We will have to wait and see the details, But the Variety story seems to assume that the WGA has been successful in getting minimum guaranteed staff levels and a significant formula for providing streaming residuals. Union rhetoric during the strike suggests that they would not set up without some progress towards a deal on AI. If this is the case, it will be a major accomplishment, and would set the stage for similar gains for the Actors.
Of course, it will almost certainly be true that in ten or five or even three years it will become clear that one side, or the other agreed to terms which new developments have rendered not in their interest. Humans have difficulty predicting the future, or even recognizing the implications of the present. Even so, the perfect does not have to be the enemy of the good, or even the better-than-nothing.
We are in a season of labor resurgence. A year ago today I was on strike for a month and would be for another month more, and we made progress partly when governor Newsom threatened to attend one of the negotiation meetings and take a heavy hand with the employer if he did not see Reasonable movement, which is part of what happened here with WGA. The result was very, very, very far from perfect. But it did allow us to move forward and provide a mechanism for things to get better. It also demonstrated to management and to ourselves that we had a power that we previously had not really believed in.
A Strike is the labor equivalent of war, and, and in its on the way it is hell. Believe me the struggle, the uncertainty, and the anxiety is real. It is an option of last resort. I hope that enough unions will be successful during this period that corporations will acknowledge that their employees are one of the stakeholders that must share substantially in the corporation’s economic success, and not just top-tier executives and shareholders.
Specifics haven’t yet been made public, but both sides are patting themselves on the back, so it’s probably another deal that will unravel in a few years after the next big tech breakthrough occurs.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.