As you probably know, comments from all points of view are always welcome here, even anonymously.
But here's an opportunity for everyone to express views, concerns or questions which are not tied to any one specific topic (other than the Strike itself).
If this gets too far off track, I may close the comments (to this post only) on Monday morning.
Otherwise, have at it...
29 comments:
On Jan 30, 2008 Daily Variety writer Dave McNary reported that only 5500 WGA members qualify for the the WGA health plan.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979896.html?categoryid=1066&cs=1
He also reports that 250 writers will lose their benefits on April 1, 2008. If there are 12,000 WGA members, that means approximately 6500 non working writers voted for a strike that has affected 20,000 or more Below the Line Workers and the various industries, businesses and vendors that rely on the Motion Picture Industry for a living. Most of us Below the Line Workers work for a living. We don't live off residuals. We don't work on one show and expect that show to be our gravy train for the rest of our lives. Many of us have been accused of not standing with our "Union brothers and sisters". I am a life long Union member and I am sure that if IATSE went on strike, which it has the sense not to, the WGA and SAG would sell us down the river in heartbeat. The WGA and SAG leadership (read Hollywood Elite) are willing to go to war over their contracts and damn the collateral damage. I say it is time for the strike to end for the good of the industry. How many thousands of Below the Line Workers must lose their health insurance or homes for the sake of the 250 WGA members losing their health insurance?
I agree with the above, everyday we are losing pay we should have, our jobs are being held hostage by a dictatorship like regime of head honchos who have no care for the rest of us. The strike hasn't helped anyone and a resolution needs to be done. I've been a grip for 5 years here in NY IATSE local 52 and I will probably hold some resentment towards WGA and SAG for the way they both acted during this strike.
My feelings are,
"it's a good strike, at the wrong time".
I see both sides in this. As a business owner, and putting myself into Iger's or Cherin's shoes, I would have run this about the same, maybe even more hardline.
As a union member also of 29 years, I want to see the WGA get everything it wants. Reality writers should be in a union, as should animation writers (those who aren't covered under the IA)
I see no reason writers shouldn't be compensated the same on internet downloads as they would be on network television assuming the same viewer-ship. The day 15 million viewers are watching ER on the internet instead of network tv, is the time that should happen, (equal payments) and is a long way down the road. I agree with BTL guy, anything they get now is bonus money. I am hoping and praying the Negcomm can convey that simple concept to it's members. I think the emotions have been running so high, that some can't grasp that.
I still feel had the WGA waited until June it would have gotten more, with less grief to them, and us. I think they jumped the gun on the strike, assuming to beat the DGA to the table. It didn't take a psychic to predict it wasn't going to work considering the substantial gains the WGA was asking for.
I think this strike has shown how far apart all our guilds are. (AMPTP separated and conquered us long ago) After this is over, our leaders should seriously consider working together, maybe even an association similar to AMPTP. I think the WGA/SAG alliance is proof this could work to all our benefits, as long as all the guilds are included.
But, there is a lot of healing to be done before that happens. We need to respect each other first, in order for that to work. Clearly the WGA striking when it did was going to seriously hurt the BTL people first and foremost. They went ahead anyway not caring if we lost our homes, our businesses, our health insurance, our life savings, showing no respect toward us or our families. That is probably what I am most angry about, the disrespect of a sister union with truly middle class families. And it's really hard to call the WGA a union when they have non union office staff in LA, and NRLB complaints going in NY. Anyway, obviously lots of healing is needed.
As far as the benefits go (that the WGA is supposedly fighting for us) I could have paid for now almost 5 years of insurance and pension payments with what has been lost...........so far.
Secondarily, this was a strike about saving face, posturing, egos, and respect. If the writers don't think they are respected, try post production for awhile.....lol. I have respect for our writers on a creative level, and always have. However, as a sister guild or union level, that has changed completely. As far as getting respect from the Moguls, well take a look at the players in Dreamworks, and you can see there's not much respect even on their level.
In the end to me, it's been a good strike, for the right reasons, at completely the wrong time.
WGA strike - thoughts as they fly into my head
Noble cause without a plan.
Hard to support a union that uses their final weapon first.
Hardliners think saving face is not good enough, nothing short of an apology and stupid money is good enough. Fantasy world.
When it's over, will I be able to forgive and forget. Gonna be a challenge.
Stress on my family worth backing amateur negotiations?
Just let me get back to work.
BTL 399
I just found this site, so this is my first post here.
I want to know one thing: Who is BTL GUY? What are his qualifications, what does his resume look like, and WHAT IS HIS NAME?
You look at United Hollywood, there are a dozen reputable posters over there -- all of them card-carrying members of the WGA, all of them willing to attach their real names to their opinions. John Aboud, Kate Purdy, Laeta Kalogridis, David Latt -- IMDB any of them and make up your own mind.
But who the hell is BTL GUY? Can we have a name? That way, we can weigh his arguments against those from people who know how this industry really works: Oscar winners (Frank Pierson, Stephen Gaghan), Emmy winners (Tom Fontana, Mike Scully), and let's just throw in a Peabody winner (Ron Moore). You know, the people who post on United Hollywood. I'm inclined to trust professionals whose careers I can vet than an anonymous AMPTP plant who won't even give up their identity.
Who are you, BTL? Show me yours, and I'll show you mine. And let the fun begin!
Englebert Humperdink said..."You look at United Hollywood, there are a dozen reputable posters over there"
So why don't YOU post your name? And why does it really matter so much to you? Do those awards really make a person more qualified or reputable?
My name is Bill and I am
a Teamster, local 399 and if you choose not to believe that's your problem.
Cheers - BTL 399
Deleted my previous comment due to formatting changes, not content. Here it is edited:
What I have to say can't be summed up in a few short comments. For a different point of view, you may want to check this out:
Http://deuddersun.blogspot.com/
2nd post down. Feel free to fire away. Since this is basically a political site we are used to free-for-alls anyway, lol.
Nice site, anyway. I really expected it to be more vitriolic. Anyway, you are entitled to your opinion as much as I am to mine.
Good luck.
d.
IATSE Prop Master: To make things worse, apparently, there are only 10,500 WGA members (read that somewhere on the WGA site - I thought it was 12k as well).
However, despite the boast that there was something like a 90%+ vote for the strike, they fail to mention what percentage of that 10,500 actually voted. I believe the number teeters around 60% or so. So that would mean that (ballpark) 6,300 members voted and of those, 5,700 voted to authorize the strike. That makes it around 55% of total members "for" the strike. That's pretty sad.
I truly hope the WGA members get a "fair" deal. But what is "fair"? There are varying opinions on that. So many selfish moves have been made on behalf of both sides of the argument, but who has suffered most? IATSE, that's who.
I, for one, hope my brothers and sisters BTL remember this cluster fuck. Remember every bill you've received with those lovely red "final notice" or "notice of cancellation" notes printed in red. Remember how the WGA members who were out on the picket lines in force for the first 2-weeks have consistently dwindled in number to the point where they don't even have enough members on the line to cover all the majors.
Pathetic
Englebert,
My anonymity is based on the fact that I am labor and the Writers are management; and the fact that I disagree with this Strike.
If you don't think I would suffer repercussions from some Writers when the Strike is finally over, go check out some of the reactions to my comments on United Hosting. While disagreeing with much of the WGA party line, my UH posts have always been respectful and straightforward (unless I am personally attacked). And yet I am often personally attacked.
I work in both film and television, and in TV the head writer can hire and fire crew. I'd rather not injure my finances further than they already have been by limiting my job possibilities due to potential black-listing.
And if you think I'm an AMPTP plant then you haven't been reading my posts. I am very upset with the AMPTP as well. Their handling of the negotiations has been abysmal.
But this is not a lock-out, this is a Strike. Not only that, it is a Strike that now has a decent offer on the table (the DGA deal).
So, yeah, the bulk of my posts are directed at the WGA.
If you want to join The League of Shill Shouters who believe that "you're either with the WGA or against the WGA," then go ahead. I hear you get a nice lapel pin with that.
But if you want serious debate on the issues of the Strike, then argue the merits of a position, instead of attacking the person who made them.
When you point out that some award winning writers have different positions, I have to point out that the awards they won were for creating fantasy, not expert handling of complex negotiations.
I have not won an award in either of these areas, but I still have an opinion. You don't have to agree with it.
Finally, since you seemed to have missed it the previous 20 times I've posted it:
I am a 12-year veteran of the film and television industry. I lost my production job in November when the network television show I was working on ran out of scripts to shoot, due to the Writers Strike.
----------
And now for a piece of new news:
I am now one of the lucky ones. Earlier this week, I started work on a feature film.
I am extremely lucky in that the TV show I was on was one of the last to shut down, and now I have found work on one of the handful of features shooting in town.
Even with that relatively short break (especially compared to some friends who work almost exclusively on sit-coms), my finances are a disaster.
I would not have been able to pay my mortgage this month (February) had the feature not come along.
Yes, in this business, it is wise to have significantly more than 2 months reserve cash on hand, even in the best of times; but other personal and family issues had already eaten into my savings earlier in the year.
Nonetheless, I consider myself extremely lucky and I will continue to argue for a swift end to this Strike so that my friends and neighbors and fellow crew can also return to work.
Besides, if the WGA NegCom screws up the deal that's currently on the table, then this Strike will still be going for months after my feature has wrapped...
would be nice if it turns out to be true.
http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/137
Yeah Dan, that was the buzz over at the Uni lot yesterday too. Both sides are meeting today and Chernin stayed on rather than attend the Super Bowl.
Must....control....hope....
Clearly they are on the losing end of this.
Respect - Gone
Strong Union? - Gone
More jobs? - Gone, no pilot season, no overall deals.
Health Insurance? - Gone for some 250
Fair Deal? - even if you get everything you ask for; you have already lost more than you will ever gain in 20 years.
Doing this for the future? If the WGA keeps this pace it has the possibility of breaking it's own union when moderates go fi-core. You may think this isn't a possibility but it is.
Instead of calling me a shill, which I am not, I wish they would address these issues.
BTL guy, Thank you for continuing to speak out. I am in TV post and am hurting. My facility is trying to survive, but that means layoffs, contract suspensions and a lot of damage to what was a great facility and crew. It will be again, but this kind of destruction by this ill advised strike is ridiculous. I know many of my creator/writer clients aren't very happy with the WGA either. They see the destruction wrought by amateur, bad faith negotiating started by the WGA. Yes, the AMPTP have played you WGA and shown themselves as the bastards they can be, but that is business you are dealing with - what do you expect. But, the WGA started this whole bad faith negotiating way back when they refused to discuss the issues and moved lock-step into a strike. That is irresponsible and unforgivable.
First, the btlnews thing sounds like another rumor to me. If it's true, great, but I'll have to wait to see it confirmed. It just seems to me that both sides still need to go back into their formal negotiations before coming out with a contract. It is possible that what the rumor's sources have heard is that formal talks will be restarting on Tuesday and that the announcement will be made Monday.
To answer btlguy, you're indeed fortunate to have picked up a little work. I have been hired to work on a low budget industrial for this week for less than half of my normal salary. And it's going to be night shooting. But it beats sitting at home wondering when this mess will end. In a worst case, it simply extends my unemployment benefits.
To answer englebert humperdink, I have to further what btlguy responded to you. Many writers proudly post their names and shows and credits for all to see, and I admire the freedom that they have to do so. That is a perquisite that comes from being in the category of "above the line". Writers, directors, actors, and the upper level producers are both the management and, more crucially, the TALENT that drives our business. This is why you can see a feature budget where there's, say 30 million dollars to make a movie, and 25 million is budgeted above the line, and the remaining 5 is what goes to pay the crew and actually mount the production. (And I don't begrudge them that income - it's just a reality of the business)
Most BTL crew never win awards like Oscars, Emmys or anything else. They do this work partly because they love it, and partly because it definitely pays better than comparable jobs we can get in other fields. (The tradeoff on the pay level is the hours - the job pays more due to the serious amount of overtime. After 13+ years in tv production, my regular workweek still averages upwards of 75 hours.)
I work as an Assistant Director, a job seen as "middle management." If I do my job correctly, you won't even know I'm there - in that the show goes smoothly and the work gets done. (It's when ADs mess up that EVERYONE knows where they are, or wants to...) AD's don't win Oscars or Emmys, as there really is no way to quantify logistics and coordination as artistic expressions. The only time an AD usually gets an award is when the DGA gives one to the director of a project the AD happens to be on. And there are lifetime achievement awards within the guild, for ADs who have done good services for the DGA on the committees and at the meetings. But I have worked with many veteran ADs who have never won an award, never will win an award, and who know quite a lot about how this industry works. I recommend Jerry Ziesmer's book READY WHEN YOU ARE as a basic primer, if you're interested.
ADs, like most BTL crew, prefer not to stand up and make big personal statements. Anonymity tends to be key, whether it be on the job or on public boards like this one. Because the producers don't really want to have opinionated crew people. ADs who constantly give their opinion are labelled as "difficult" and aren't hired again by that producer. And ADs who go on public sites and criticize the studios, as I have done, tend not to be hired.
On the other hand, I am familiar with many writers, directors and actors who are quite opinionated and quite eloquent in expressing themselves. Harlan Ellison comes to mind. Michael Bay also comes to mind, although not so much in the eloquence department. But that's expected of them - they're creative artists and people want to hear what they have to say. Who doesn't expect Harlan Ellison to have something truly interesting and incendiary to say about any subject?
I agree that people who anonymously trash talk other people are acting dishonorably. That goes for people saying mean-spirited things on any side of this issue. And I've seen plenty of it on both sides. UH and Nikki Finke's gossip site both have a fair amount of anonymous posters decrying dissenters as shills, trolls or what have you.
But if the poster is making a reasonable argument and isn't making an attack, I don't see the issue with anonymity. There's a reason why we have secret ballots, why people are entitled to their privacy. And people in the crew are entitled to have their opinions and not be forced to endure public consequences for having them.
And while you're entitled to your opinion that btlguy is somehow an "AMPTP plant", I'm entitled to my opinion that you're badly mistaken, and that such language is inappropriate and unfortunate.
GOOD NEWS. AP reported today, Saturday, Feb. 2nd, around 3:15p. "A breakthrough in contract talks has been reached between Hollywood studios and striking writers and could lead to a tentative deal as early as next week, a person close to the negotiations said Saturday." Keep your fingers crossed people.
From today's HollywoodReporter.com, writer-director-producer Marshal Herskovitz called on both WGA and AMPTP to settle the strike.
Interesting, his comments are similar to mine, and yet I've been lambasted often (and recently) as a devisive AMPTP Shill for stating them (see some United Hollywood commentators pile on me here).
At any rate, here's the first few paragraphs from the HR Article:
Marshall Herskovitz, president of the Producers Guild of America, called upon the AMPTP and the WGA to set aside their self-interest and reach an agreement that will end the current strike.
Speaking this morning at the PGA's annual nominees breakfast, Herskovitz said that neither the WGA nor the AMPTP "can honestly say they've done everything they can to resolve the strike."
Noting that the strike has caused hardship throughout the industry, he addressed the two groups, who have returned to informal talks but have not yet resumed formal negotiations.
"The time has come to look beyond the needs of your organizations," Herskovitz said. "They should apply themselves to solving the problem."
englebert -
I am the original poster who asked for an open forum for discussion and this site was kind of nice to provide that.
As I wrote in my original request, I don't think it matters whether posts are anon or not as long as they are civil and the person puts in some thought, not just a crazy rant.
We are thinking adults and should be able to weigh the merits of a post without knowing who the poster may be - shill, exec, big name, little guy/gal with a mortgage due) - in fact, I think sometimes a name attached can sway opinion either for or against. Of course, as thinking adults it is always a good idea to vet the info you get from any blog or for that matter from any mainstream news source.
lso, BTL guy is right this is an industry town and some people - on both sides - hold opinions against you.
Also, I've noticed that UH has said that site will be morphing into something that can continue after the strike - think that would be nice here, too. UH is a good site but it definitely is a WGA blog although there have beens some good conversation going on there.
How do you think this site could be an ongoing resource and...are some of us willing to put a buck in the kitty to offset the cost.
Thanks again, DH for providing an open forum.
Frequent reader, first time poster.
BTLguy, I thank you for the forum you've provided here for people to discuss their feelings with regard to this ongoing strike. The over-moderation of other sites are a source of much frustration for many affected by the activities (or lack thereof) for the last couple of months.
I would caution you (and United Hollywood) however regarding committing to any ramped up version of the site. The time and money it takes to run certain types of websites might be too much once the strike is over and everyone is back to work.
Blogger is a free service, and has served you well. There are free service providers for forum-type sites, if that's something you would want to expand into. Unless you are seeing thousands and thousands of hits per day to the point where this blogger site has gone down due to overload, spending money on upgrading is money wasted. And none of us can afford that at this time.
I think you have the right idea in asking for people to submit articles to you to be posted, and even eventually allowing for guest bloggers when you build a level of trust with frequent posters.
I'm unfamiliar with all the features of blogger, but there may even be a way for you to have contributing bloggers whose entries you have to review before they go live. It's worth checking in to.
If the rumors are true and a deal is within reach, many who have been spending their spare time here and on UH, and yes, even on DHD, will be back to work and not have a lot of time for internet frivolities. And thank God for that.
Not trying to be a buzzkill, just trying to save you a headache (being that I have been there and done that).
Here's hoping we're all back to work soon.
I gotta ask .. does anyone know what these accusations of "paid shills" are based on? Honestly, I don't see the AMPTP or any of the member companies actually hiring people to surf blogs to post comments. That these cries of "SHILL!" keep coming up on sites like DHD and United Hollywood only serve to make me believe that those making the accusations are spoiled children, completely in denial and throwing tantrums. God forbid anyone should have an opinion of their own that doesn't mirror their own. So effing annoying.
BTS,
There are PR companies that specialize in online promotion -- specifically posing as average, everyday bloggers who promote their clients' toy, movie, or political point of view.
These companies do a lot of work for the studios, promoting various movies; which is why the Writers are so familiar with the idea -- they are often direct beneficiaries of the services.
However, I have to agree with you that I don't see evidence of this on either United Hollywood or Divided Hollywood.
While much of the anti-Strike rhetoric (including my own) is directed at the WGA -- it is they, after all, who actually went on strike -- I haven't seen anyone actually taking the AMPTP side of things (other than occasionally playing devil's advocate).
It's possible there are paid shills on UH, but if so, the AMPTP's not getting their money's worth. They should perhaps consider putting that advertising money back in the hands of professional Writers.
btlguy, congrats on finding a job. Uh, it is a Union job, isn't it?
Now about this anonymous thing. It is true that I am somewhat anonymous on my blog. I do have a picture of myself posted and a listing of my credits so I guess folks could figure it out.
The reason I started anonymously was because my blog is decidedly left wing in content and in the early days of the Iraq war I received many threats against myself and my family from right wing loonies who may or may not have been serious. Even though I have been (and still am, albeit no longer on active duty), a United States Marine, even though I supported the Invasion of Afghanistan, once I criticized the Bush Admin for attacking Iraq under bullshit premises, I was called a traitor, Un-American, American Taliban etc. And most insultingly of all, by a bunch of chickenhawks who never wore a cub scout uniform much less shared the Marine Corps Blue with me. As for myself, I'll take it to the curb and knuckle up with anyone, but I felt I had to protect my family, hence anonymity.
As far as the studios and producers go, I don't give a rat's ass what they think. Local 52 will stand up for me. They have in the past. Just this summer while on a job in Conn I was having a discussion in the Hotel bar with another crew member about illegal immigration. Even tho I am a liberal, I am against it because I see it as a Union-breaking tool of Big Biz. My colleague, who was Republican,was arguing for it. (go figger!) Not once did we mention any specific nationality. The discussion centered around the question of illegal immigration period. The bartender, who was Mexican, listened to us and then looked me in the eye and said, "You're a racist." I couldn't believe it. I looked at him and said, "This isn't about race, it's about illegal immigration." He asked me what I had against Mexicans? I told him nothing, in fact I don't blame people for coming here, I blame the people who hire and exploit them. This wasn't good enough for him as he kept insisting I hated "brown people" and I tired of it finally telling him, "This is a conversation between two friends so if you will stick to your job and get us two more beers, I'd appreciate it." He refused, saying he wouldn't serve a racist. I threatened to call in the manager. He turned to get us our beers and said over his shoulder, "Chinge a su Madre." I speak spanish and I take serious offense at anybody who tells me to "go fuck my mother". Well, it went downhill from there and the cops were called. I ended up returning to my room under threat of arrest for a hate crime. The next morning the hotel called production and not only wanted me out of the hotel,but fired as well! Production agreed. Now remember that during this conversation no-one ever mentioned nationality until the bartender brought it up. It's a trick the Amnesty people use, equating racism with anti-illegal immigration.
Anyway, when I got to work my boss told me what was going on. He informed me that he would quit if I was fired and so would the Art Director, the Production Designer and the entire construction crew. He further told me that he had called the Hall and that John Fundus would be there before noon.
John was, and after hearing my side of the story, and corroborating it with other crew members who were present, told Production that they could not fire me and if they tried he would shut the whole show down. Production relented and while I had to change hotels, I kept my job. At the end of the job, at the wrap party, the Producer and I talked and she apologized to me and stated how glad she was that I had "been able to stay on", lol! You can imagine the effect it may have had on my career if I had been fired for being a racist! I have often thought of sending this story to Lou Dobbs just to expose this particular Hotel to public view. I may yet.
Now this is Local #52, NY City. I don't know what local you belong to but we in NY have a kind of cocky, attitude towards production, you know, we'll do your show, but don't fuck with us. I've heard that, when certain producers brought up the question of drug testing our crews, our leaders told them, sure. We'll line our guys up right next to yours. Your Execs, producers, prod. mgrs, AD,'s DP's, Directors and Stars. We'll all do it together. We never heard another thing from them on the subject.
So I don't really care if production is mad at me or not. I have a Union to protect me, and like I've stated all over the place, I am a Union.
d.
Hey, all!
I'm an outsider to this whole strike, someone who decided to do a little research simply out of curiosity, and maybe you all on the inside can clarify anything I may have misspoken here. I looked at several sources to discover how often your guilds/unions have had a strike in the past:
WGA:
1960 = 20 weeks, 6 days
1981 = 12 weeks
1985 = 2 weeks
1988 = 22 weeks
2007/2008 = 13 weeks +
SAG:
1980 = 12 weeks
2001 = 4 weeks (?)
DGA:
Zero
IATSE:
Zero
Let me know if this information is correct or not. If so, please explain to me why the WGA strike so often compared to the other guilds/unions? Is it normal for one guild to strike so frequently compared to the others when you are all in the same business? Like I said, I was mostly curious, and am just a bystander who likes "Lost" a lot, but am beginning to feel real sympathy for those who are "Below the line."
Deuddersun,
Thanks for sharing a great story. It's good to hear that you were able to push back against people who would have taken the easy way out and fired you just to keep things running smoothly on location.
Yes, my new gig is Union. Big movie for a big studio.
As I said, I'm one of the lucky ones...
Good for you then btl guy. Break a leg with the new job. Hopefully it will carry you until this strike is settled.
As for my story, well, I hope you noticed that the first folks to stick up for me were my bosses, who are also my union Brothers. That's the way it is and should be. I'm sure that made it a lot easier for Brother Fundus to fight for me.
Now, student, go back and do your homework. The DGA did strike once, although it only lasted about 5 minutes. No joke. And the IA or various locals have struck many times, too many for me to list here. Just this December, IATSE, Local One, shut down Broadway over work rules, so you see it's not alway over the almighty dollar. At least for us, I guess with Producers that's really the only thing it's ever about.
Goggle IATSE and go to the official sites. If you want I have a link-list of all the different Unions at my place, (something you should do here btlguy). Google deuddersun and you'll find me, then look around. I'm not going to be a bigger blogwhore than I already am.
d.
Thanks for the suggestion, D.
Rather than list all of the unions however, I'll simply put up the main one for IATSE:
http://www.iatse-intl.org/home.html
And anyone looking for more information about a specific local can link from there (or from deuddersun's site at deuddersun.blogspot.com).
Also, please note that I list several sources of financial help on the front page, right column.
Yeah I saw that btl, it's a good list. Since my blog is political in nature, most of my readers are concerned with political issues and are not involved with our work other than to watch what we do. I posted my list as an informational thing for them. Seems everybody but us is impressed by "movie magic", lol!
Anyway, thanks for the referral. I'll link to you soon. Right now I'm busy beating up some guy named DP over at UH, LMAO!
d.
D that guy that calls himself dp is some scumbag in 600 that thinks he's ATL. They will sell out their own in a new york minute. I think I know who that guy is and that remark " I hate to bore you writer's with this I hear it on the set all the time" Smacks at what I hate about dps. I heard conrad hall say one night if it wasn't for the camera local there would be be no IA. I say fuck them and I'm 600 guy as well
just a thought, yeah, we have had our share of problems with some of you 600 guys, lol! It seems that there are some Union Brothers and Sisters who are only Union for the benefits, they will always work on a non-union job as long as they get theirs. It's not just in 600 either, we have a few guys like that too.
I have always said that I only want folks in my Union who are Union first. I'll teach them anything-else they need to know, but I can't teach them loyalty. That's a character trait and you either have it or you don't.
Perhaps someday I'll have a chance to meet DP here in the East. If I do, it had better be on a Union job or he's liable to learn just how "clumsy" we can be. Although I actually believe he is a poser. If someone challenged me like I challenged him I'd certainly answer. If I had shot the videos in support of WGA he claims to have done, I would be proud to claim them, he doesn't. I don't think he knows an F/5.6 from an F-16 Fighting Falcon!
Anyway, I don't brand all 600 members that way, just as I don't want to be judged by Tommy Short.
Thanks for your input though. With a little luck, I may someday get to work with you.
d.
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