#STRIKES WORK AND UNIONS WORK

[reasonsforhope]

"The Writers Guild has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end its strike after nearly five months. The parties finalized the framework of the deal Sunday when they were able to untangle their stalemate over AI and writing room staffing levels.

“We have reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 MBA, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language,” the guild told members this evening in a release, which came just after sunset and the start of the Yom Kippur holiday that many had seen deadline to wrap up deal after five days of long negotiations...

Despite today’s welcome news, it still will take a few days for the strike to be officially over as the WGA West and WGA East proceed with their ratification process. During the WGA’s last strike in 2007-08, a tentative agreement was reached on the 96th day and it wasn’t over until the 100th...

All attention will now turn to ratifying the WGA deal and getting SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP back to the bargaining table to work out a deal to end the actors’ strike, which has now been going on for 70 days.

Details of the WGA’s tentative agreement haven’t been released yet but will be revealed by the guild in advance of the membership ratification votes. Pay raises and streaming residuals have been key issues for the guild, along with AI and writers room staffing levels."

-via Deadline, September 24, 2023

[aquitainequeen]

Alarm bells being rung by Maureen Johnson on AI and the Big Publishers

[captainjonnitkessler]

Do you guys notice how when Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers union, started planning a general strike, he did it by a) targeting his messaging towards unions with the ability to safely and effectively strike in large numbers, b) laid out a clear, actionable plan for those unions to follow (setting contracts to all expire at the same time, since many unions cannot strike while under contract), c) is using union contracts to set clear, actionable demands that can be met in order to gauge success and provide an end goal, and d) started organizing FOUR YEARS before the proposed strike date to give people the chance to plan accordingly, because it takes a really freaking long time to get tens of millions of people organized?

You notice how he didn't do it by slapping a message on Twitter saying 'hey nobody go to work on Monday, that'll really show 'em'?

[politijohn]

Source

When you say the quiet part out loud, UAW will drag you in front of the NLRB for an unfair labor practice violation. Good.

[queen-mabs-revenge]

i'm sorry but what are we doing what are we doing what are we doing??? 500 people in a hospital just slaughtered - pure act of genocide and what are we doing??? like, yes, just the fact that the numbers out on the streets are what they are is testament to unprecedented failure in the western propaganda murder machine, but at the same time what the fuck are we doing???

because this can't be another blm - record numbers of people out on the streets and what? what happened? what result but deepened reaction and further entrenched state violence? this is an acute genocide that is happening right now we're just gonna do the same shit we've been doing for a decade that we know does worse than doesn't work??

signs at protests shouldn't be begging biden to call for a ceasefire, they should be calling for unions to stand up and collectively refuse to handle genocidal war goods. unions representing newsroom crews and newspaper workers should collectively refuse to produce propaganda of genocide. the fucking politicians aren't gonna fucking stop this shit, it's only gonna be labor shutting it down that's gonna stop it. fuck letters to the senator we gotta stop the fucking death machine and labor is the ones with our hands on the levers.

[kropotkindersurprise]

1941 - Disney animators went on strike after Walt Disney refused to let his workers unionize. The workers were angry about unfair policies on pay and benefits. On the picket line the animators lynched and guillotined an effigy of Walt Disney himself.

After four months Walt Disney caved to the demands and let the workers unionize, striking a deal which included the reinstatement of employees fired before the strike, equalization of pay, a clearer salary structure and a grievance procedure. [source] (this is a remake of a post that was deleted by @staff)

[sweaterkittensahoy]

The fact that SAG-AFTRA has concessions in the strike for actors to attend cons for meet-ups/photos.

The rule is that they'd like to keep actors off panels to discuss particular projects because that's promoting stopped work.

But a LOT of actors, especially older actors, characters actors, and voice actors rely on the ability to do photo ops and meet-and-greets with fans for a good chunk of income.

So, good job on that, SAG-AFTRA. That's thinking of the 98% of the union who aren't multi-millionaires.

[anarchywoofwoof]

[kienava]

ok yes the whole situation with studios vs the wga/sag is scary for many reasons. this isn’t about tv shows getting delayed. it’s about basic working rights and the terrifying discussion over whether or not it’s cool to replace artists with AI if it helps the bottom line. 

what’s so reassuring to me in spite of the daily horrors is that these studio execs who think they’re going to starve writers out of striking are completely out of touch. in trying to cut costs and maximize profits, they have created a system where writers and actors and all sorts of other entertainment industry folks are used to struggling. we know how to hustle because it’s the only way for us to survive in their fucked up little game.

unless you’re a nepo baby or have incredible connections, you’re probably going to have some tight years trying to “break in.” and i hate the phrase “break in,” because it implies that once you’re in, you’re in. that’s not the case. you have to keep working your ass off just to have a chance at finding your next gig. i know people with 10+ years of experience who couldn’t find work in the past year just because there were rumors of a strike and shows were getting delayed.

most of the people i’ve worked with in animation already have to have multiple income streams because the gig economy doesn’t consistently pay our rent. so. in short. yes the studios are saying horrifying, cruel things, but they also have absolutely no idea what they’re up against. anyways fuck the amptp and support the strikes

[whetstonefires]

Underrated thing about The Crow (1994) is that ultimately it's a film about a guy utterly wrecking his shitty landlord.

Like yeah, Top Dollar is a spooky casually homicidal goth mob boss who ordered the brutal murders of the protagonist and his fiancee, and we get the whole classic revenge spree film slaughtering your way through the criminals to get to the top guy formula.

(With in addition to the whole revenant bit the interesting variant that Eric isn't even actually going for the guy at the top, he just interjects himself into the proceedings lmao.)

But also he's a slumlord, and the reason they died was Shelly formed a tenant's union in response to wrongful eviction proceedings. And Top Dollar would rather have his building sitting empty than put up with that shit.

Which will make it very funny if the remake that got greenlit for next year is deep-sixed by the studios' deranged collective refusal to come to terms with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

[reasonsforhope]

Seven thousand more UAW members just walked off the job, expanding the strike to two more plants. Twenty-five thousand autoworkers are now on strike, and the walkout could continue to escalate if the Big Three don’t budge in negotiations.

[UAW president Shawn] Fain announced that Stellantis would be spared this time. The union had been expected to strike all three companies, but, said Region 1 director LaShawn English, three minutes before Fain was scheduled to go on Facebook Live, the UAW received frantic emails from company representatives.

[Note: Love that for the UAW. Also laughing so hard. Three minutes before the next round of strikes were annouced!!]

According to Fain, Stellantis made “significant progress” on cost-of-living allowances, the right not to cross a picket line, and the right to strike over product commitments and plant closures. “We are excited about this momentum at Stellantis and hope it continues,” Fain said...

“See You Next Week — Maybe?”

“These guys wanted to go out a long time ago,” said Cody Zaremba, a Local 602 member at the Lansing GM plant after the news broke that his plant would be joining the strike. “We’re ready. Everybody, truly, I believe, in the entire membership. They’re one with what’s going on.”

Five thousand workers at thirty-eight parts distribution centers across twenty-one states have been on strike since last Friday [September 22, 2023], along with thirteen thousand at three assembly plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri who walked out on September 15. (See a map of all struck facilities here.) ...

The UAW is now calling on community supporters to organize small teams to canvass dealerships that sell and repair Big Three cars and trucks. On Tuesday, the union issued a canvassing tool kit with instructions, flyers, press releases, and talking points.

In negotiations with Ford and GM, autoworkers have clinched some important gains. Among them is an agreement by both companies to end at least one of the many tiers in current contracts, putting workers at certain parts plants back on the same wage scale as assembly workers. The top rate for Big Three assembly workers is currently around $32...

Ford was spared in last week’s escalation, because bargainers there had made further progress on gains for workers.

But today, the UAW once again called out workers at Ford and GM, putting some muscle behind its bold demands — a big wage boost, a shorter workweek, elimination of tiers, cost-of-living adjustments tied to inflation, protection from plant closures, conversion of temps to permanent employees, and the restoration of retiree health care and benefit-defined pensions to all workers.

-via Jacobin, September 29, 2023. Article continues below.

Keep Them Guessing

This year, for the first time in recent history, the union has played the three auto companies against each other with its strike strategy, departing from the union’s tradition of choosing one target company and patterning an agreement at the other two.

The stand-up strike strategy draws inspiration from an approach known as CHAOS (Create Havoc Around Our System), first deployed in 1993 by Alaska Airlines flight attendants, who announced they would be striking random flights. Although they struck only seven flights in a two-month period, Alaska had to send scabs on every plane, just in case. The unpredictability drew enormous media attention and drove management up the wall. Meanwhile the union was able to conserve its strength and minimize risk.

The companies miscalculated where the UAW was going to strike first, stockpiling engines and shipping them cross-country to the wrong facilities. Autoworkers relished the self-inflicted supply chain chaos on UAW Facebook groups and other social media platforms.

Nonstrikers’ morale on the factory floor has gotten a boost from rank and filers organizing to refuse voluntary overtime. With support both from Fain and the reform caucus Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), workers have been encouraging each other to “Eight and Skate,” meaning to turn down extra work and decline to do management any favors.

Majority Public Support

A majority of Americans support the UAW strikers, and the Big Three have taken a PR hit since the strike began, according to a new survey conducted by the business intelligence firm Caliber.

“Eighty-seven percent of respondents told us they were aware of the strike,” Caliber CEO Shahar Silbershatz told the Intercept. “It’s clear the strike is not just causing commercial repercussions, but reputational repercussions as well.”

These reputational repercussions will only worsen...

"We Can Unmake It"

Fain didn't pull any punches in his speech... “That’s what’s different about working-class people. Whether we’re building cars or trucks or running parts distribution centers; whether we’re writing movies or performing TV shows... we do the heavy lifting. We do the real work. Not the CEOs, not the executives.

"And though we don’t know it, that’s what power is. We have the power. The world is of our making. The economy is of our making. This industry is of our making.

“And as we’ve shown, when we withhold our labor, we can unmake it.”

-via Jacobin, September 29, 2023

[gay-jewish-bucky]

If you're worried about your favourite shows/movies being cancelled/delayed/dropping in quality, instead of complaining about how it impacts you (which can be used by studios to paint striking workers as the bad guy) use your frustration and anger to stand with the WGA, learn why they're striking and what they're asking for, and direct any negative feelings you may have directly at studios who are the reason writers even need to strike.

[izhunny]

So after seeing this tweet from 4-ish hours ago I had a think. If I understand this correctly...

If this indicates they are indeed going on strike, word-of-mouth will become the only means of promotion for already completed works being released or awaiting a scheduled release caught in this struggle. No actors on red carpet at premieres, no promo junkets with fan service, or interviews about projects so many have worked so hard to create. Actors will be committed to no work of any kind(including promos) moving forward from the stoppage of a strike.

Word-of-mouth by the public will become make or break for the duration for these unlucky works in the interim.

Please, let us all pay attention and support these unions in seeking better working conditions and commensurate pay by following their lead. Whatever that lead is, including supporting works already produced.

[politijohn]

Source

LET’S GO

[iww-gnv]

SAG-AFTRA negotiators have approved a tentative agreement that will end the longest actors strike against the film and TV studios in Hollywood history. In an announcement Wednesday, the union said the 118-day strike would officially end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday. The union’s negotiating committee approved the deal on a unanimous vote. The agreement next goes to the SAG-AFTRA national board for approval on Friday. The two sides spent the last several days putting the finishing touches on the deal, which will see the first-ever protections for actors against artificial intelligence and a historic pay increase. The deal will see most minimums increase by 7% — two percent above the increases received by the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America. The deal also includes a “streaming participation bonus,” according to an email sent to SAG-AFTRA members, as well as increases in pension and health contributions. The union said the contract is worth more than $1 billion in total. “We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers,” the union said in the email. “Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.”

[kropotkindersurprise]

October 30, 2023 - Tens of thousands of striking garment workers took to the streets in Bangladesh, demanding fair wages. Many of the workers make clothes for big Western brands, but get paid only around 75 dollars a month. The unions are demanding a tripling of the wage. [video]/[video]