Imagining the future of organized labour (part one of three)

List of unions.

This is the first of a three-part blog post about the historical invisibility of organized labour in science fiction. The second post, was published in mid-February explores recent works that address this notable absence. A third blog post examines labour unions in science fiction TV and movies. These articles could not have been completed without the help of science fiction historian Alec Nevala-Lee and labour researchers Mark McCutcheon and Bob Barnetson. 

Science fictional narratives are filled with depictions of employment.

Whether it’s Gaal Dornick taking a job with the mathematics department at the University of Trantor, or Robinette Broadhead leaving his job in the protein mines to pursue an opportunity with the Gateway corporation, the genre is rife with examples of standard capitalist employment relationships.

Often given less focus, however, are the rights of those workers, and the means by which those rights are asserted. When it comes to employment, the majority of science fiction offers either utopian visions in which everyone has a share in societal prosperity, or dystopian nightmares in which the elites have all the power and workers are crushed underfoot.

For example, neither Star Trek nor Babylon 5 ever explore the reason why productivity gains of new

The character Robocop crosses a picket
line to appease the corporate masters
of a privatized police department.
In the labour movement, he would be
called a 'scab.'
(Image via DenOfGeek.com)

technologies have not been concentrated into the wealth of an ultra-elite. Conversely, neither Altered Carbon nor Neuromancer offer explanations for why the working class has failed to organize solidarity-driven or democratic responses to societal problems.

Few of us have memories of the might of the North American union movement in the 1940s and 1950s. It was this movement that accorded workers stability and living wages that increased on par with productivity gains. It is probably this era of increasing income equality that made expansive utopian imaginings without explanation seem plausible.

In 1951, famed science fiction editor John W. Campbell wrote to H. Beam Piper, one of his regular writers, asking the author to tone down anti-union language in the story Day Of The Moron. He did so not because he supported the labour movement, but because he was afraid of offending members of the printers’ union that his magazine, Astounding, relied upon.

At their peak in 1954, unions represented almost a third of workers in the United States, and it was easy to take their existence — and their action as a counterbalance to the power of capital — for granted. Even employees in non-union workplaces enjoyed gains because employers had to keep up with union shops to retain and recruit labour.

But despite their prevalence in society, labour unions were largely absent from science fictional narratives during the Golden Age, and their few portrayals in the genre are usually either comedic or antagonistic.

As labour activist and science fiction author Eric Flint pointed out at WorldCon76, the major

At Worldcon 76 in San Jose, Eric Flint,
Patrick Nielsen Hayden and Cory
Doctorow discussed the dearth of
labour unions in science fiction.
(Photo by Kateryna Barnes)

contributors to the development of science fiction — from the dawn of the Golden Age of Science Fiction through this era of union organizing and stability — were largely drawn from academic circles or the upper middle class. Despite working for a living, these authors and editors did not see themselves as part of the proletariat, and thus based their narratives on assumptions that their privileged working relationships allowed them to hold.

Arthur C. Clarke’s scientist and astronaut heroes exist in a rarefied academic bubble that’s divorced from more typical job markets. Even when tackling a worker’s revolution in The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Heinlein defined the conflict in terms of nationalism rather than solidarity. Ray Bradbury seems to be largely unaware of conflicts about labour conditions. And the Amalgamated Union in Alfred Bester’s classic The Demolished Man is largely a force for ill due to corrupt leadership.

Of all the big-name authors of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, special notice should be given to Isaac Asimov’s troubled relationship to organized labour. Despite the fact that Asimov came from a working-class background, his portrayals of workers is often problematic and condescending - In Caves of Steel (1954), workers who are displaced by robots are shown to be semi-literate at best, using pidgin like “‘Maybe it’s time the gov’min’ reelized robots ain’t the only things on Earth.”

If his portrayal of individual labourers is dismissive, his depiction of organized labour is actively hostile: In Robbie (1940), the labour movement forms an unholy alliance with religious fanatics to oppose progress in the form of robots; in the Foundation saga, nepotistic labour guilds are in part responsible for the collapse of the Empire; and to make his antipathy more obvious, he wrote the story Strikebreaker (1957), in which the heroic lead character forces a worker to accept employer demands.

A hero to many left-wing science
fiction fans, Isaac Asimov had feet
of clay on some subjects, including
workers' rights.
(Image by Rowena Morrill) 

It is disappointing to note that Asimov, member of the Futurians and an author often perceived as a progressive voice, might have had such a significant blind spot.

Even one of the most labour relations aware works of that era, Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth’s comedic novel The Space Merchants, is far from a paragon. The novel introduces us to the United Slime-Mold Protein Workers of Panamerica, a union that both exploits its membership through unfair fees, and is unable to stand up against the corporation’s might.

The progressive New Wave of science fiction of the late 1960s may have addressed the genre’s blind spots around race and gender, but when the subjects of class and labour were examined, it was usually with a sense of despair. This viewpoint is understandable in the context of the times: after declining for most of the previous four decades, American inequality was on the rise; trust in liberal democratic political institutions was being undermined; and the worst aspects of hierarchical business unions were on full display through such figures as Jimmy Hoffa and Carlo Gambino.

Those few representations of labour-rights organizations are presented with either antipathy or comedic disdain. When Douglas Adams introduces the Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Professional Thinking Persons in Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, the union’s representatives Vroomfondel and Majikthise are actively fighting against knowledge and research. Arnie Kott, the antagonist in Philip K. Dick’s Martian Time-Slip, is a broad caricature of a union leader and is presented as bigoted, corrupt, egotistical, and thin-skinned.

One notable exception to this anti-union sentiment was found in Larry Niven's 1966 short story A Relic Of Empire, in which unions are described as a necessity

Depictions of workers rights and the struggle to defend those rights are few and far between by the

Has anyone from the Occupational
Health and Safety department
completed an ergonomic assessment
 of this power armor?
(Image via TheVerge) 

late 1970s and 1980s. Employees of the Weyland-Yutani corporation in Alien have little-to-no recourse when it comes to their right to refuse unsafe work. Neoliberal assumptions around employer-employee relations are reflected in more and more depictions of independent contractors in the genre. Johnny Mnemonic is a precarious worker, as are most denizens of the sprawl.

It could be argued that the cyberpunk subgenre is the apotheosis of despair over the state of workers’ rights. In The Diamond Age, the thete (lower-class) citizens have absolutely no rights, let alone employment rights, while workers like Molly in Neuromancer are even stripped of their right to remember the tasks they perform.

In these corporatist dystopias, workers are either unwilling or unable to organize in opposition to these measures, and what few escapes from serfdom exist are accomplished through heroic personal narratives. This view of the struggle for workers’ rights can be seen again in Neil Bloekamp’s 2013 box-office dud Elysium, in which a disenfranchised worker fights an unfair system, but does so on his own through violent action, rather than by organizing his workplace.

Interestingly, even in Ursula LeGuin’s exploration of anarcho-syndicalism The Dispossessed, workers rights are defended in neither the capitalist society of Anarres, nor on the anarchic world of Urras. On the latter world, the protagonist is forced into manual labour due to societal strictures, while on the former he’s part of a labour protest that’s violently put down. In neither world do we see an example of an effective labour movement.

As Mark A. McCutcheon and Bob Barnetson argue in their 2016 paper Resistance is Futile: On The

"THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE!
YOU WILL BE PRIVATIZED!
PRI-VA-TIZE! PRI-VA-TIZE!"
(Image via BBC.com)

Under-Representation of Unions in Science Fiction, “The paucity of realistic representations of unions in SF thus has political implications: it reinforces the absence of alternatives to ... neoliberal capitalism.” This observation is mirrored by Margaret Thatcher’s famous slogan, “There Is No Alternative.”

The rigid adherence to one paradigm might be understandable in memetic (non-genre) fiction that strives to represent the world as it is, but in a genre like science fiction, which purports to be based on imagination, it is deeply disappointing. As Cory Doctorow noted this summer at a Worldcon76 panel on the working class in science fiction “There is no sentiment more antithetical to science fiction than ‘there is no alternative,’ … what we do as science fiction authors is exactly to imagine alternatives.”

Thankfully, a new generation was about to do exactly that.

Part two of this blog post, covering a renewed interest in organized labour in science fiction in the 1990s and 2000s, was posted on February 18, 2019. 

Organized labour in science fiction

Organized labour in science fiction   LIST AS SORTABLE EXCEL DOCUMENT   Additional suggestions are welcome. This list is to supplement our blog posts on labour in SF: part one, part two, part three   Terminology: “Business union” is defined as an organization that is legally certified by the government to negotiate on behalf of a group of workers. “Solidarity union” is defined as a group of workers organizing themselves on a grassroots basis to seek concessions from an employer. “Guild union” is defined as a group of workers whose labour negotiating ability stems from their near-monopoly on a particular set of skills. “Primary depiction” is defined as union activity being the focus of the story. These are stories in which organizing workers or workers asserting their rights is crucial to the events depicted.  “Secondary depiction” is defined as union activity being important to the story, but not the primary focus. This is often an important plot point.  “Tertiary depiction” is defined as anything that is not substantive. This can range from a one-sentence reference, to a piece of world-building that is not crucial to the plot.   (Note: This list excludes inherently criminal organizations such as the Assassin's Guild from Discworld, the Guild of Thieves from Robert Silberberg and Randall Garrett's A Little Intelligence or the Traitor's Guild from James Blish's A Style in Treason.)
Year	Title / Author	Union Model	Qualitative Depiction	Extent of depiction
1890	News From Nowhere – William Morris [Novel]	Solidarity union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – worker organizing leads to utopia	Secondary
1897	Log of the Flying Fish – Harry Collingwood [Novel]	Solidarity union – (shipbuilding)	Negative depiction – character complains at length about how unions impede production.	Tertiary
1899	The Sleeper Awakes – H.G. Wells [Novel]	Business union – (aeronauts)	Mixed depiction – Unions have made great gains for workers in the future, but have become an institutional power that can be misused by union leadership.	Secondary
1908	The Iron Heel – Jack London [Novel]	Business union (Various)	Negative depiction – unions end up siding with fascism.	Secondary
1913	Engineer Menni –Alexander Bogdanov [Novel]	Business unions in a workers’ state (engineering and mining)	Positive depiction – Union activism and industrial action act as catalysts of the revolutionary change in Martian society.	Secondary
1914	The Five Years Of Silence – A.C. Michael [Short Story]	Business unions (manufacturing, resource extraction, construction)	Positive depiction – Union fights major battles for basic labour rights.	Primary
1914	The Dream of Debs – Jack London [Short Story]	Business union (General)	Negative depiction – organized labour depicted as ruinous and tyrannical	Primary
1923	Nordenholt’s Million – J.J. Connington [Novel]	Solidarity union (General)	Mixed depiction – unions raise some objection to techno-fascism, but are crushed.	Tertiary
1925	Alice’s Egg Plant – Walter Elias Disney [Short movie]	Business union (Chickens)	Negative depiction – Union is depicted as irrational. Workers are easily fooled into scab labour.	Primary
1929	The Defeat of Jonathan Govers - Volodymyr Vladko [Short story]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Union is on strike for legitimate grievances.	Primary
1937	The Company or the Weather – Miles J. Breuer [Short story]	Business union (Farmers)	Neutral depiction – Union just exists and works for members.	Secondary
1938	The Toys Go On Strike – Enid Byton [Children’s Book]	Solidarity union (Toys)	Positive depiction – Union stands up to mistreatment of workers.	Primary
1940	Robbie - Isaac Asimov   [Short Story]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction - Antagonistic to progress.	Secondary
1940	The Roads Must Roll - Robert A. Heinlein   [Short Story]	Business union (Transportation)	Mixed - Union gained some big objectives in the past, but Some union members are conned into destroying the roads	Primary
1941	A Gnome There Was – Henry Kuttner [Short Story]	Solidarity union (mining)	Positive depiction – Union organizer shows gnomes that monarchy exploits them.	Primary
1942	We Print The Truth – Anthony Boucher [Short Story]	Business union (printing)	Neutral depiction – mentions existence of machinists union	Tertiary
1942	Breakdown – Jack Williamson [Short Story]	Business union (Engineers and spacemen)	Negative depiction – Union power is stifling and overreaching	Primary
1943	The Iron Standard - Lewis Padgett (Kuttner and Moore) [Short Story]	Business unions (Undersea Dredgers and Air Transport)	Mixed – Some unions described as “fulfilling a purpose,” while others are “graft-ridden”	Secondary
1946	Decadence – Romain Gary [Short Story]	Business union (General)	Negative depiction – Union leader is a sadist and a serial killer.	Primary
1946	Slaves of the Lamp – Leo Zagat [Novel]	Business union (Psychoneers union)	Negative depiction	Secondary
1949	The Green Forest – A.E. Van Vogt [Short Story]	Business union (Spacement’s Union)	Negative depiction	Secondary
1950	The Masters of Sleep – L. Ron Hubbard   [Novel]	Business union (Friends of Russia Communist International Objectors Social Hall Lumberjacks Local No.261)	Negative depiction – union is working to advance the agenda of a foreign nation	Secondary
1951	The Man In The White Suit - Ealing Studios   [Movie]	Business union (Textiles)	Negative depiction - Antagonistic to progress.	Primary
1951	The Traders (Foundation) - Isaac Asimov   [Short Story]	Guild union (Atomic engineers)	Negative depiction - Nepotistic and anti-intellectual.	Secondary
1951	Day Of The Moron - H. Beam Piper   [Short Story]	Business union (Atomic engineers)	Negative depiction - Protects unqualified workers. Bureaucratic and obstructionist.	Primary
1952	Another Kind – Anthony West [Novel]	Business union (Railways and Various)	Mixed depiction – Unions call a general strike over legitimate grievances, but this leads to civil war.	Secondary
1952	The Space Merchants - Frederick Pohl & Cyril Kornbluth   [Novel]	Business union (Agricultural)	Negative depiction - Labour union exploits worker.	Secondary
1952	Three Worlds in Shadow – Joe Gibson [Short Story]	Business union (Robot Operators Local 982)	Mixed depiction – Union war.	Primary
1952	The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester   [Novel]	Business union (Unspecified)	Negative depiction - Corrupt union leadership.	Tertiary
1952	Robots of the World! Arise!	Solidarity union (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Robotic workers strike unreasonably.	Primary
1953	Cue for Quiet – T.L. Sherred [Short Story]	Business union (repair)	Positive depiction – Protagonist is concerned with the plight of unions	Tertiary
1953	The Troublemakers – Poul Anderson	Guild Union (Maintenance)	Negative depiction – part of an autocratic system to keep workers in line	Secondary
1953	Null ABC – H. Beam Piper [Novella]	Solidarity union (Reading)	Mixed depiction – Works to protect rights of skilled workers, but may be unnecessary.	Secondary
1953	The Syndic – Cyril Kornbluth [Novel]	Business union (General)	Mixed depiction – One union is equivalent to organized crime. Other helps revitalize America.	Secondary
1953	Starman Jones – Robert A. Heinlein   [Novel]	Guild union (Transportation)	Negative depiction – Union is anti-meritocratic.	Secondary
1954	Disqualified – Charles L. Fontenay [Short Story]	Business union (Colonists)	Negative depiction – Existence of union means workers are “paid too much”	Tertiary
1954	Backlash – Winston Marks [Short Story]	Business Unions (Multiple, implied that they are trades and arts unions)	Mixed depiction – union leadership is hypocritical, on one hand fighting against indentured servitude, but then using it themselves	Secondary
1954	An Earth Gone Mad – Roger Dee [Short Story]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Union cares only about the power of cubes.	Secondary
1955	The Cartels Jungle – Irving E. Cox [Novelette]	Business union (General – All workers forced to join “Union of Free Workers.”)	Negative depiction – Union depicted as corrupt and authoritarian.	Primary
1955	One-Shot – James Blish [Short Story]	Business union (Longshoremen)	Negative description – Described as corrupt.	Tertiary
1955	Full Cycle - Clifford D. Simak [Novella]	Business union (General industrial)	Mixed depiction – Criticizes current state of labour, but suggests it might evolve into something better.	Primary
1955	Nine Men In Time – Noel Loomis [Novella]	Business union (Printers)	Mixed depiction	Secondary
1955	Meeting of the Board – Alan E. Nourse [Novelette]	Business union (Titanium manufacturing)	Negative depiction – Overly powerful unions act irrationally towards management prompting a crisis.	Primary
1956	Wyvernhold – L. Sprague de Camp	Business unions – multiple	Mixed depiction - Story deals with labour rights more generally, but specific class of worker excluded from union participation.	Secondary
1956	Dying To Live - E. C. Tubb [Novelette]	Business unions – Actors, and manufacturing	Mixed depiction – Union has protected workers from pain, and increased employment through scope-of-work arguments, but also can be callous towards individual workers.	Primary
1956	Worlds Without End – Clifford Simak	Business union (general labour)	Negative depiction – Union does not represent best interests of workers.	Primary
1957	Do It Yourself – Milton Lesser [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Farmers)	Positive depiction – Union is banned, but union organizer protagonist helps workers anyhow.	Primary
1957	Edge of the Knife – H. Beam Piper [Short Story]	Business union (academic)	Mixed depiction – union protects employee, but employee might not deserve protection	Teritary
1957	Strikebreaker - Isaac Asimov   [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Waste processing)	Negative depiction - Strike threatens survival of colony.	Primary
1957	The Lineman – Walter Miller Jr.   [Short Story]	Business union (Lavaworkers)	Negative depiction – Union described as “yellow-bellied obscenity.”	Tertiary
1959	Guardian Devil – Robert Silverberg [Novelette]	Business union (unspecified)	Negative depiction – Union leader corrupt and deliberately causes race riots.	Tertiary
1959	Hunter Patrol – H. Beam Piper [Short story]	Business union	Mixed depiction – Conversation between unionist and capitalist	Secondary
1960	Conditions of Employment – Clifford D. Simak	Business union (Space ship workers)	Mixed depiction – Underlying issues of capitalism cannot be solved by labour unions.	Primary
1960	Stress Pattern – Robert Silverberg [Short Story]	Business union (unspecified)	Positive depiction – Union protects jobs and helps people fulfill potential.	Primary
1960	Matchmaker – Charles L. Fontenay [Short Story]	Business union (“psycho-artists”)	Negative depiction – Union expulsion is used to coerce protagonist	Secondary
1960	Divvy Up – Milton Lesser [Short Story]	Business union (bus drivers and medical workers)	Negative depiction – Unions are corrupt and without ethics	Secondary
1960	A Few Miles – Phillip Jose Farmer	Business union	Negative depiction – Union causes headaches.	Tertiary
1960	The Apprentice - James White   [Short Story]	Business union (Department store)	Positive depiction - Employee has job protection	Secondary
1962	Mercenary – Mack Reynolds [Short story – Expanded to novel in 1968]	Business union (Mercenaries)	Negative depiction – Unions depicted as part of the capitalist status quo	Secondary
1962	Last Year’s Grave Undug – Chan Davis [Short Story]	Business unions (multiple)	Mixed depiction – Union is implied to have helped reduce inequality. But also corrupt former union president is brutal leader in post-apocalyptic.	Secondary
1963	Stand By – Philip K. Dick [Short Story]	Business Union (civil servants)	Negative depiction – Union is corrupt and entrenched.	Secondary
1963	Omicron - Ugo Gregoretti [Movie]	Business union (Factory workers)	Positive depiction – Alien organises labour collective.	Primary
1964	What The Dead Men Say – Philip K. Dick [Novella]	Business union	Negative depiction	Secondary
1964	The Pushcart War – Jean Merrill [Novel]	Solidarity union (pushcart workers) Note: some describe this as a business association between worker-owned businesses, rather than a labour union.	Positive depiction – worker organizing helps defeat monopolistic practices	Primary
1964	Martian Time-Slip – Philip K. Dick   [Novel]	Business union (Plumbing)	Negative depiction – Corrupt union leadership.	Secondary
1964	No Vinism Like Chauvinism – John Jakes	Business union (Entertainment and War, which are the same in this future)	Mixed depiction	Secondary
1964	Sacheverell – Avram Davidson [Short Story]	Business union (Circus)	Positive depiction	Tertiary
1965	Calling Dr. Clockwork – Ron Goulart	Business Union – (“Food Scenters”)	Positive depiction – Union ensures that protagonist maintains employment during illness.	Secondary
1965	Subspace Explorers – E.E. “Doc” Smith [Novel]	Business union (Copper mining)	Negative depiction - union is antagonist. Book promotes "Enlightened Self-Interest" which is at odds with collective action.	Secondary
1966	A Relic Of Empire – Larry Niven   [Short Story]	General statement about unions.	Positive depiction – Described as ‘necessary.’	Tertiary
1967	The Rival Rigelians – Mack Reynolds [Novel]	Solidarity union vs. employer-dominated union (Colonial labour union)	Positive depiction – workers find solidarity in struggle for real worker representation	Secondary
1968	The Day of the Coastwatch – Philip McCutchen [Novel]	Business union – Various	Negative depiction – Labour movement is depicted as decadent and in-league with authoritarian government.	Secondary
1969	The Freak – PG Wyal [Short Story]	Solidarity union (beggars)	Positive depiction – striking workers seek equitable wages	Primary
1970	Alien Island – T.L. Sherred	Business Union (Machinists)	Positive depiction – protagonist is unionized worker	Tertiary
1971	Holdholtzer’s Box – David R. Bunch [Short Story]	Business union (manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Employer praises union shop because “happy workers make better workers.”	Tertiary
1972	Seventy Years of Decpop – Philip Jose Farmer [Short story]	Business union (Canners)	Negative depiction - union members vote against their own interests	Tertiary
1972	Merchant of Venus – Frederik Pohl [Short Story]	Business union (mining)	Negative depiction – Union collects excess fees	Tertiary
1972	Clone – Richard Cowper [Novel]	Business unions (multiple)	Negative depiction – Government uses union violence to reduce population.	Secondary
1973	Deaf Listener - Rachel Cosgrove Payes [Short story]	Guild union (telepaths)	Positive depiction – Union works to prevent genocide	Secondary
1974	Flow My Tears The Policeman Said – Philip K. Dick [Novel]	Business union (musicians)	Neutral depiction – Union simply exists (protagonist is a member)	Tertiary
1974	Family Program - J. A. Lawrence [Short story]	Business union (Engineering)	Mixed depiction	Secondary
1974	The Monster of Peladon – Dr. Who [Television Episode]	Business union (Resource extraction)	Mixed depiction – Workers have valid concerns, but are pawns in larger political game.	Secondary
1975	The Starcrossed – Ben Bova [Novel]	Business union (multiple)	Negative depiction – unions described as archaic	Tertiary
1975	Survivors – Terry Nation [Television Program]	Business union	Mixed depiction – In a post-apocalyptic setting a labour union leader tries to take over the world. But still stands for worker solidarity.	Secondary
1976	Galactic Medal of Honour – Mack Reynolds	One big union (copper miner, IWW, more)	Positive depiction	Secondary
1977	Wobblies From Space – Leslie Fish [Song]	Business union (Starship workers)	Negative depiction - Union rules make it impossible for starship to run efficiently.	Primary
1977	Salamander – Leigh Kennedy [Short Story]	Business union (lunar construction)	Positive depiction - worker wants union so that workplace problems are dealt with	Tertiary
1978	Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams   [Radio/Novel/Television]	Guild Union (Philosophers)	Negative depiction – Antagonistic towards progress, interested primarily in “gravy train.”	Tertiary
1978	1985 – Anthony Burgess [Novel]	Business Union (General)	Negative depiction – Unions depicted as oppressive and anti-freedom.	Primary
1979	Benefits – Zoe Fairbairns [Novel]	Business Union (multiple, general)	Negative depiction – Male-dominated trade unions undermine women’s rights.	Secondary
1979	The Kilohertz War – Alien Worlds   [Radio]	Business Union (Technicians)	Negative depiction – complaints about union striking.	Tertiary
1980	The Lordly Ones – Keith Roberts   [Short Story]	Unions – Multiple	Negative depiction – Apocalypse caused by unions	Tertiary
1981	The Revolution from Rosinante – Alexis A. Gilliland	Business Union (Construction)	Negative depiction – Union officials are obstreperous and intransigent.	Secondary
1981	Highliner – C.J. Cherryh [Short Story]	Business Union (Construction)	Positive depiction – Union fights to protect worker safety	Primary
1983	Out of the Ashes – William W. Johnstone [Novel / Series]	Business Union (Multiple including government workers)	Negative depiction – Labour unions overthrow the government and bring in tyrannical bureaucracy	Secondary
1983	We, The People – Jack C. Haldeman [Short Story]	Business Union (Janitorial)	Positive depiction – Union has won benefits for its members	Primary
1984	Manna – Lee Correy [Novel]	Union (general statement)	Positive depiction – theoretical statement in favour	Tertiary
1984	Silicon Muse – Hilbert Schenk [Novel]	Business union (academic)	Negative Depiction	Tertiary
1985	Brazil – Terry Gilliam [Movie]	Business union (HVAC)	Negative depiction – Union members are obstructionist and do poor work, while non-union worker (a “scab”) is the only competent worker.	Secondary
1985	Privateers – Ben Bova [Novel]	Business union (crew)	Positive depiction – valuable workers see union as a way to keep their jobs	Tertiary
1986	Watchmen – Alan Moore   [Comic book]	Business Union (Police)	Mixed depiction – 1973 police strike causes violence, but may be justified.	Tertiary
1987	The Time Guardian - Brian Hannant [Movie]	Business Union (Evil Cyborgs)	Negative depiction – Evil Cyborg Trade Unionists try to destroy the last vestiges of humanity.	Secondary
1987	Robocop - Paul Verhoeven   [Movie]	Business Union (Police)	Negative depiction - Heroic characters cross picket line. Quote: "Police officers don't strike."	Primary
1988	Desolation Road – Ian McDonald [Novel]	Solidarity Union – (Steel workers)	Positive depiction- Union forms in response to company killing protesters.	Secondary
1988	The Long Orbit – Mick Farren [Novel]	Business Union	Positive Depiction – Union is key to fighting inequality	Secondary
1988	They Live – John Carpenter   [Movie]	Business Union (Construction)	Mixed depiction – Union is “closed shop” but hires itinerant protagonist anyway.	Tertiary
1989	Orbital Decay - Allen Steele   [Stories / Novel]	Business Union (Construction)	Positive depiction - Union helps ensure safer workplace.	Primary
1990	The Difference Engine – William Gibson and Bruce Sterling [Novel]	Business Union (Mining)	Mixed depiction – Union involved with assassination. But also helps build a better world.	Tertiary
1991	SEAQ and Destroy – Charles Stross [Short Story]	Business Union (Trades)	Mixed depiction – Union calls for general strike in opposition to Soviet Union. But hasty action contributes to global catastrophe.	Tertiary
1992	Heavy Time - CJ Cherryh   [Novel]	Business union (Mining)	Negative depiction - employer-dominated union.	Primary
1992	We Are Not Amused – Laura Resnick [Short Story]	Business union (Sex Workers)	Positive depiction – Helped advance rights of women	Primary
1992	Men At Arms – Terry Pratchett [Novel]	Business union (Sex workers and seamstresses)	Positive depiction – Protects marginalized workers from exploitation.	Secondary NOTE: There are numerous other guilds mentioned in passing in the Discworld novels. There is a full list at Discworld Fandom.
1994	By Any Means Necessary - Babylon 5   [Television]	Business union (Dockworkers)	Mixed depiction - Striking workers are violent, but achieve fairer wages.	Primary
1996	Night Sky Mine - Melissa Scott   [Novel]	Business union (Mining)	Positive depiction - Ensures equitable wages.	Secondary
1996	Bar Association - Deep Space Nine   [Television]	Solidarity union (Service industry)	Mixed depiction - Achieves fairer wages, but must be disbanded because it’s “no longer needed.”	Primary
1998	Freefall - Mark Stanley   [Webcomic]	Business union (Technicians)	Positive depiction – Union membership brings wage benefits to worker.	Tertiary
1999	Against The Tide Of Years – S.M. Stirling   [Novel]	Business union (Dockworkers)	Positive depiction – Protagonist provides help to union trying to support fair wages.	Tertiary
2000	1632 - Eric Flint 1633 – Eric Flint and David Weber 1634: The Baltic War – Eric Flint and David Weber   [Novel / Series]	Business union (Mine workers)	Positive depiction - Organizing prosperous economy.	Secondary (becoming more prominent as the novel series continues.)
2000	Candle - John Barnes   [Novel]	Guild union (Combat)	Positive depiction - Union   provides health, dental and legal coverage.	Secondary
2000	Company Man – Robert Jackson Bennett   [Novel]	Solidarity union (General)	Positive depiction - Union   works to combat inequality.	Secondary
2000	Cosmonaut Keep – Ken MacLeod   [Novel]	Solidarity union (Online workers)	Positive depiction - Balances power of capital.	Secondary
2000	Midnight Robber – Nalo Hopkinson   [Novel]	Solidarity union (Transporation / pedicab drivers)	Positive depiction – fights for fair compensation	Secondary
2000	SimGen Sequence (AKA “Sims”) – F. Paul Wilson [Series of stories]	Solidarity union (manual labour)	Positive depiction – fights for the rights of non-human sentients.	Primary
2000	Perdido Street Station – China Mieville   [Novel]	Business union (Dock workers)	Positive depiction - Unions provide counterbalance to strength of capital.	Secondary
2000	Click, Clack, Moo - Doreen Cronin [Children’s Book]	Solidarity union (Cows)	Positive depiction - Union negotiates fair agreement between cows and farmer in which working conditions are improved (blankets provided to cows so they aren't as cold).	Primary
2001	Bendless Love – Futurama   [TV Episode]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Negative depiction – protagonist is a scab worker. Union is mob-connected and corrupt.	Primary
2004	Star Trek Enterprise – “Storm Front”	Business Union (Construction)	Negative Depiction – Gangsters are tied to the labour movement	Tertiary
2004	Iron Council – China Mieville [Novel]	Business union (Railway workers)	Positive depiction	Primary
2005	Old Man’s War – John Scalzi   [Novel]	Business union (Mining workers)	Negative depiction – Striking workers on the news portrayed as violent.	Tertiary
2006	Small Minded Giants - Oisín McGann [Novel]	Business union (Machinists)	Positive depiction	Secondary
2007	Andas Game – Cory Doctorow [Short Story]	Business union (video game players)	Positive depiction – protects workers from unfair employer abuses	Primary
2007	Safehold – David Weber [Novel series]	Business union (Foundries)	Positive depiction	Tertiary
2007	Dirty Hands - Battlestar Galactica   [Television]	Solidarity union (Mining workers)	Negative depiction - Heroic governor bargains in bad faith by holding gun to the head of a worker.	Primary
2009	The Wind-Up Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi   [Novel]	Guild Union (Animal handlers)	Negative depiction - antagonism towards entrepreneur protagonist.	Secondary
2010	For The Win - Cory Doctorow   [Novel]	Solidarity union (Online workers)	Positive depiction - ensuring workers’ rights.	Primary
2010	Damage Time - Colin Harvey   [Novel]	Guild Union (Sex trade workers)	Negative depiction - Union excludes vulnerable population.	Secondary
2010	Kraken - China Miéville [Novel]	Guild Union (Magical assistants)	Positive depiction	Secondary
2010	The Great Bay – Dale Pendell   [Novel]	Business Union (Electrical workers)	Mixed depiction	Tertiary
2011	The Expanse [Series of Novels] Leviathan Wakes (2011) Caliban’s War (2012) Abbadon’s Gate (2013) Cibola Burn (2014) Nemesis Games (2015) Babylon’s Ashes (2016) Persepolis Rising (2017) Tiamat’s Wrath (2019) Leviathan Falls (2021)	Multiple Business Unions (Resource extraction workers, transportation workers)	Positive depiction – Union integral in democratic governance. Help defend rights of oppressed workers. Provide legal counsel to workers in need.	Secondary
2011	Contagion   [Movie]	Business Union (Nursing)	Negative depiction - Union rules prevent adequate health care for major character.	Secondary
2012	Power Play – Ben Bova [Novel]	Business union (Teachers)	Negative depiction – offhand reference	Tertiary
2012	High Stakes – Naomi Kritzer [Short Story]	Solidarity Union (IWW)	Positive depiction – Union helps fight debt slavery.	Primary
2012	Existence - David Brin   [Novel]	Business Union (Child care workers)	Positive depiction - Union is part of positive and functional workplace.	Tertiary
2012	“The Doctor Is Sin” – Episode of Venture Brothers   [Television]	Business Unions (Machine Workers, Nuclear Engineering and Custodial Super Science Unions)	Mixed depiction – Union has legitimate grievances but are treated as joke.	Secondary
2013	Powder Mage – Brian McClellan [Novel / Series]	Guild union - Unclear	Positive depiction	Tertiary
2013	Phosphorus – Veronica Schanoes   [Short Story]	Solidarity Union & Business Union (Manufacturing, General Labourers)	Positive depiction – Union stands in opposition to unsafe work practices	Primary
2013	Burning Girls – Veronica Schanoes   [Novella]	Solidarity Union (Garment Workers)	Positive depiction – Union stands in opposition to unsafe work practices.	Secondary
2013	Fortune’s Pawn - Rachel Bach   [Novel]	Business Union (Merchants)	Positive depiction - Union provides information to employees.	Tertiary
2013	The Day The Crayons Quit – Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers [Children’s Book]	Solidarity Union (Crayons)	Positive depiction – Union helps improve the working conditions of labourers.	Primary
2014	Cycling to Asylum – Su J. Sokol [Novel]	Business Union (Teachers)	Positive depiction	Tertiary
2014	Unwrapped Sky - Rjurik Davidson [Novel]	Solidarity Union (Factory Workers)	Positive depiction – Unions work against economic inequality	Primary
2014	Climbing the Date Palm – Shira Glassman   [Short Story]	Business Union (Construction)	Positive depiction – Union fights against wage theft.	Primary
2014	Ancillary Sword – Ann Leckie   [Novel]	Solidarity Union (Agricultural)	Positive depiction – Union fights against indentured servitude in tea production operation.	Tertiary
2014	War & Mir Vol. 2: Darkold – Minister Faust   [Novel]	Business union (Teachers)	Positive depiction	Secondary
2014	The Goblin Emperor – Katherine Addison [Novel]	Guild Union (Clockmakers) and Business Union (Municipal Employees)	Positive depiction – Guild proposes  improvement to infrastructure. Business union used as scapegoat by villains.	Tertiary
2015	A Pocket Full of Murder – R.J. Anderson [Novel]	Guild Union (Magic)	Positive depiction – Union helps exonerate protagonist’s father	Secondary
2015	Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen – Lois McMaster Bujold [Novel]	Business Union (Sex Workers)	Positive depiction – Union is created to combat exploitation of vulnerable workers.	Tertiary
2015	C.O.W.L - Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel	Business union (Superheroes – “Chicago Organized Workers League”)	Mixed depiction – Union is scandal-ridden but well-intentioned.	Primary
2015	Windswept - Adam Rakunas   [Novel]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction - ensuring fair wages.	Primary
2015	Bangarang – Killjoys (Reappears throughout series) [TV Episode]	Business union (Resource extraction)	Mixed depiction – Union interferes with protagonists, but also helps vulnerable workers.	Tertiary
2015	All The Childhood You Can Afford - Daniel Suarez   [Short Story]	Business union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction - Ensures gains of automation are shared more equitably.	Secondary
2016	Checkerboard Planet – Eleanor Arnason [Short Story]	Business union (Natural resource extraction)	Positive depiction – Labour organizer protagonist striving for better working conditions.	Primary
2016	Company Town - Madeline Ashby   [Novel]	Business union (Sex trade workers)	Positive depiction - Ensures workers’ safety and rights.	Secondary
2017	Little Witch Academia – S02E01 “Samhain Magic Festival” [Television Episode]	Business union (Janitorial services)	Negative depiction – Workers are pawns in the schemes of an evil capitalist.	Primary
2017	New York 2140 – Kim Stanley Robinson [Novel]	Multiple unions (housing, general labour, office workers)	Positive depiction – through co-ordinated action striking workers help reform democracy	Secondary
2017	Another Girl, Another Planet - Lou Antonelli   [Novel]	Business union (Duct workers)	Positive depiction - Ensures safety standards in construction.	Secondary
2017	Hunger Makes the Wolf / Blood Binds The Pack - Alex Wells   [Novel/Series]	Business union (Mining workers)	Positive depiction – Unionization drive is response to corporate exploitation.	Primary
2017	The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack - Nate Crowley [Novel]	Solidarity union (Undead labourers)	Positive depiction – Union fights against exploitation of labour	Primary
2017	Quirks – Marie Vibbert   [Short Story]	Business union (Carpenters)	Mixed depiction – Union uses memory uploads to share skills.	Primary
2018	Driving Ambition – Fiona Moore   [Novel]	Business union (Self-driving cars)	Positive depiction – Union helps protect the rights of artificially intelligent workers.	Primary
2018	Sorry To Bother You - Boots Riley   [Movie]	Business union (Telemarketing)	Positive depiction - Balances power of capital.	Primary
2018	Unfulfilled/Bike Parade - South Park   [Television]	Solidarity union (Warehouse workers)	Positive depiction - Union   fights for safety standards and fair pay.	Primary
2019	The Great Faerie Strike – Spencer Ellsworth [Novel]	Solidarity union (manufacturing)	Positive depiction – union fights for worker rights in exploitative magical London	Primary
2019	Disco Elysium [Video Game]	Business union (dockworkers)	Negative depiction – Union is depicted as corrupt and involved in the drug trade. Union is compared to “crime syndicate.”	Primary
2019	The Town Meeting – Stephen Cox [Short Story]	Business union (Millworkers)	Positive depiction – Union leader speaks up for persecuted citizens	Primary
2019	The Future Of Another Timeline - Annalee Newitz   [Novel]	Multiple unions Industrial Workers Of The World, United Steelworkers and The Carpenters’ Union	Positive depiction – Unions are depicted as allies in the struggle for women’s rights. Steelworkers achieve fairer overtime compensation for workers.	Secondary
2019	Closed Shop – Kevin J. Phyland   [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Artificial Inteligence)	Positive depiction - Union fights for fair wages and public good.	Primary
2020	Upload - S01E07 "Bring Your Dad To Work Day"	Business union (technology workers)	Positive depiction – Solution for workplace grievance.	Tertiary
2020	Hench – Natalie Zina Walschots [Novel]	Business union (henchmen)	Mixed depiction	Tertiary
2020	Lapsis   [Movie]	Solidarity union (Gig workers)	Positive depiction - Organizing in adverse conditions.	Primary
2020	The Factory Witches of Lowell – C.S. Malerich   [Novella]	Business union (mill workers)	Positive depiction – Union fights for better working conditions.	Primary
2020	The Salvage Crew – Yudhanjaya Wijeratne   [Novella]	Business union (Mining)	Positive depiction – Union secures better pay.	Tertiary
2020	The Fork – A. Parise [Novel]	Solidarity union (Workers’ Collective)	Positive depiction – Union protects citizenry	Primary
2020	The Ministry for the Future – Kim Stanley Robinson [Novel]	Business union (unspecified)	Positive depiction – Heroic protagonist is a former union lawyer who embodies the values of the labour movement.	Tertiary
2020 &2021	Hardspace: Shipbreaker –Blackbird Interactive   And expansion pack [Video Game]	Business union (salvage)	Positive depiction – Union protects vulnerable workers.	Primary
2021	All Rights Reserved - Xauri'EL Zwaan [Novella]	Solidarity union – (uploaded consciousnesses)	Positive depiction – Union resists indentured servitude	Primary
2021	The Hallowed Sky – Ken MacLeod [Novel]	Business union – (General labour)	Positive depiction – unions help take mankind to space	Secondary
2021	Committee on the Bounty – Keith W. Dickinson   [Short Story]	Business union – spaceship crewmembers	Negative depiction – union’s officiousness causes destruction of ship.	Primary
2021	Machinehood – S.B. Divya   [Novel]	Business union (construction)	Mixed depiction – Union funds antagonistic/violent protesters. Union also helps push back against erosion of human rights.	Secondary
2021	Heritage - Superman & Lois   [Television]	Business union (manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Fights for worker wages and safety at villain Morgan Edge’s factory.	Tertiary
2021	Orumai’s Choice – Gautam Bhatia [Short Story]	Solidarity union (General labour)	Positive depiction – Sentient robots assert their right to work-life balance.	Primary
2021	The Horizon – Gautam Bhatia [Novel]	Business union (Agricultural workers)	Positive depiction – union is central to revolution seeking to address inequity and inequality in society.	Primary
2021	Song of Slag – Louis Evans [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Foundry workers)	Positive depiction – union fights for fair compensation.	Primary
2021	The Association of Twelve Thousand Flowers - Ursula Whitcher [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Jade miners)	Positive depiction – Union counterbalances power of capital.	Primary
2021	The Revolution Will Not Be Served With Fries – Meg Elison [Short Story]	Solidarity union (Fast food workers and robots)	Positive depiction – Cross-species solidarity deals with severe workplace inequity.	Primary
2021	Z is for Zombies – TV series Evil (episode written by Patricia Ione Lloyd) [Television Episode]	Business union (Warehouse workers)	Positive depiction – Union provides voice for exploited workers (though formerly pro-union worker elevated to management becomes exploiter)	Primary
2021	C is for Cop – TV series Evil (episode written by Aurin Squire)	Business union (Police)	Negative depiction – Police union acts to intimidate witnesses to shooting.	Primary
2021	Forges of Mars – Graham McNeil [Novella]	Solidarity union (spaceship crew)	Positive depiction – Stands up to the Warhammer 40K universe filled with exploitation.	Secondary
2022	Unionized In The Butt And Now Everyone Is Safer, Happier And Better Paid – Chuck Tingle	Business union (Spaghetti Mug Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Union fights for health and safety of workers as well as reasonable break times.	Primary
2022	Ogres – Adrian Tchaikovsky [Novella]	Solidarity union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Union fights against exploitation and racism.	Secondary
2022	We Built This City – Marie Vibbert [Novelette]	Solidarity union (window washing)	Positive depiction – Fight for safer work environment	Primary
2022	Day Shift [Movie]	Business union (Supernatural pest control)	Negative depiction – Union is officious and bureaucratic.	Primary
2022	Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution – R.F. Kuang [Novel]	Guild union – (Translators)	Positive depiction – Important tool in promoting class solidarity.	Primary
2022	Witch Hunt – Louise Hughes	Guild union – (wise women / witches)	Positive depiction	Primary
2022	Tune in Tomorrow – Randee Dawn [Novel]	Solidarity union – Entertainment	Positive depiction – Union helps free magical beings from slavery	Primary
2022	When the Angels Left The Old Country - Sacha Lamb [Novel]	Business union – Garment workers	Positive depiction – Union helps immigrants find better life.	Secondary
2022	Star Trek: Picard “Watcher”	Business Union – Information Workers	Negative depiction – Brynner information Systems trying to prevent an organizing drive.	Tertiary
2022	No Return – Wide End No Return – The Steg No Return – The Orillian Regiment Author: Kier Zhou [Audio Drama]	Guild Unions (multiple) and Solidarity Unions	Mixed depiction – Some unions are employer dominated (exploit workers, prevent competition). Others are vehicles for emancipation.	Secondary
2022	Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy – Sam J. Miller	Business Union (Boxing)	Positive depiction – Helps improve lives of working people.	Primary
2022	City of Lost Chances – Adrian Tchaikovsky [Novel]	Solidarity Union (Manufacturing)	Positive depiction – Union fights against exploitation	Secondary
2022	Sporemageddon – Ravens Dagger [Novel]	Business union (industrial labourers)	Positive depiction – Works to secure better working conditions	Secondary
2023	Lockwood & Co S01E04 [Television Episode]	Business Union (Mystical protection)	Positive depiction – Exploited workers urged to form union	Tertiary
2023	The Keeper’s Six – Kate Elliott [Novel]	Solidarity Union (Municipal Workers in Dragon’s employ)	Positive depiction – Protagonist is a union organizer	Primary
2023	Last Act of the Revolution – Louise Hughes [Short Story]	Business union (factory workers)	Positive depiction – Union helps free people from forced labour.	Secondary
2023	Alloy Cooperative – K.J. Noakes [Novella]	Business union (blacksmithing)	Positive depiction – Union fights against nepotism and ensures fair distribution of wealth.	Primary
2023	Not pounded By The Physical Manifestation of My Own Screenwriting Because I’m On Strike And I Deserve To Be Compensated For My Labor While Studio CEOs Take Record Salaries – Chuck Tingle [Novelette]	Business union (screenwriters)	Positive depiction – Union fights for fair contract	Primary
2023	Station Six – S.J. Klapecki [Novel]	Business Union	Positive depiction – Union fights to keep workers employed.	Primary
2023	One Man’s Treasure – Sarah Pinkser [Short Story]	Solidarity Union (Magical waste collection)	Positive depiction – Union helps protect workers from unsafe waste.	Primary
2023	A Market of Dreams and Destiny – Trip Galey [Novel]	Solidarity union  (factory workers)	Positive depiction – union works to liberate children from exploitative labour practices	Primary
2023	Starter Villain – John Scalzi [Novel]	Soldiarity union (dolphins)	Positive-to-Mixed depiction - Union leadership and members depicted as antagonistic and obstreperous. But their grievances have merit. Boss gets to be the 'Hero.'	Secondary
2023	The Job At The End Of The World – Ray Nayler [Short Story[	Business union (first responders)	Positive – Passing reference to the union getting fair wages and health benefits.	Tertiary
2023	For All Mankind S04E01 “Glasnost” [Television Episode]	Business union (construction workers on Mars)	Negative – Passing reference to a strike disrupting Mars operations.	Tertiary
2023	Julia – Sandra Newman [Novel]	Business union (Agricultural and Manufacturing)	Negative – Unions complicit in the establishment of abusive totalitarian dictatorship.	Tertiary
2023	Any Percent – Andrew Dana Hudson   [Short Story]	Business union (Warehouse)	Positive – Unions provide solution to increasing inequality and abuse of workers.	Primary
2023	Liberty’s Daughter – Naomi Kritzer [Novel]	Solidarity union (IWW)	Positive – Unions provide solution to increasing inequality and abuse of workers.	Primary
2023	Warped State – Jo Miles [Novel]	Solidarity union (Several, but chemical workers prominent)	Positive – Unions provide the only counterbalance to an evil corporation.	Primary
2024	North Continent Ribbon – Ursula Whitcher [Novel]	Solidarity unions (multiple, including starships)	Positive – Protagonist helps organize exploited class of workers)	Secondary
2024	Floating Hotel – Grace Curtis [Novel]	Business union – Butchers	Negative – striking workers cause problems for protagonist	Tertiary
2024	Club Contago - Eliane Boey [Novel]	Business union – Port workers union.	Positive – Fighting gamification of work and worker replacement by automation.	Secondary
2024	The Sentence – Gautam Bhatia [Novel]	Solidarity union – mining (anarchist union that also includes other professions)	Positive – Union provides counterbalance to upper-class side of city	Secondary
2024	The Topeka Witches Coven Answers Questions about the Upcoming Union Vote to Join The United Auto Workers – Kathy Hays [Short story]	Business union - Professional magic practitioners (witches)	Positive - Union opposes exploitative labour practices, and encourages professional behaviour among its membership	Primary
2024	Megalopolis – Francis Ford Coppola [Movie]	Business union – construction	Negative – Offhand remarks about union getting in the way.	Tertiary
2024	Bury Your Gays – Chuck Tingle [Novel]	Business union – Entertainment	Positive – Labour unions provide integrity in creative pursuits	Tertiary
2024	The Sun Runners by James Bow [Novel]	Business union – Mining	Positive – Unions grievances are legitimate.	Tertiary
2024	Metal From Heaven – August Clarke [Novel]	Business union – Mining	Positive – Union protests against environmental degradation	Secondary
2025	Automatic Noodle – Annalee Newitz [Novella]	Business unions – Multiple	Mixed – Government does not allow some sentient beings to belong to labour unions.	Tertiary

 

 

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