Since I took a few personal days, I failed to cover this past Sunday’s "Below-The-Line" demonstration. With numbers of unemployed IATSE members nearing tens of thousands because of the writers strike, the march of 300-to-500 received a ton of mainstream press coverage for the few hundred. (Whereas those 4,000-5,000 writers at that huge Fox Plaza protest didn't rate as much Big Media coverage.)
See the BTL march reporting for yourself: ABC World News, Local KABC, Local KCBS, Local KNBC, Local Fox LA, Associated Press, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Washington Post. Interestingly, WGA members asked to join the Below-The-Line march but were politely turned away by the organizing folks. Even though, last Friday, IATSE local boss Tom Short, indicating he was working in concert with the AMPTP, blamed the WGA for the breakdown in talks even though the moguls reps walked away from the negotiations. For background on the terrible relations between the WGA and IATSE, see my previous, Bitchslapping Between IATSE & WGA.
This org. is foolish for playing a ‘down the middle’ position, equally blaming both sides.
It is clear to the world that AMPTP is deliberately blocking neg.s and a resolution to this strike.
As long as organizations like this allow AMPTP to shift blame, these org.s are ironically prolonging the strike.
One of AMPTP’S strategies is to demonize writers, blame writers, and incite BTL anger towards writers.
Amptp needs the full force of pressure from all sides, and needs it made clear blaming writers will not work and no one is buying it.
If this org. wants to expedite a resolution, this org. should be directing the full force of its pressure towards AMPTP, not diluting it by half-blaming writers. Writers are waiting and ready to end this.
Comment by tv viewers — December 11, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
While at least the Sound Union (695) invited WGA to our meeting last month, the organizers of the BTL rally wanted the theme to be: Both Sides, get it settled. That’s why the WGA was not invited. They didn’t want to take sides in the dispute. It was about getting back to work.
Thanks,
JF
Comment by Julius Fort — December 11, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
Tom Short is shortsighted. There. I said it. Somebody had to. He is either in the pocket of the studios already or he doesn’t realize or care that the union busters intend eventually to bust ALL unions, not just the other guys’. Whether he is shortsighted, stupid or corrupt we can only conjecture at this point. But he is bad for the industry and terrible for the future of organized labor in the industry. He is picking public fights against fellow union members and on the side of the employers who want to gut the unions. It’s crazy. He’s got to go!
I really am an IATSE member and I’m not posting my name or local out of fear to prove it.
Comment by IATSE MEMBER — December 11, 2007 @ 4:55 pm
Why is it interesting that the WGA was asked not to participate? They are the cause of this mess - why would the BTL work force want to be associated with them?
Comment by come on Nikki! — December 11, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
I read that story in the LA Times. Good coverage, although it trotted out the whold “rich writers, poor impoverished crew” story again, which is not the truth. But I guess it makes good copy. I didn’t know that the WGA had offered it’s support though, that was not mentioned. Why didn’t the BTL folks welcome the WGA? The WGA has reached out to the crew and BTL…but the reverse is not true it seems. Why widen the divide? Logically, as the first union whose contract expired, the WGA is on strike, and whatever happens to the writers will trickle down to the other unions.
Why the divide? Why does Mr. Short paint the WGA as villians and seek to keep everyone divided?
Comment by sidelined — December 11, 2007 @ 6:15 pm
and let’s not forget that iatse receives residuals too (they represent 55 % of their pension and health coverage). This is about all of us securing our futures and if we were in it together we might just end it faster.
Comment by bengardner — December 11, 2007 @ 6:41 pm
FYI, and without comment or judgment: My BTL colleagues who attended this march said the mood there was pretty sharply anti-WGA.
Comment by TV Showrunner — December 11, 2007 @ 6:48 pm
I was at this rally, and while I think it might have erred a bit on the side of being too neutral, the problem with having the WGA show up is that the rally would have immediately been dismissed by the AMPTP as a propaganda tool of the Guild. That would have helped no one.
But another reason the organizers tried so hard to keep this as neutral as possible is the division in the BTL community about who is responsible for this ridiculous mess that’s causing us all to lose our jobs. There seemed, at least to me, to be three main opinions of those at the rally:
1. Those primarily angry with the WGA for walking out immediately after their contract expired. These people tended to view the AMPTP’s actions from a point of view of “What the hell did you expect these jackasses to do?” This group also tended to be angry about the perceived return of issues like reality and animation jurisdiction to the table when negotiations had apparently been boiled down to new media issues. I know the WGA’s stance is that reality and animation were never off the table, but that the WGA was bringing up a relatively inconsequential issue that distracted from the key negotiations was certainly the perception of this group.
2. Those primarily angry with the AMPTP for refusing to negotiate in good faith and pretending that the internet is this newfangled thing that’ll never make any money while telling their stockholders how they’ll make billions. These people tend to see the Studios as being horrible tightwads who are cutting off their nose to spite their face.
3. Those who felt both sides’ greed was unconscionable, and that the dick-measuring contest needed to stop to save the financial solvency of the tens of thousands of workers in production who don’t see residual checks. For this group, it’s all well and good that residuals pay for IATSE’s health and pensions, but that’s cold comfort when the rent or mortgage comes due. For those of us not even in IATSE and losing our health insurance in addition to our jobs, it’s even worse.
While I personally fall into the second category, the vast majority of people I spoke to fell into the third, and I think that’s why the organizers tried so hard to stay neutral. I saw signs heartily lambasting both sides (and one sign specifically calling out Tom Short for being in the pocket of the AMPTP), so it certainly wasn’t entirely neutral.
There was one chant that seemed very applicable to both sides: Stop the hate, negotiate. I don’t dispute that the AMPTP were the ones who walked away from the table on Friday, and I certainly hold them responsible for the current stalemate.
But the level of vitriol between the negotiating committees is unacceptable, because the personal dislike these people clearly have for each other is a major, major stumbling block to a deal.
I pray that the back-channels that continue in the absence of real negotiations are able to work out something resembling a reasonable deal, because I have zero faith that these negotiators who hate each other so deeply can get past that personal hatred until the entire town is bankrupt.
To quote my favorite sign of the rally: I want my 70-hour workweek back.
-Low-level production monkey…at least until Friday.
Comment by E. — December 11, 2007 @ 7:12 pm
There were more reporters there than marchers. LAPD estimated the crowd at 300 which I thought was optimistic.
And the kicker was that everyone had to be off the street by 11:00 for the premiere of P.S. I Love You.
Comment by Alex — December 11, 2007 @ 7:43 pm
You know what I see… two mice squabbling over a piece of cheese. They’re so busy accusing the other of being greedy that they don’t see the giant metal band about to snap down and squash them both. But if they weren’t so preoccupied with one another, they’d see that trap and work together to dismantle it. The AMPTP is sooooo scary smart. Divide and conquer.
IATSE are you really so preoccupied with your little bit of cheese that you don’t realize the AMPTP will go after you next?
READ THIS TWICE: THEY’RE TRYING TO BREAK THE WGA. IF THEY BREAK THE WGA, ALL UNIONS ARE BROKEN.
Not this time around, but it will happen. They’ll start with less residuals for your union. If your health care isn’t funded, you’re going to pay high deductibles for basic medical care. How’d you like to pay a grand before your kid can see a doctor when he’s sick?
You can suffer in the short term now or suffer forever later. You should rename your leader Tom Short-sighted.
Comment by youdumbshits — December 11, 2007 @ 7:52 pm
Thank you E. for your honest and clearly missing insight on the rally. The BTL was a mass representing non celebrity, non-famous and non-wealthy workers that are asking for both sides to get back in the room and strike a deal. It will happen eventually, so why not now? While everyone in town is offering discounts or free cocktails or meals to WGA members, who is giving discounts to the Production Assistants for ran errands for the writers or got their lunches? Who is giving discounts or cocktail parties for the crew members who are now out of work and not receiving residuals while the networks re-run episodic television? Please, please… we are all a part of this industry and generally quite proud of our contributions. But we are running this strike like a bad production. And alot of people on all sides are getting hurt in the process.
It’s a shame that someone will take aim at the BTL for just trying to speak for themselves.
Comment by anon — December 11, 2007 @ 8:09 pm
E–you’re probably right, the AMPTP would have dismissed a BTL march with WGA participation as a propaganda tool, but frankly, that’s kind of irrelevant, they don’t care about it or BTL with or without WGA, it’s not like there’s a chance in hell that their hearts would have been sincerely moved by the plight, or anything else for that matter, and they’d all of a sudden develop consciences. Now they’re going to be able to USE the BTL march that excluded the WGA AS a propaganda tool. That’s going to hurt us all in the long run, as it gives AMPTP one more desperate straw to grasp to prolonging this thing. Option One might not have helped, but Option 2 is going to harm.
Comment by Anon — December 11, 2007 @ 8:46 pm
What this strike really is about is whether Web work is real work, and whether the Web work space is free or slave.
Comment by a spouse — December 11, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
“It’s a shame that someone will take aim at the BTL for just trying to speak for themselves.” - Comment by anon
Well, as an observer it seems that the BTL have no problem taking shots at the WGA who are just speaking (and standing up) for themselves.
The studios and networks chose to lay people off. BTL are being used as pawns by the AMPTP. If they planned on seriously negotiating, everyone would still be employed, since they would want to hit the ground running instead of rounding people up.
Comment by sidelined — December 11, 2007 @ 9:52 pm
E has it right on the money. I fall into category #3 and the true vitriol and anger both sides have shown in the past few days — whether who’s right or wrong is beside the point — is what’s going to prevent anything from happening. The AMPTM walked out on Friday for a number of utterly petty and self-serving reasons– and that’s just relying on what their own horribly-written press release said. But the WGA’s anger and name-calling ain’t helping either. The WGA has the moral high ground right now– it’s time they use it to their advantage in helping win over the hearts and minds of those of us caught in the middle.
As for “youdumbshits” talking about squabbling over a piece of cheese, couldn’t you also apply that metaphor to the Internet and the WGA struggle with the AMTPM? Not all of us are IATSE and a lot of us are finding our finances, careers and futures in the toilet because of this.
Comment by Jack Burton — December 11, 2007 @ 10:13 pm
I’m glad the BTL workers rallied. Your voice has been heard by the WGA. We are at the table. Ready to strike a deal.
Instead of blaming writers for this mess, please look at who has actually contributed to caring for the other unions. Writers are putting their own money into the Actor’s Fund which benefits everyone. Writers are organizing family nights to support crew members who are out of work. Writers like Conan O’Brien, David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel are paying their crews out of their own pockets. Writers are using the pickets to organize toy drives for the needy.
Then look at what the AMPTP has contributed…
…nothing but pink slips.
Comment by Cloudlite — December 11, 2007 @ 11:18 pm
I attended the rally in support of my BTL colleagues who are already laid off. The WGA’s “If you’re not with us, you’re against us” stance is laughable. The fact is, we are powerless in the battle and just want to both sides to recognize the collateral damage you’ve caused. There were signs portraying both the AMPTP and WGA as the Grinches who stole Christmas and there was a sign that read, “IATSE 4 WGA”. Everyone was allowed to express themselves — we still have that freedom. It’s probably the first bit of bad press the WGA has received in this matter; but if the strike lingers like we all expect it to, it won’t be the last.
Comment by SoonToBeUnemployed — December 12, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
Anyone else think the writers’ time would be better spent hitting the AMPTP where it hurts instead of walking the streets like confused hookers? If someone’s going to picket, at least picket the homes of the moguls. Time would be best spent going after the advertisers so they’ll withhold money from the networks, and going after movie theaters and video stores to get people to stop handing over their money, and doing stuff on the internet to hasten the end of this sorry mess.
After five weeks, throwing yourself in front of Carson Daly’s car and accepting treats from Vanessa Williams just ain’t cutting it.
Time to ramp this mother up!
Comment by Francine Fishpaw — December 12, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
You whiney, insecure little WGA’ers! This march did not exist to blame you. It came to be because other than your dogs, the actors, your fans, and your children, this group has not been heard from. This group of CREWPEOPLE, not “BTL”, stand to lose the most from this strike and gain the least. How insulting that you have invited other groups out on to the picket line except your Crew Brothers and Sisters. This is a labor dispute isn’t it? You do consider yourself Labor, don’t you? Then why haven’t you invited labor to stand with you?
Comment by get real — December 12, 2007 @ 8:08 pm