Back in the late nineties, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestlers Mankind, Ken Shamrock, the Big Show, and Test took a stand during Monday Night Raw. Wielding two-by-fours, they declared themselves “The Union” (also known as The Union of People You Oughta Respect, Son, or UPYOURS for short).

The Union was about more than championships and personal grudges; it voiced concerns about compensation and job security usually unmentioned in the cartoon world of wrestling. As columnist David Shoemaker put it, “The Union’s goal wasn’t just to settle a fight, but to keep its member’s jobs.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a real union. The formation of UPYOURS was a mere plot point in a larger storyline. Four days before, on the pilot episode of Smackdown!, the Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness had merged with Shane McMahon’s Corporation to form a super-stable (a wrestling term for posse) called the Corporate Ministry, which sought to give its own members preferential treatment, interfere in matches, and screw over long-standing enemies as well as former allies — typical wrestling fare.