In simple terms: the procedures around incorporating new guilds, expansion of current guilds, and the overall procedures of the assembly have been unused for so long as to have eroded to the point of requiring a make-over before being implementable again.
The Wayfarer's Union of today operates as a large business jointly owned by three families who are both partners and rivals. They each thus operate their own geographic section of the Union mostly independently, cooperating and negotiating where necessary to maintain the Union's image of being a large, strong, and united force. They of course maintain these partnership due to it being beneficial in their own endeavors — but also because they fear cracks in the Union's perceived unity could cause a cascading effect that could threaten to tear the Union itself apart. They three families are at the same time rivals who try to grab territory from one another.
Each of the union's three “owning families” operate the Union through a number of Union Offices — many of which used to be guild halls that belonged to the historical guilds. These are all staffed by people employed and salaried by the family who controls said area. Each of these locations operate similar to what one would expect of a guild: providing support, training, and loans to its members; providing benefits and assistance during hardships; setting fair prices for goods; negotiate deals with suppliers and customers; enforcing standards for quality and craftmanship, and so on. The difference here is that each office acts as a business providing these benefits, rather than the members themselves pooling their funds together to provide it for themselves.
-Each Union Office is typically lead by a single representative whose directly employed by one of the three owning families. He'll/She'll then appoint their own accountants, receptionists, inspectors, warehouse workers, and so on.
--
This leaves the door for each of these locations potentially becoming the new “guilds” should the Union ever re-introduce a proper delegate assembly.
--
-
-
Medieval and renaissance guilds were organizations that brought together craftsmen and merchants in a particular trade or industry. Their main purpose was to regulate and promote their members' interests, including setting standards for the quality of their products, controlling the apprenticeship and training of new members, and setting prices for their goods and services. Additionally, guilds provided their members with social and economic benefits, such as financial assistance during times of hardship, and opportunities for mutual support and collaboration. Guilds also played an important role in local government and commerce, as they often had a significant influence on the policies and regulations affecting their trades and industries.
-operate guild halls as if their own business, cooperating with each other to put up a united front.
--
-
-
-
-
The Wayfarer's Unions traces its origins to hundreds of local merchant and artisan guilds.
-These were formed to protect the smaller merchants and artisans in it and allow them to compete with larger companies and organizations. These guilds provided a level of organization and support that helped members set fair prices for their goods, better negotiate with suppliers and customers, and establish standards for quality and craftmanship. Through the guild's shared resources, guild members could also pool their resources to invest in new projects and ventures, and to provide mutual support in times of need. This helped them create a more level playing field for smaller businesses, and helped prevent its members from being pushed out of the market by larger competitors.
--
Each Union Office is typically lead by a single representative whose directly employed by one of the three owning families. He'll/She'll then appoint their own assistants, managers, accountants, receptionists, inspectors, warehouse workers, and so on. This leaves the door for each of these locations potentially becoming the new “guilds” should the Union ever re-introduce a proper delegate assembly Each of the three owning families also have their own massive headquarters from which they control and operate their portion of the Union. These locations tend to have a large number of employees holding similar positions as those mentioned for the Union Offices.