partnered with the union would need to clearly state this on all their public and private information and talent would need to be aware of the increased risk of working outside of union conditions. As discussed, a wrestler caught to be in violation could be removed from the union and subsequently barred for competing for a union member promotion or against a union member wrestler.

It has been clear since 1984 and most assuredly prior to this that professional wrestling is in dire need of regulation and protection for its performers. With an increasingly high number of bad news stories regarding how both companies and other talent treat the pro wrestling workforce now is the time to begin the discussion and begin uniting. Now is the time for wrestling to have a union.