Is the IIPG a Guild or a Union? What is the difference?
The IIPG is a true Professional Guild, not a union.
As a true Guild, the IIPG represents and works to improve the business and professional interests of its members. It works to create beneficial markets, legal, regulatory, business and social environments for them, and works to establish both professional standards and professional rates for compensation and services which Guild members may choose to follow. It advocates for fair treatment and regulations to government and industry authorities.
The IIPG is not the collective bargaining agent for it's members to any employer (though it could be designated as such in specific and limited circumstances). A collective bargaining agent, also known as a labor union, is more restricted to being the bargaining agent for a group of employees. A union typically works specifically for good working conditions and compensation for its members.
It is common for union members to be prohibited by their union from taking on non-union work. This is less common, and usually inappropriate, for a Guild. Accordingly, membership in the IIPG does not prevent members from working union, guild or non-guild, non-union work, or restrict them to specific arrangements for compensation and credit.
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