Genie-

Yes! Developing a local pool of musicians is of great importance. That is where making sure that costs do not drive down demand.

I believe that there is potential for unions to do great work however they do not always do great work- simply consult the automobile market mess to find out.

One of the problems might also be over professionalization of the craft. This discourages ordinary folks from entering it therefore it keeps the supply of potential talent down which in the short run helps existing musicians but in the long run will keep the business from expanding.

Back to mcdonalds- If they insisted that every burger flipper be a vetted professional then they would never be able to expand. By taking most every worker and training them, accepting them the expansion was possible.

Conrad