Spontaneous Musings

Read this post in tightropegirl's journal for a way to help the WGA:

http://tightropegirl.livejournal.com/16185.html

or go to Unitedhollywood.com or fan4writers.com

Have mixed feelings about labor union strikes - mostly because in some not all instances the strike hurts people who are what can best called innocent bystanders - who stand to gain nothing by the strike and everything to lose. On the other hand, a strike is the worker's last means of resistence. Without the ability to strike - workers are defenseless.

In the WGA Strike - the unseen victims are not just the audience (who really only loses another means of entertainment) but the crew, production assistants, and non-contract players who are being laid-off due to the strike. For the Broadway stage-hands strike - the victims are the restaurants, hotels, ticket takers, and other people involved in the show. And in the Transit Workers Strike - it was basically everyone. Some people found a silver lining in the conflict, such as my friend Wales who shared cabs with people and had great conversations, while others died waiting for ambulances or fire trucks, or laid-off from work unable to get there. Your opinion regarding a strike may have a great deal to do with your own background and experience.
( History of Strikes and Labor Unions in General )

( Strikes and the Entertainment Industry )

So what the heck are residuals and why are the writers so worried about them?

Basically residuals are money that is paid above the normal salary for work that does not come under the normal contract. For example - those websodes that you saw for BSG on the internet. OR when a work is redistributed in another format or medium after you've been paid for it such as reruns, streaming video, and itune downloads. Residuals are how writers pay mortagages, groceries, and put their kids through school - they are also how they survive in between gigs. But don't take my word for it -

Go here for a great explanation on residuals and the fight for residuals since the 1940s.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=264595

and this little piece on YouTube explains clearly from the WGA perspective what residuals mean, why they are fighting for them, and why they need them so desperately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk&eurl=http://www.rumorsdaily.com/tag/wga/

(By the way http://www.rumorsdaily.com is a great site for any one who is a fan of the Daily Show and the Daily Show's writers.)

Why should you care? I mean, unless you watch tv or movies?

Good question. It comes down to worker security in a world that is becoming increasingly insecure. Check the news for the number of lay-offs, home foreclosures, and unemployment figures. In Kansas City, Mo - it got so bad they were auctioning off people's homes. Workers have no rights in our current environment - benefits are being reduced daily due to the fact that there are more workers than jobs. Our health insurance is going up yearly, pensions are being cut, and our jobs are being outsourced to foreign countries. People are struggling. And the corporations are charging more and more. Movies have gone up to $11.50 in NYC. Broadway shows are now between $75-250 a ticket. People download files off the net to offset the cost and only tourists can afford most Broadway ticket prices.

In this world, the worker has little voice. Management can fire them at will to appease stockholders, bankers, or cover costs. CEO's and corporate heads make billions of dollars in our world, they have more houses than they know what to do with. The gap between the rich and poor is widening at a frightening pace. With the middle class disappearing bit by bit.

The Writers in Hollywood are workers, middle class laborers, who struggle to create a product. Sure about five percent make more than most of us can imagine, but the majority barely crunch out $20,000 a year if that. They have 13-week contracts, with a month notice of cancellation, and get paid per script. Most are freelance or non-contract workers. Also without writers - we do not have books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, tv shows, movies, comic books, cartoons, lyrics, or crossword puzzles. Most of us online are writers - or we wouldn't be online. We don't make any money at it and we do envy to a degree those that do, but if we don't support them - how can we hope to ever make money at it ourselves? Also, think about the others affected, the men and women who are being laid-off by the studios, whose jobs depend on writers being able to creat stories, who are supporting the writers for this reason.

What can you do? Sign the petition on unitedhollywood.com and if you aren't afraid of pay pal (like me) send a box of pencils via the same site. It's not much, but at least it is something.