Internet piracy pales in comparison to 'workplace piracy' of those who do not join their union

According to Creative Content Australia, about one in every fifteen Australians is a “persistent” pirate of movies and TV shows. But before you shake your heads at the selfish minority, consider a more disturbing statistic: about five in six employees are workplace pirates, enjoying employment benefits won by their unionised co-workers. 

Look around your office. Of your nearest twelve colleagues, one may be a persistent pirate, downloading the back catalogue of their favourite band; sports matches that don’t air on Australian TV; or movies otherwise locked behind an alphabet soup of streaming services. But unless you’re in a school, hospital or government building, odds are that ten of your twelve closest co-workers aren’t members of their union.  

Piracy and refusing to join your union are both examples of free riding. When you download The Fantastic Four without paying for it, you benefit from its existence without contributing to the cost of its creation. When you enjoy the 40-hour work week, equal pay for men and women (under the law at least – there’s a long way to go in practice) or higher wages, but don’t pay union dues, you’re benefiting from the existence of unions without contributing to their costs.  

So why are we morally outraged by the relatively rare video and music pirate, but not the many workplace pirates who score a free ride off their co-workers’ hundreds of dollars of union dues? And why is the first kind of piracy illegal but the second tacitly encouraged by businesses and politicians? 

Many of the same companies that campaign against piracy to protect their large back catalogues have at the same time systematically undermined the value of labour – the time and energy of creative workers. 

Free riding is everywhere. Examples include buying a generic drug at the pharmacist instead of its brand-name equivalent; attending the Sydney fireworks without being a Sydney ratepayer; or putting on one of Shakespeare’s plays without tracking down his descendants and handing them a royalty cheque.   

But where’s the harm? Generic drugs get medicines cheaply into the hands of as many people as possible. The Sydney fireworks cost the same amount to put on regardless of how many people see them. And having Shakespeare’s works in the public domain, royalty-free, makes them available to everyone without navigating a maze of permissions, royalties and restrictions.  

These are all examples of free riding, but not of free rider problems. 

There’s not a lot of evidence that Internet piracy is a problem either. Musician David Guetta has said that piracy is the reason that his concerts sell out. Bollywood director and producer Aamir Khan credits piracy for connecting him to a huge audience. The American Assembly at Columbia University found that “The biggest music pirates are also the biggest spenders on recorded music”. A similar trend follows for other forms of culture, like games, books and films and TV shows.  

So, what about the workplace pirates who free ride off their unionised co-workers?  

Unfortunately, there’s more evidence that their free riding is a problem. Unions estimate that membership needs to double to fund bargaining long-term. Each union member is funding two people’s worth of collective bargaining. 

Maybe we should give all union members a free pass when it comes to Internet piracy. Let them download as many songs, books and films as they like, since they’re already doing their bit to address the bigger free rider problem: low union membership.  

And if someone tells you they’re not unionised, ask them: if Internet piracy is so wrong, why isn’t workplace piracy?  

Bill Browne is the director of the democracy & accountability program at the Australia Institute.