Comments on: WGA Source, con’t, and the rumor mill grinds

By: tony

tony — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:23:50 +0000

BP you hit the nail on the head. The first few days all around town people had to listen in silence to how RIGHT the writers were but that quickly gave way to the reality that…”Hey were we not just awhile ago thankful to get work back from Canada”. Now people are to put it mildly not happy and most are EXTREMELY nervious The reality is most of us do NOT get residuals, we are all work for hire and while one job is ending we are always busy looking for the next job add to that many of us could think our contributions to a feature do as much creatively as anything the writers do and get payed for long past anything we have done…the idea that they now want to share in the rewards of the internet is really neat but does that mean their union would be willing to share in all the losses many projects incur…I am not a big fan of the producers but I know many of them work very hard to create what they do and we are all mostly work for hire/freelance and I for one am EXTREMELY thankful for the work I do get and thats minus; health care, benefits or any residuals…I dunno maybe its time to put some eggs out in the sun….

By: BP

BP — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:33:40 +0000

I’m in IA 767 although I’m currently inactive and working as a stay at home Mom while my husband is a shop sound tech in 695 at a major studio. I’m an EMT, not a nurse so my earning potential outside IATSE when my husband is laid off probably by the end of this week because of this is about $12.50/hr., less than a third of what our usual income is. As each day passes, I’m finding it harder to support the WGA. They walked off the job. They weren’t locked out. I’ll never see a residual. Now if they were striking for something none of us get, like sick days, personal days etc. I might be out there with them. Through my child’s playgroup, I’m friends with a DGA member’s wife. It’s hard hearing how gung ho she is about making this strike count and having it take as long as it will take and destroying two seasons of work to make a point. She is sympathetic to the probablity of my husband’s impending unemployment but her family and the WGA won’t pay our bills of course. Her husband wasn’t even staffed on a show when the strike started so they’re already into their savings. We have a little banked up but with a mortgage and just daily living expenses we’ll be digging ourself deep into debt after about a month or two. We worked incredibly hard to get where we are now and I feel like the rug is being yanked out from under us by forces out of our control. I’m angry at both the AMPTP and the WGA at this point. The pissing contest needs to end so everyone can get back to work.

By: Mark Williams

Mark Williams — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:25:07 +0000

KT– yes, where indeed? I have heard, variously, that the producers, or Verrone at the WGA (take your pick) have nixed specific offers of involvement from our mayor.

As for the Governor, after his press office denied, to BTL, the veracity of rumors about his behind-the-scenes involvement, such shuttle diplomacy was reported in news reports a couple of days later.

But to what end? We don’t know yet.

And yes, perhaps the pain will have to be clearly obvious to all before this strike ends.

Best to you & yours during these tough times, and thanks for jumping in here.

–mlw

By: Mark Williams

Mark Williams — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:21:57 +0000

Are we a mindless sounding board, Tony? Even here at the offices there’s a lively dialectic about the strike, its ramifications, where the responsibility is shared, etc.

But you might also ask who benefits most when workers — in any industry — start attacking each other over smaller and smaller pieces of pie.

On which note, you are right about large corporations being able to weather a longer strike. When Louis B. Meyer ran a studio, or the Laemmle family, they’d have to settle sooner, rather than later, since that was their main –only– business.

When you’re just a division of GE, things are different.

Thanks for reading, and for your contributions to the threads!

–mlw

By: tony

tony — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:25:35 +0000

KT, Your right but its politics. The Governor, Mayor etc will not step in until it clarifies which is the best side to be on. I think you will see the studios will eventually simply openly hire scabs to do the writing (think the air traffic controllers)-this is already to be seen in their saying soap operas will have no choice. The sad part is so many writers REALLY think they cannot be replaced…sadly EVERYONE is replacable. Its odd how the union does not realize they are dealing with very large corporations who are weighing not only the writers demands but also seeing a wonderful way to dump production deals…heck they can lose money and write it off…can we?.

Presently it makes me sick to listen to writers openly boast of their responsibility to drag the strike out and make the studios feel some pain…again these are large corporations that can lose alot of money (see General Motors) and not feel much. If this magazine is REALLY dedicated to the smaller below the line industry workers they will stop being such a mindless sounding board for the unions and be objective about the strike, its issues and its effects on well the people below the line….

By: KT

KT — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 07:43:45 +0000

Where is the Governor, the Mayor, IATSE, SAG, DGA, Reverend Jesse Jackson? We are losing more and more jobs everyday. Is there anyone that can stop this travesty? I am a single mom and I am going to lose everything. Please some one get these people talking. There is plenty to go around. Don’t let this get any worse.

By: tony

tony — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:26:34 +0000

Ah…please ask “Source” …HOW is any benefits the writers achieve (insert cheers here) going to benefit the little people; sound editors, grips, drivers, location managers, pa’s etc…sure the writers sometimes need residuals in between writing gigs but ah…. gee tell that to everyone else who does the same…the sympathy card just does not work here…you knew the job was difficult when you took it right….gezzz maybe realtors will strike asking for residuals when their business takes a downturn?