Art and Labor in the US

How are artists who have been systematically denied fair wages and access to basic services like healthcare and unemployment protections gaining access to those things today?

Even after reading this article by Alexis Clement, I'm not sure who the systemic denier is/are, but I suspect that (like everything else) it is Bush's fault (not Bush The First, he's now a good guy, but Dubya)... Details here.

Alexis Clement will be facilitating a class on this subject (cough, cough), titled Rights, Demands, and Radical Reimaginings: Art and Labor in the US at the Hyperallergic offices starting August 27. Registration info is here. Hyperallergic readers can get $15 off with the code HYPER.