WGA Strike

[mrjohnchimpo]

the screenwriters guild has ... struck.

if it lasts a long time (last time was in 1988 and it lasted 22 weeks), we can expect new TV for maybe another month or two, then all reality shows and cartoons.


http://www.tv.com/story/10393.html



http://www.tv.com/story/10394.html?tag=gumballs;title;0&om_act=convert&om_clk=gumballs

[slam]

well, as long as survivor keeps coming out, i'll be ok.

strangely, i feel as if this will have little to no impact on my life.

[mrjohnchimpo]

yeah, i mean, it depends on how many scripted shows you watch. also future shows. for instance Heroes: Origins is now tabled, and a whole bunch of shows will start to get pushed back.

on the other hand, now shows that ARE done might have a better chance to stay on the air (i.e., the second season of Jericho).

[JVO]

Yeah, I specifically heard the Daily Show and Colbert Report are two of the shows that will be hardest hit. Because they are daily topical shows who are hosted by no talent hacks (He He He) they rely very heavily on writers. I suspect that Leno and Letterman are probably in the same boat.

I'm with Slam though, there are so few sitcoms or tv dramas that I watch that I don't think it will effect me too much.

Although losing Heroes would be a bummer, especially since it would take me a month to figure everything out again if they are forced to go on hiatus.

[mrjohnchimpo]

one of the people on another list i'm on sent this link. i guess Stewart is paying his writers out of his own pocket to strike for 2 weeks.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2007/11/05/stewart-will-keep-striking-daily-writers-afloat

[slam]

oooh, i'd forgotten daily show and colbert. i think i'll survive... maybe i can go read an al franken book, or watch some old michael moore flicks. maybe i could pick up the dailykos blog :>

[JVO]

Speaking of the devil: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071105/ap_en_tv/people_stephen_colbert

[JVO]

one of the people on another list i'm on sent this link. i guess Stewart is paying his writers out of his own pocket to strike for 2 weeks.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2007/11/05/stewart-will-keep-striking-daily-writers-afloat

I would be really surprised if the Labor Union allows that.

[mrjohnchimpo]

this actually is more interesting than it sounds at first. i mean, what kind of residuals should writers get when stuff is shown online? it's uncharted territory. one would think they would work something out like how they do with reruns but damn, it's near impossible to regulate internet downloads and streaming episodes on websites. Do they make people pay to subscribe for online content or what? Pay a fraction of a percent in residuals for each download? I wonder how long this is gonna last. AAAAH! My TV safety blanket is going away! :eek:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071105/ap_en_tv/hollywood_labor;_ylt=As1F5B.WNcXsKtFWDlws4ba2GL8C

[Soul Queen]

I read about this last week. No comment really. Strike all ya want..

[hotfoot]

i support all strikes, everywhere.

[bubz_bluez]

what could you possibly have agaist john stewert? hes hallirious and if he wasnt he wouldnt have lasted this long...

hes no actor thats for sure but show host hes very good at

bubs

[mrjohnchimpo]

i support all strikes, everywhere.

i'm completely anti-union.

[False Alarm]

i'm completely anti-union.
why?

[mrjohnchimpo]

why?

i feel that the original purpose for unions was really good. A lot of workers were getting screwed over in terms of hours versus pay and conditions. Like 50 years ago.

However, unions these days are just as, or more corrupt, then management. They are basically run like the mafia, and use their political clout to beat everyone else into submission. That's not what they were originally used for. A perfect example would be a story III told me about how his school couldn't afford a union worker at first, so he wired a bunch of stuff in his school for his network. A union electrician came in AND RIPPED OUT ALL THE WIRING WHILE HE WASN'T THERE. That is called sabotage. People, and companies, should be able to hire union or non-union labor as they see fit. Being forced to hire union is mob rule.

Also, most union workers are NOT making minimum wage or something and striking for better wages. They're trades unions that are already making like 35 bucks an hour and are striking for 40 bucks an hour and the ability to show up 4 hours late without any repercussions.

Also, i was in a union for a long time in high school and college. i had to pay a relatively sizeable sum of my small paycheck for what? never saw a union steward, got minimum wage, never got any union benefits to speak of...basically they just took my money.

Also, strikes expose one of the worst traits of humanity (especially in the U.S.) in my opinion - all anybody really cares about is money (again, that's what modern union strikes are about). and i don't know, striking to me seems so...i can't think of a better word than irresponsible, especially if you are part of a job that saves lives or are responsible in some way, shape, or form with the lives of others. Obviously I kid to a certain extent about the writers' strike here, we're not all gonna die without TV, but take the Chicago Firefighter's Strike I think in the late 80s? (not sure of the year *edit it was early 80s*) Tons and tons of fires broke out and lots of people died because the firefighters went on strike and they had to rely on untrained volunteers to try to keep everything under control.

so I don't like unions. show me a union that forms and strikes because the employees in an industry are getting grossly mistreated, and not because they're looking for more money when they already have a lot, or not over some contractual thing that is pretty small versus really being treated poorly in the workplace, and i'll be all for it.

[False Alarm]

show me a union that forms and strikes because the employees in an industry are getting grossly mistreated, and not because they're looking for more money when they already have a lot, or not over some contractual thing that is pretty small versus really being treated poorly in the workplace, and i'll be all for it.
so being merely mistreated, rather than grossly mistreated, wouldn't be enough in your mind?

i don't really have a stance on unions. some strikes seem worthwhile, some not. i dunno. i do think unions were pretty heroic 100 years ago or so. and i think you're off base in being upset at strikes for exposing that money's all peeps care about. the fuck you think management cares about? it's like you're mad at strikes for bringing attention to a condition that exists independently.

your post does bring to mind a quote:

"all movements go too far."
--bertrand russell

[mrjohnchimpo]

to being merely mistreated, rather than grossly mistreated, wouldn't be enough in your mind?depends on the mistreatment. it would have to be case by case i suppose. i just like that adverb.

and i think you're off base in being upset at strikes for exposing that money's all peeps care about. it's like you're mad at strikes for bringing attention to a condition that exists independently.i'm not mad at the concept of a strike under certain situations, as I said.

the fuck you think management cares about? let's form management unions then! and strike for LOWER WAGES! workers have been constantly asking for "fair payment" for their "work"! forget that! it's time to show these workers who's boss! WHO'S WITH ME?! :soapbox: hehe.

your post does bring to mind a quote:

"all movements go too far."
--bertrand russellindeed.

I'm not opposed to all strikes. just most strikes. and all unions as an entity in their current form.

[False Alarm]

let's form management unions then! and strike for LOWER WAGES! workers have been constantly asking for "fair payment" for their "work"! forget that! it's time to show these workers who's boss! WHO'S WITH ME?! :soapbox: hehe.

you mean a lockout? let's do it.

[mrjohnchimpo]

you mean a lockout? let's do it.

haha, oh yeah. forgot that's already been invented.

[mrjohnchimpo]

here's some more info, relating to the office in particular. apparently they had a bunch of scripts saved up for the office, but steve carrell walked off the show so they only have like 2 new episodes left:

http://www.tv.com/story/10431.html?tag=gumballs;title;1

it don't look like this is going to end anytime soon. they want money and the producers are saying, "hey, eff you, buddy".

[mrjohnchimpo]

here's the main blog from the WGA point of view.

http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/

i wonder if they're getting paid to post? if not, they should shut the blog down and walk out on the internets!

[JVO]

I didn't realize so many of the actors on The Office were writers also.

That is still one of my favorite shows on tv.

[mrjohnchimpo]

production of Battlestar Galactica's last season has officially been shut down as of Friday. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! :cry:

[hotfoot]

Chimpo, you seem to understand (like every mouth breather in the country also does) that some unions have misused the power and money they've gained over the last 100+ years. What a staggering observation. I bet you've also noticed that tax money gets wasted.

Just because a few major unions have successfully inserted themselves into certain industries, and have continued to protect their workers, does not mean that unions in and of themselves are bad. You're referring essentially to like three unions that represent industries that will be like candlemaking or coopering in ten years. As if auto unions really represent all unions in 2007.

Most unions provide services and wages that otherwise would not be provided. Or, in way too many cases, unions don't exist at all, so motherfuckers get screwed. For example, dishwashers, retail workers, landscapers, car wash employees, caddies, bartenders, cooks, fast food employees, a million others.

Your argument boggles me more than the most anti-union arguments I hear. Because mostly I hear people repeating things their parents say or what someone of their supposed political persuasion is supposed to say. Usually, there's no understanding of history. You, however, seem to understand the history of unionizing (seem even to have some personal experience with the firemen's union in the recent past) and the vital role it's played in guaranteeing certain rights for the modern worker. And still, knowing all this, you completely dismiss unions and striking as viable or effective means of gaining advances in the quality of the lives working people lead. I know you, so I know you're not a dick. But, damn dude, you sound like one.

[mrjohnchimpo]

i don't think i sound like a dick at all. i think i said that throughout history, strikes and unions were a good thing, and they really aren't used properly anymore, especially in this case of a writer's guild that is trying to get their constituents 250K a year instead of 200K so they can feed their poor starving children.

but maybe i just am irked that the thing that raised me is going to have no new content pretty soon. :p

[hotfoot]

i don't think i sound like a dick at all. i think i said that throughout history, strikes and unions were a good thing, and they really aren't used properly anymore, especially in this case of a writer's guild that is trying to get their constituents 250K a year instead of 200K so they can feed their poor starving children.

but maybe i just am irked that the thing that raised me is going to have no new content pretty soon. :p

okay, dick is too strong of a word. i was just arguing unions with someone else a few days ago who actually was a dick about it, so i put that on you. sorry 'bout that. still, though, i find the whole "unions are corrupt" argument tiresome and not relevant to the much larger fact that unions, when properly supported, are generally good and important institutions.