Unions
Interviewer: "So you think that the musician's union is holding back you and other artists?
Zappa: No! I think all unions are. I don't mind saying that I am anti-union. The union mentality has affected the arts drastically in the United States. The worst example would be the stage hands union, which in many instances earns more than the musicians who are playing." (Frank Zappa in Frank Zappa and His Digital Orchestra)
"Do you remember something in Germany called Bauhaus? There was a guy named Walter Gropius who knew a bunch of artists of all different disciplines – theatre, writing, design, architecture, music, the whole business. They produced a whole range of stuff and it was a major cultural influence on Europe in the period between the wars. The Nazis smashed it and there hasn't been anything like it since. It was a building that acted as a magnet for artists of all different disciplines to work together and share their ideas, to create a style and create products. I started talking to this guy from the Australian consul about whether or not it would be feasible to do something like that in Australia. By the time he explained Australian unions to me, I said 'Thank you very much' and I was out of there in the blink of an eye. It was so depressing. He said 'You know you would have to get permission from the Unions for each different person that you would bring in there, and then the labour department would have to see whether there was somebody in Australia who could do the job' and it was totally depressing." (Frank Zappa in Way Down In New Zealand)
Targeted in
- Flakes: "We're protected by unions so don't let it upset you!"
- Lonesome Cowboy Burt: "I'm a unionized roofin' old son of gun!"
- Rudy Wants To Buy Yez A Drink
- Stick Together
