11/29/2023 0 Comments Brave writer![]() Wall Street has swallowed the already money-mad entertainment industry whole. The union leaders, in so far as they lull the strikers to sleep, are acting as agents of the entertainment firms. The conglomerates have made clear their intent is to “break” the strikers, starve them into surrender. They are the ruthless enemies of the writers, actors, crew members and everyone else who works for a wage. The giant massive entertainment and technology corporations that striking workers are up against are not collaborators or partners. They express the illusions and wishful thinking of an affluent, complacent layer in the entertainment industry who have far more in common with management than with struggling writers and actors. If these views prevail, the strike will be betrayed and defeated. They see us, they hear us, let them hear us right now.” To the extent that union leaders presented a strategy it was focused on the question of “how to change the minds of the AMPTP ,” representing the various billion-dollar companies.ĭanielle Sanchez-Witzel, a member of the WGA bargaining team, asserted in her comments that “more important than us feeling our power is the AMPTP feeling it. This type of carnival-like atmosphere, presented as a climate of “powerful action” and “solidarity,” actually works to suppress serious discussion and analysis, both of the immediate progress of the strike and its larger political and social implications. Wednesday’s rally was dominated by the usual chants and loud music. Workers must be warned: no “historic” deal is on its way, behind the empty sloganeering of the union tops, the actual development of events points in a different direction, toward a sellout. ![]() The determination, however, of the striking workers stands in contrast to the dead-end strategy of the union functionaries in the leadership of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. The future of the writing and acting professions is quite literally on the line. The companies are relentlessly pushing ahead with different means, through technology and otherwise, of lowering costs at the expense of the workforce. The WGA estimates that writers’ incomes have dropped by 23 percent over the past decade, taking inflation into account. While Disney, Netflix, Amazon and the other giant entertainment corporations earn billions in profit, actors and writers have seen their wages and conditions deteriorate. There is a deeply felt sense that things cannot carry on in the old way. The large turnout of actors and other workers Wednesday was a testament to the strikers’ enormous determination. A view of the rally outside Paramount, Los Angeles, California, September 13, 2023.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |