We’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.