Will SAG demand WGA get their increase on DVDs? hmm

It was something I tried to do with your strike, but the WGA members I reached out to, that were so enthusiastic about it initially, seemed to lose interest after discussing it with WGA staff.

So, in the very unlikely chance of an IATSE work action, you can look forward to hearing from me!

Dan of Los Feliz

Whether I ever get hired again or not, I still write, but god, I would love to be doing it full time. And I miss wearing jeans and elegant flip-flops to the office.

I was at WB Gate 2 every Wednesday morning at 6 am (for about a month, we started at 5) when it was 39 degrees and stood in the rain and hail with the entire staff of “ER.” I made a point of doing the earliest shift so I could talk with BTL workers face-to-face and let them know this strike was about not letting greedy multi-national corps take away health & pension benefits and fair wages from ANY union member. I also want to add that as a strike captain, I saw Teamsters, DGA, SAG, fans, IATSE, wanna-be WGA, teachers, flight attendants, retirees — you name it, all kinds of people came out on the picket lines when they could. And while having trucks refuse to cross our line was a boost, I NEVER begrudged anybody who went on the lot to earn their day’s pay. Thank you, those of you who supported the writers, and I, too, will walk beside you if & when you find yourselves in the same struggle.

Jennifer G.

SAG folks, if you ever go on strike, I will be out there regularly, picket sign in hand, walking the line with you, as you did with us.

IATSE, Teamsters, IUOE… same thing. If any of y’all ever strike against the AMPTP at any point, I’ll be one more writer walking the picket line with you.

Patrick Meighan
Culver City, CA

All of the above were–and are still–appreciated.

But there’s another side of the strike, too. A real ugly side. People got aggressive and tried deliberately to inflict harm. On at least two separate occasions somebody tried to run me over. One of those guys was a grip on his way to work–he was getting paid, I still wonder what his problem was. The other was, you guessed it, a reality TV editor. I recognized him because we’ve met before and I have a really good memory for faces. I try not think it was personal. But who knows?

Anyway, those two people were not appreciated. Nor was the woman who saw me with my dog one day while I was wearing my strike shirt and said, “Your fucking writers, I hope you and your dog die.”

Here’s the bottom line: if you supported the strike, great. And thanks. If you didn’t, well, that’s okay, too. Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion and I certainly understand the need to earn a paycheck.

Anyway, when, and if, SAG goes on strike I’ll support them and be out on the line whenever I can, as often as I can.

And if the BTL needs my support for anything, I’ll be there.

Why?

Because you support the collective cause–if it’s right. And if the cause is important enough, it talks all kinds of individuals to support it. And every individual has to determine what “important” is, that’s how contract gains are made.

P.S. My son picketed in NY so that confirmed it.

Let’s remember that the writers also lost wages, sold their cars (in L.A.!) to make house payments, and tightened their belts to make do.

The AMTMP is crap - there’s no way they could look good unless they turn against their own cla$$ interests (don’t think so), or unless self-delusional people help polish their halos.

I come from a long line of teachers & health workers. When my mother struck her hospital, she felt bad about the quality of care her patients would get. The scab nurses imported from other states who were paid several times more than my mom didn’t know or care about her patients, they didn’t know that particular hospital’s procedures - thereby possibly endangering the patients. The corporation who owned the hospital wanted to take advantage of the nurses’ feelings of responsibility - they wanted to hold patient care hostage to defeat the nurses’ demands for better job conditions. Check out the conditions of a hospital’s workers, and check out the morbidity/mortality rate. There’s a correlation.

Same situation with nursing home workers - their patients are dependent on them for their quality of life. Do you really want your mother taken care of by someone paid minimum wage, or by less than the minimum wage if paid under the table?

Same with teachers who want to teach their students, but striking when left no choice. I’ve been on the picket lines with teachers, health workers, room cleaners, janitors, security guards, restauant workers - one thing’s the same. One thing is the universal - THE BOSSES ARE OUT TO SCREW YOU, and they love it when you cooperate.

From the rest of the industry that took a 25% pay cut for YOUR cause, shut up, go back to work, and try to write something that will last more than 13 weeks. We don’t want or need your thanks.

Thanks again, SAG. You guys really showed some spine and some class.

A WGA Writer

My position exactly. Thank you again, SAG, for the many good things you did and said on behalf of the WGA. And this: how about we team up next go-round and how about we start preparing for the next go-round tomorrow? The producers have money, we have numbers and we need to use our numbers better.
A WGAeast writer, lifetime member