The NFLPA functionally only deals with one company (the NFL) so it's not really a great example. Most professional sports leagues have a players' union specific to that league.

The others, though, yes.

The NFL does jot employ players, and is a separate company from the teams, which do, and which are also separate companies from each other.

Coaches and other front office personnel aren't required to enter a union to work for a club.

There is a union for coaches and it's entirely voluntary. Which is why you won't see Belichick in most Madden games as his contract has to be negotiated separately.

> Now, I'll give you, SAG, WGA, and DGA don't control all film and television production and there are plenty of non-union jobs available.

The thing about the "hollywood" unions is that they are very supportive of the others. So when the recent writer's strike was taking place, the actors also supported them as well as the directors by not working without their writers.

If the auto union workers strike, the steel workers aren't stopping work in solidarity. If the stevedores go on strike, the truck drivers don't go on strike in solidarity.

Not any more. That's called a "secondary boycott", and has been illegal in the US since 1959. Before that, it was common for union truckers to refuse to cross a picket line. When a company's workers went on strike, deliveries by Teamsters stopped.

American labor law was written when unions were much stronger. It assumes strong unions and strong employers in conflict, with the NLRB as referee. That hasn't been true in the US for decades now.

And just to be clear - there is an actual law forcing you to join these unions and pay their membership fees? (Not in the US, maybe this law is actually common knowledge that went completely over my head so far!)

My understanding is that it's not so much a law as it is a contract between the union and the employer that prohibits the employer from hiring people who don't join the union.

Ah ok, but that seems very different from the comment I was replying to, which said "In some countries/industries you have to be a member of an union by the law. Just by working in industry, union is forced upon you by law, and you have to pay their fees." - that seems pretty drastic, so I was specifically curious about examples of law-mandated union membership/fee payment.

> Every player in the NFL is required to be a member of the NFLPA.

No they're not. It's optional.