Most everyone is aware that writers in Hollywood have been on strike for almost two months now -- since November 5. Collectively, they've lost $350 million in wages yet many strikers are apparently keeping an upbeat outlook as they are used to sporadic employment and they feel that they're working for the larger overall picture of labor movement.
However, the overall picture also contains 40,000 other workers such as electricians, carpenters, and prop makers who have been unvoluntarily out of work as a result of the writers' strike. The strike, which will probably benefit the writers, will not benefit these other employees who are not only losing paychecks but also hours for health insurance eligibility and pension coverage.
Do you think its fair for the other employees to suffer at the expense of the writers' strike? What could be done to fix this?
According to the Monthly Labor Review Online, the average length of work strikes in 2006 was 26.5 days, up from 20 days in 2005. The longest strike in 2006 lasted 211 days.
50 days into their strike, the writers are over the 2006 average but well under the longest strike that occurred last year. Will it do more harm than good all around to continue the strike?
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2 comments:
It's very interesting how much people can affect those around them. I think that these writers are making an obvious impact on television and all its viewers as well. And yes, they are making this impact on all the other people who hold jobs, but I think that if the people are willing to disregard the viewing population at large, I don't know if any of them would aid the lower workers with their difficulties. Kind of ironic if you ask me: they complain about their low working situation by making it even worse for others. That's a bit selfish I think.
And yet at the same time how else would one truly address a situation such as that? I think that angry letters from viewers/citizens in support of the writers could make a difference as they are on strike, but isn't there a point when that is only making things worse?
Also, I'm wondering how in a city where so many people would kill to have such highly esteemed jobs writing television shows these job spaces haven't been filled by brand new staff (again I don't know much about the TV business...).
I am honestly not at all devastated by the writer's guild strike. This event is allowing people to realize there are actually other things to do besides watch drama television! I know it's a multi-billion dollar industry, but it's pitiful that so much money is put into entertainment rather than education or science.
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