why haven't unions been a thing for years

Would hypnotize, from a business/materialistic point of view, that one contributing factor could be the nature of turning a profit on Art. A telling example would be, on Twitter per say, how it is littered with artist protesting against companies/agents/customers who would only pay a penny or so for their art (driving prices down even further), making it almost impossible to make their ends meet.

Art is subjective and highly dependent on personal preferences and perception (culture, society, time of age, etc.). And as such, the value of it fluctuates accordingly. While in a classical setting, lets say a paper manufacturer, the price of the goods are mostly "linear" (for the sake of the argument), and have a strict set of rules and knowledge requirements to get to the final product (from tree to paper). All hands involved have been around for centuries, and have created an established supply-chain and knowledge/degree requirements. Consequently, they're more regulated and have a longer worker's history (speaking in leaps of the industrial evolution).

Art on the other-hand, was always primarily the playground of the wealthy, think of patrons or religious entities who commissioned statues and paintings, and was done a per-hire basis; generally speaking. History is littered with artists (not limited to drawing) who have lived a life of ill, and were only discovered "posthumous". As art is not always a physical good, even in the form of paintings or statues as their value does not come from the material what those were made from but the perceived image, and is not "essential" to life (food, natural resources, education, etc. comes first), is merely thought of a "luxury item" at the end of the day; generally speaking. People listen to music, or watch a movie, go to a concert, read a book because they wish to be entertained. People can easily live without entertainment, and as such, a value has to be put into Art, by those who wish to sell it.

And as Art has no intrinsic value, say $500 per gram, the corporate bureaucracy/greed dictates its price. Apart from a few possible exceptions, artist were mostly paid by what their "employer" thought was a good value for their work (or relatable to the industry at the time). And as the value of Art can be named, twisted beyond recognition (think of how corporations spend millions on market research and product optimization to min-max their products (minimize expenses, maximize customer satisfaction)), the culture of abuse and oppression has always accompanied all Art: Artist were always at the "mercy" of their "piers" who could pay them all the riches all leave them empty handed. This exposure, this vulnerability has always given people the chance to use their power for their own good; to abuse and exploit. It is deeply engraved in the culture of consumption (have been as long as art became a thing), which is further exacerbated by how fast we tend to consume entertainment these days; which demands for more and more Art.

Until trends do not change for the better, and more opposition arises, there is not much to look forward to. And with the advent of AI generated content, things are moving towards the direction of Art is merely a product of mass-production and should be treated as such: Ubiquitous and disposable.

Lastly, the barrier of entry is low (in most cases), which further devalues Art; anyone can play an instrument, or draw, the "main" difference is how good they are at it (from the public's view). And despite the fact that even QA is more technical, closer to Software Engineers, no exception can be made industry-wise: Everyone (well most) will have to bare the same working conditions, regardless of their position. That is why only those at the top of the hierarchy enjoy a peace of mind, while the others march through the endless rows of trenches.

/r/gamedev Thread