Non-Writers Marching To Protest Stike

Protest-StrikeWe’ve been saying it here for a long time. The real victims of this labor dispute between the WGA (Writer’s Guild Of America) and the Producers Association are those thousands and thousands of people who work in the movies and TV but are not writers and are losing their pay cheques and jobs due to the fact that the amount of work is drying up due to the strike.

As the good folks over at Rope Of Silicon point out, some last minute outrageous and unreasonable demands by the WGA forced a break down in the negotiations and once again we’re sitting here with no deal, and no one is even talking. The WGA demands may be stupid, but the Producers should just stay and the table and keep talking… refuse to budge if they want… but talk… and keep talking… and don’t stop talking until someone moves.

Anyway, those other people being effected by this are now taking to the streets and protesting the fact that these two stubborn sides can’t act like grown ups and get a deal done. Yahoo News gives us this:

The two were among hundreds of out-of-work employees and their supporters who marched down Hollywood Boulevard Sunday to call for a resumption of talks to settle the strike, which has sidelined many prime-time and late-night TV shows. Negotiations collapsed Friday between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, with the sides pointing fingers at each other.

The march Sunday was intended to draw attention to the financial plight of workaday Hollywood — those employees whose jobs depend on ongoing productions, from caterers to set builders to hair stylists. With shows silenced, they too are struggling. Marchers expressed growing frustration with the on-again, off-again talks, and fingers were pointed at producers and union writers

These two sides have to get off their self absorbed asses, realize they are hurting other people, and get a frigging deal done, at least sit in the same damn room and talk… even if you’re just repeating yourselves… get back to the damn table!

I can totally understand the frustration of these other people watching their jobs and incomes get pissed away all while the WGA and the Producers Association aren’t even sitting at the table together and make stupid demands. These people are the victims.

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9 thoughts on “Non-Writers Marching To Protest Stike

  1. I don’t why Campea is so fond of the producers and is siding with them so much when it is obvious that they are the ones at fault. WGA has tried its best to negotiate. They dropped the important DVD residual issue when they were promised that the producers would would put forward a new internet deal but the producers did not keep their end of the bargain, they put forward several proposals of their own Internet residuals but the producers did not put forward a single one despite promising one since the re-start of the negotiations. You are telling us to stop watching WGA ‘propaganda’, maybe you should pay attention to objective sources instead of basing your opinion on AMPTP press releases.

    The talks broke off and it is ENTIRELY the producers fault, producers demanded WGA to remove more than half a dozen of their demands without offereing the WGA anything in return or they will walk. Please tell me Campea how can you in good faith can you say that that is fair negotiating on part of the producers, even if they thought that WGA’s demands were ridiculous threating to leave the talks unless the other side does exactly what you want is bullying. And that’s what the producers are… a bunch of schoolyard bullies. WGA is ready to negotiate at anytime, it’s the producers who want to prolong the strike to break the union.

    "But I’m sorry, the new demands the WGA have made regarding reality tv, non-wga writers and non-Producers Assocation programing is just stupid."

    Reality tv demand is not new, it has been part of the WGA demands since the beginning of the negotiations. The Producers know it very well that this demand is not high on the list of WGA priorities. WGA would have been more than happy to take it off the table if producers presented a concrete plan on internet (which is the only issue that matters). Hell, WGA even took off their DVD residuals proposal off the table which was the second most important issue.

  2. Are they new demands? I might be getting my timelines confused, but I thought those ‘demands’ were there at the beginning, but they weren’t given any press, cuz it was all about the DVD’s.

  3. Henrik,

    What’s your point???? Yes, the WGA wants some changes. The Producers agree with some of them, and disagree with others.

    Just because the WGA WANTS something changed, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

    Sorry, but this “THE MAN IS ALWAYS WRONG” is nonsense. The WGA is run buy a group of VERY rich people who only get any money because of the work of the Producers and other people who make movies.

    In this issue, the Producers are wrong on some things… but you’re kidding yourself if you don’t see that the WGA is too.

  4. Fact of the matter is, the WGA are the ones trying to change something. The PA has not shut down productions because they were unhappy with the current arrangement, the WGA has. So already at that starting point, every single thing the WGA wants to have changed is a battle, because the PA were happy with the previous arrangements, and don’t want their gravytrain ruined. No matter how much sense it makes to every impartial person looking at this dispute.

  5. Hey Henrik,

    Yup, it’s made them rich… and made lot of writer’s rich, and actors rich and directors rich and employed tens of thousands of people. Yup…

    And were did it say the Producers are trying to keep things the same? Perhaps you should read up on what’s going on and not just listen to the WGA propoganda. The Producers have made significant offers, some of which the WGA even like in principle.

    But I’m sorry, the new demands the WGA have made regarding reality tv, non-wga writers and non-Producers Assocation programing is just stupid.

  6. Actually Henrik, to use your own logic,

    These people’s jobs are build around the jobs and industry that the producers create. Same with the writers. Does that mean the writers should stop striking and just see things from the Producers point of view?

  7. Whatever. This is absolutely ridiculous. These people are just being selfish. I can relate to putting your need for money above other peoples principles, but when your life is based around work that these people create, you should be able to see their point of view. I’m sure these people don’t give two fucks about the issue at hand, they just don’t want to starve – which is understandable, but hardly something worth paying attention to if you want to produce any result that’s going to last.

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