Korbyzzle

Okay, only one mention of "Slappy and the Stinkers"? Did you get to fire the potato cannon?

The unions control the supply and demand of the workers for the production company.

If you're making Avengers 10 you want to make sure your crew making it is safety certified, well trained technically and able to work. The union ensures most of those standards are held. Marvel is willing to pay top dollar to those crews to make sure everything works without a problem.

The union exists to protect the workers if something happens that can endanger the employment of the crew members (unruly egotistical actors, weather events jeopardizing safety of lights and electricity, director's demanding unsafe stunt work, producers asking crew to drive to and from work after 24hour shifts).

The union is there to supply workers with accessible training, guaranteed rates of pay (much like an actors "agent"). If marvel stops making movies the union is there to make sure there's just enough members that there won't be attrition and a lack of skilled crew the next time a boom comes around. That's why there's high initiation fees and long permit lists. Since the nature is contract work you don't want a glut of workers when things are slow.