Union Strong - Tumblr Posts
Brain’s spewing out additions, questions, and thoughts to the above point.
Whose life and work is being given value in that statement? “The workers are hard to support because I won’t get_” is someone’s comfort being placed at a higher priority than another person’s life. Stand with the workers. Unions exist because we can never trust the boss to put us first. Every single workplace law and contract is written in the blood of those who suffered before being treated with the dignity owed to all human beings.
Who has the luxuries of time, money, and technology to consume art endlessly? There are plenty of people globally who cannot regularly access any of these, so the most loudly complaining voices just make me think, “You need a reality check.” Make me think of cousins we cannot regularly connect on social media because sometimes, their power is out for weeks. There are more important concerns in life than consuming a new piece of media. Perspective matters: the workers are more valuable than people being able to watch a new story.
What types of art are being set up as superior to others? To the previous point, there are communities that do not have the access that those in the so-called Western world take for granted. Yet they definitely create art, connect to human spirit, and share stories, too, without TV or movies. Independent films and film industries in other countries are still creating art. Hindi and Tamil films, Spanish films, Chinese films… if people want new, there is still new, from writers and artists not currently on strike. Those who are on strike need our support, and those creating media elsewhere should not be devalued simply because they are from elsewhere.
Why are people falling into a fallacy of thinking only new art is meaningful? If people want to be entertained, there are thousands of options that already exist. A massive amount of artistic expression is already out there, more than any one person could ever read, watch, or listen to with their own lifetime. These works are not less valuable just because they have been out for a longer time. And their creators sure would love for people to be invested in them, too.
Ultimately, seems obvious that we can so easily give up something we are simply used to, in order to fight for better conditions for the people who make it.
In fact, I reject the premise that it’s “hard” at all. We are not making any kind of “sacrifice” by not having new media. The writers and the actors are the ones who are fighting, the ones whose careers are at stake, the ones with reprehensible bosses who are not negotiating in good faith and have pushed them to a strike. Even more significantly, this is not the first and nor will it be the last career path impacted by changing technology, greedy bosses, and unjust treatment. We should all be paying attention because the decisions made here will ripple out everywhere.
Anyway. Support these unions, be active in your own union if you are part of one (because it is not separate from you, it IS you) and remember: your boss is never your friend!
seeing people be like ‘I know it’s going to be hard to support the sag strike because movies and shows will stop coming out but-’ is so fucking funny like can I introduce you to a beautiful concept called the million billion movies and shows that already exist that you couldn’t even get through in a lifetime if you wanted. welcome to heaven <3
just a reminder - do NOT boycott streaming services or not watch new things. the unions have not called for one for a reason. for one, it affects residual payments, which as minimal as those currently are, actors are still getting them during this time, and for two, studios will use lack of viewership as an excuse to cancel shows because you are showing them there is no demand. it deeply affects the industry the writers and actors stand to come back to once the strike is over
Name, Image, and Likeness
SAG-AFTRA & WGA on strike ask viewers and fans to support them and I hope folks realize that this is not about a small percentage of wealthy celebrities but the overwhelming numbers of members who provide the meat and potatoes to the artistry we consume. It is reminiscent of athletes also having to fight to protect their own autonomy for the future in media and other representations.
Finally, it is also about the majority of labor across the country being used and abused in the past but especially right now and across multiple industries-- the top tier of society taking advantage of desperation felt by citizens who need to pay the bills, to eat, to provide care for others; the top tier changing laws to promote child labor, to destroy education that provides opportunity, to shoehorn the populace into categories that we didn't ask to be placed, to take away the right to take a water break in dangerous heat (Texas rescinded a mandatory water break law) at a time when workers are dying due to high temperatures. Those are just a few examples of the way workers and their families are abused and viewed by those in power that think of them as expendable, as weak, as easily replaced.
Power in numbers can provide a possible solution and in the coming days, I hope that others join in to show that human labor has value and it is time to value the human that provides that labor for the betterment of all.
It's so inspiring to see people standing up against the evils of fascism, anger, vanity, hatred, contempt and offence! It's so encouraging to see that everyone with a little sense is coming together to say that the red-haired old excited man belongs on the golf course, rather than in the White House.
mod
Well, we would send him to therapy, but it would be a waste of money, an open institution called a golf club would suffice.
He Can See The End
Please sign it if you can! It’s really quick to fill out!
just in case anyone missed this in the news or maybe not in the loop, Disney is currently refusing to meet with or acknowledge the newly formed animation production workers union that just voted to join IASTE and become an official part of TAG, the animators and animation artists guild
production workers across all studios are currently voting to be recognized for their hard work and invaluable skill at keeping these productions running, but studios are refusing to meet with them to let them negotiate deals or even exist
as someone who works in animation as a designer i know i wouldn't be able to do my job at all without any of my production workers. they are the incredibly hard working people who oversee pretty much everything in animation. they make sure everything is running on time, that schedules are being followed, they have to know pretty much every single word of the scripts and beats from the storyboards to make sure nothing is missed, and most importantly, they make sure artists are being taken care of and not overworked. they really are the unsung heroes of the animation world
production workers are also by far the most exploited workers in animation currently. they make about a fraction of what artists make for just as much work put in, and currently have no agreement for health coverage or other benefits that artists protected by the union are guaranteed
BUT! there is some good news. right now there's a petition on IATSE's website that has over 80,000 signatures currently addressed to disney leadership to do the right thing and meet with this new union and recognized their vote to form. it still needs roughly 21,000 signatures and only takes a minute to sign! anyone with a zip or postal code can sign, meaning both US and Canadian residents can sign and help this union get the deal it deserves!!
Some union basics:
1. Striking is the LAST RESORT. If a union is at the place where a strike is being proposed it is because they have been bargaining for a long time and exhausted all their other options.
2. Before a strike happens, all the members vote. Everyone is very aware of the status of negotiations long before they’re made public. But if a strike is occurring it’s because an overwhelming majority voted to strike—you want almost everyone in the union to agree before you take such a huge step.
3. Strikes are difficult but necessary demonstrations of workers’ collective power. The hope is that your labor is so essential that the bosses lost profits will make them come back to the bargaining table. The bosses are hoping that the workers will starve to death.
4. Working during a strike is called scabbing. Coming in from an outside industry to do work during a strike is sometimes called crossing the picket line. Both send you straight to hell.
South Park! Pedro stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and WGA
How you can help
DON'T boycott the streamers and/or stop going to the movie theaters unless the unions ask for it.
Donate to the Entertainment Community Fund
If you cannot afford to donate, here are some more information on how you can support the strike on the official WGA page or if you live in the area join them on the picket line (non-union-members are welcome). You can find information on their schedules on the official SAG-AFTRA page or WGA page
Overlapping Concerns: BMA Union Protest Coincides with ‘Guarding the Art’ Exhibition
March 24, 2022 | Bmore Art | Words: Brandon Soderberg, Maximillian Alvarez
Union organizers accuse BMA Director Chris Bedford of privately stalling election while publicly championing security guards through a new exhibition.
While Baltimore artists, influencers, and reporters shuffled into the Baltimore Museum of Art for a preview of Guarding The Art, an upcoming exhibition that the BMA’s very own security guards curated in collaboration with curatorial staff, workers stood on the steps of the museum demanding their union be recognized.
On Tuesday, March 22, a group of seven workers who are part of the ongoing effort to unionize the Baltimore Museum of Art held signs with slogans such as “1 Voice, 1 Union” and “No More Delays”; one sign had “Guarding the Art” changed to “Guarding the Guards.” They were demanding that the BMA’s director, Christopher Bedford, sign the union’s election agreement. Bedford, the union stressed, has had two months to sign the agreement, which is needed in order to allow a union election organized by the city.
Demonstrating outside of the museum was Security Officer Ben Bjork, one of the 17 members of security who helped curate the 25-piece exhibit. One of the pieces Bjork chose for Guarding The Art was “50 Dozen,” a sculpture by Jeremy Alden made up of 600 pencils glued together to form a chair.
“It’s an exhibit with the goal of highlighting how important security guards are to the institution of the BMA. That they do more than just guard the art, they understand it and appreciate it, and are very valuable to the museum,” Bjork said. But what is even more important to Bjork than the chance to contribute to an exhibition is the opportunity to have more of a say over how the BMA treats its present and future workers.
“A lot of times, it feels like security is working at a different institution than some of the curators or higher-up people,” said Bjork, who has been with the museum for almost four years. “The union campaign has allowed me to actually work with people from other departments in a way that I didn’t necessarily even get to do in the Guarding The Art show because we’re actually organizing—like, collaborating together.”
The Baltimore Museum of Art workers’ demands include “job security, fair and livable wages, staff advancement for all,” as well as more involvement in decision making, more administrative accountability, and “manageable workloads that sustain safe working conditions and a healthy lifestyle.” They also want their union to be a wall-to-wall union that includes all of the museum’s workers, including security.
“It’s really important for us to have a wall-to-wall organizing unit, because that would allow there not to be a divide between different departments,” Bjork said. “One thing that we found is that we all had a lot of the same issues or problems at the museum, because a lot of the issues here are systemic, like at any big institution.”
Security Officer Micah Murphy, who joined the BMA after the union drive began but quickly signed a card, stressed the importance of security being part of the union.
“We want all the employees—all the eligible employees—to be in one bargaining unit,” Murphy said. “I mean, to me, it would be absurd to have a union without the security guards. We’re the largest department, from what I understand, and we are not the most privileged department—let me put it that way.”
Tuesday’s demonstration occurred at the same time as the press preview of Guarding The Art, an exhibition that has already received a great deal of positive national press due to its unique, worker-focused concept and message recognizing the creative contributions of museum staff members that are typically not appreciated.
“For the first time in the Baltimore Museum of Art’s history, the people who protect the art have selected the art,” a BMA press release announced. “The exhibition highlights the unique perspectives of the officers and their reflections on the featured objects are drawn from their many hours in the galleries, their interactions with visitors, and their personal stories and interests.”
Guarding The Art is the latest in a series of grand gestures by the BMA since Christopher Bedford became the director. When he arrived in 2016, he appeared intent on shaking things up and capturing the social justice zeitgeist of the moment—from the Black Lives Matter movement to #MeToo and into the George Floyd Uprising.
He was clearly on a very public mission. The museum showed significantly more exhibitions each year, putting greater demands on the staff, while also keeping the museum in the news, broadcasting an agitated sort of ambition. Black and brown artists were more frequently the focus of exhibitions and, in general, appeared on the museum’s walls more often; there were more nods to communities outside of the museum’s moneyed members—all positive changes broadcast publicly, but not an internal or systemic change.
While many have applauded the director’s initiatives, others have questioned Bedford’s sincerity, viewing this directorship as a resume-builder on the way to a “bigger, better” museum. (When he was originally hired, he said he would stay five years.) In 2020, the BMA announced it would only acquire art made by women so it could “rectify centuries of imbalance”—an impossibility in a collection of nearly 100,000 historic works created mostly by men—which garnered widespread national acclaim in dozens of articles. However, it turned out that in 2020, the museum collected 65 works by 49 female-identifying artists.
Also in 2020, Bedford attempted to sell (or “deaccession”) three pieces of art by white male artists (Andy Warhol, Clyfford Still, and Brice Marden) from the museum collection during temporary, COVID-related changes to normally tight regulations around the practice designated by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) designed to keep struggling museums from closing or laying off staff. Instead, the BMA announced a plan to generate $65 million for “care of the collection,” new acquisitions, diversity and equity programming, and an increase in staff salaries. When some donors threatened to pull their money and past presidents of the AAMD issued a letter requesting the museum cancel the deaccessioning, the paintings were pulled off the market on the day of the sale. The museum still was able to raise security staff salaries that year from $13.50 to $15 an hour after fundraising specifically for that purpose, leaving many asking why the museum’s ability to provide raises had been so closely tied to talking points about the deaccessioning.
When the BMA Union’s organizing committee went public in September 2021, its statement seemed to challenge Bedford and the BMA’s progressive bonafides: “We are proud to carry out our mission of serving the Baltimore public and providing ‘artistic excellence and social equity’ in all facets of our work. To that end, we are channeling this passion and energy to form a union, which will help build a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable institution and change the long-standing cultural canon of privilege at our museum.”
Complicating things is the fact that Bedford is on his way out of the BMA. Last month, he announced he had accepted a new job at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). His last day as BMA director is June 3, 2022. SFMOMA, workers stressed, is already unionized. For some BMA workers, Bedford could recognize their union and finally walk the walk on all the “equity” and “diversity” talk he deployed to define his reign at the BMA.
Earlier this month, the BMA posted a message on its website about the unionization effort, saying that the museum would not agree to an election overseen by the city because of the power they claimed this gives a third-party arbitrator. Namely, this kind of arbitration would enable the wall-to-wall union to exist and has been a common practice in Baltimore City. The BMA suggested instead that the workers’ union election should go through the National Labor Relations Board instead—a nonstarter for the workers because the NLRB’s rules don’t allow a wall-to-wall union that would include the security guards.
A letter to the BMA’s board from the workers questioned the BMA’s concerns about third-party arbitration. “The City is offering to take responsibility for conducting a fair and just union election process. We trust them to facilitate the election even if that means using an accredited third-party arbitrator who specializes in conducting union elections,” the letter read. “To deny us a fair union election process that would allow us to be represented as one unit and one union, guards and non-guards alike, due to a misunderstanding and distrust of standard union election procedures is egregious and offensive.”
When reached for comment, the BMA provided an email written by Bedford that reiterates the museum’s stances on third-party arbitration and instead, suggested instead going through the NLRB (which will not include security guards), but also stated that the third-party arbitrator option is not completely off the table: “Given that we are open to a single union at the BMA and to trying to find a path forward that would allow for this possibility, we will meet again with legal counsel to explore further the third-party arbitrator route,” the email said, referencing a March 22 board meeting where Michael Huber, the Chief of Staff from the Mayor’s Office, expressed the city’s desire to discuss the options for a non-NLRB-run secret ballot election.
One union member, who requested anonymity, said Bedford seems to be trying to run out the clock instead of making a decision. “Bedford’s using distraction. So whether he wants the union or not, he’s saying, ‘Oh, it’s the board.’ And then he’s like, ‘Oh, it’s the city,’” the worker said. “And he leaves in June. So, we can also just see his own delaying tactics.”
As BmoreArt reported last year, BMA “workers find it hard to reconcile the fact that their director is paid an annual salary of more than $400,000 (according to the latest tax filings) while hourly workers’ pay just recently went up to $15 an hour. From fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, Bedford’s salary increased from $403,936 to $438,297—the difference is more than what one (full-time, $15 an hour) security guard makes annually.”
Low wages and poor worker conditions have long been an issue at the BMA and at most museums across the country. Some readers may recall back in 2016 when a local news segment at the BMA was briefly interrupted by Ian, a BMA security officer. When Ian appeared on camera and was asked what he did at the museum, he said, “I work 40 hours a week and I live below the poverty line. And I advocate for living wages and workers’ rights.”
In September 2021, the BMA union campaign went public but it had been in the works since summer 2020. The pandemic made the need for a union even more apparent, Bjork explained.
“We were really grateful—or at least I was—that when the museum closed down, they kept security on the payroll. They didn’t lay us off or anything, which I was really grateful for—to have a job throughout the pandemic,” Bjork said. “But then when [the BMA] reopened, it was really clear that all of the decisions that were made at the museum were not made by people who had to come into work anymore; they were all made by people who worked from home. And a lot of times, they were really slow to shut the museum down or to respond to COVID-19 on the day-to-day.”
Capacity restrictions and other responses to COVID-19 by the museum were, Bjork explained, “impossible to enforce as a security guard” yet fell on the guards to enforce. The logistics and planning for reducing capacity did not involve security guards’ input.
“The divide between the leadership and the actual workers who had to come in? It’s really stark. And that’s definitely how this organizing started,” he said. “With the timing of the Guarding The Art show, it just reminds me, again, how excluded from the conversation we are still.”
Security officer Murphy stressed that the union benefits the BMA too.
“I think because of that pandemic, and ‘the great resignation’ and everything, they should be concerned about staff retention,” Murphy said. “And the union would be one way to improve that. Certainly from the museum’s perspective, it makes sense to have a union I think because they want to keep staff on, right?”
Bjork said that some of the security officers who worked on Guarding The Art (which was two years in the making) have since left the BMA: “A third of the guards who are part of Guarding The Art don’t work at the museum anymore.”
The significance of Guarding The Art is not lost on Bjork, but organizing with your fellow workers beats co-curating with the institution that won’t recognize your union.
“I’m proud of the show and I’m proud of the work that a lot of my colleagues did in it and I think it’s pretty cool that we finally got to have a creative impact on the museum,” Bjork said. “But I also think that the only way that our job would meaningfully improve is if we were able to organize and if Bedford wants to show how important we are to the institution, that’s the only real way that he can do it: By allowing us to go forward with unionization.”
This story was originally published by The Real News Network on March 24, 2022, and is published in partnership with BmoreArt.
https://bmoreart.com/2022/03/overlapping-concerns-bma-union-protest-coincides-with-guarding-the-art-exhibition.html
support union!!
Hey, listen: We’re not gonna get anywhere with this “socialism” stuff unless we can establish solidarity networks that provide real, tangible aid. And I do mean “tangible” in the sense of “you can fill up a box with it.”
Back in the old-timey days, when we didn’t have things like a minimum wage or government assistance, folks didn’t think twice about paying union dues every month out of their meager paychecks. And in those days, when it was a regular, everyday occurrence for union people to get beat up or outright murdered for their union-ing, the unions still managed to win a lot of their fights. Reason for all that? The bigger part of them union dues I mentioned *went into a strike fund*.
Time on a picket line means time off the clock. And as for me, in this economy, if I go a week without a check, my family don’t eat. I go two weeks without a check, and we’re homeless. And them’s the brakes.
It is with profound disappointment that we report the industry CEOs have walked away from the bargaining table after refusing to counter our latest offer. (1/11)
We have negotiated with them in good faith, despite the fact that last week they presented an offer that was, shockingly, worth less than they proposed before the strike began.
These companies refuse to protect performers from being replaced by AI, they refuse to increase your wages to keep up with inflation, and they refuse to share a tiny portion of the immense revenue YOUR work generates for them.
We have made big, meaningful counters on our end, including completely transforming our revenue share proposal, which would cost the companies less than 57¢ per subscriber each year. They have rejected our proposals and refused to counter.
Instead they use bully tactics. Just tonight, they intentionally misrepresented to the press the cost of the above proposal – overstating it by 60%.
They have done the same with A.I., claiming to protect performer consent, but continuing to demand “consent” on the first day of employment for use of a performer’s digital replica for an entire cinematic universe (or any franchise project).
The companies are using the same failed strategy they tried to inflict on the WGA – putting out misleading information in an attempt to fool our members into abandoning our solidarity and putting pressure on our negotiators.
But, just like the writers, our members are smarter than that and will not be fooled.
We feel the pain these companies have inflicted on our members, our strike captains, IATSE, Teamsters and Basic Crafts union members, and everyone in this industry. We have sacrificed too much to capitulate to their stonewalling and greed.
We stand united and ready to negotiate today, tomorrow, and every day.
Our resolve is unwavering. Join us on picket lines and at solidarity events around the country and let your voices be heard.
One day longer. One day stronger. As long as it takes.
- Your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee
[Oct 12, 2023]
Idk who needs to hear this but you should start trying to unionize your workplace asap
I am a union steward and joining a union has been one of the best decisions I ever made! Bc of our contract I get paid more, have better benefits and am protected if anything causes us to strike! I get to help my coworkers know their rights and get to support them first hand if anything happens that involves management! You only need 30% of workers on board to start a vote and only 50% to actually join a union/establish your own!
Power should always be in the hands of the workers, not in those who sit comfortably in management because without us they are nothing!
If you are already in a union make sure to thank your representatives today 🫡
Idk who needs to hear this but you should start trying to unionize your workplace asap
If I see ANYONE complain about their fav shows next season being delayed due to WGA and SAG strikes it's kill ON SIGHT. Is this show really good enough it's worth letting writers starve and lose their homes for the next season to come out? Being upset over this is valid. That's the point, to make us upset. But don't take the anger out on the people striking, take it out on the studios leaving them no other choice
I've been hearing a lot of "gen alpha can't read cause they're iPad kids."
But like are we asking them what they *can* do?
Or how *they're* feeling even?
I distinctly remember adults when I was a kid saying we'd all be "brain dead" because of tv or texting or the Internet or some shit. And we couldn't defend ourselves cause we were literally children.
It's like this every time.
And every time each generation has to prove they're worthy of adulthood.
And this gen isn't even all in middle school yet and y'all are calling them failures right in front of their faces. It's not ganna help. If anything it'll make this much much worse.
I'm a Gen Z (well I'm in the transitional area between millennial and Z but most millennials tell me I'm gen z so fine.) I have gen alpha kids. And a lot of them (classmates and the like) are anxious asf about the world.
I wonder if they're putting up a tough front to keep the only control they have in the world as children.
Or living free before they have to become the overworked adults they see in their lives.
Or ya know death by school shootings if they're in America.
Or idk die from a once in a century plague cause their parents won't let them get vaccinated.
Or maybe it's something we could never describe or understand since we're not in that position.
Honestly every commentator I've seen on this topic hasn't asked a child how they literally feel. Like you don't have to put them on camera obviously (maybe don't actually for their safety) but like just ask? Or find ways to ask, kids can be shy about their true feelings sometimes. Especially if we keep pretending like we know them.
Teachers are over worked, parents are over worked. But haven't they always been? (Maybe we should actually do something about that? Like a lot have already been saying, but like actually do it? Maybe baby sit your friend's kid or go to the grocery store with them to help chaperone them? And try and do it for them for free, I get it if you can't but those who can should. I'm also not saying your should steal baby supplies, I'd never say that, I'd also never say to just steal food and hand them out, or to steal teaching and school supplies and just give em away or anything of course not! And I wish I could put the proper tone marks on this but for legal purposes I am being sarcastic.)
And doesn't each generation come with more problems or perceived problems because that's life? We're always going to find something wrong with the younger generation, we're constantly evolving and we're constantly looking for ways how.
Last thing.
What is intelligence?
Is it *really* being able to read?
Is it *really* scoring high on tests for studies?
Didn't we *just* talk about how standardised tests are wild and are often not very good at displaying what kids can actually do? Or are often hard to grade because of lack of staffing? Something something Pearson? Something something my history text book was older than me something something "Bill Clinton the president everyone is looking forward to!" Written on the back page Something something coming home to see late night TV making jokes about his shitty behaviour but making it more about the person who was literally harmed by this and making fun of her well into the 2000s..... (Oh has our education system and environment for kids always been kinda shitty? No way almost like it's a never ending battle.)
Have we truly figured out if the kids are alright?
Have they ever been?
Do we even know what that fucking means????
Production workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios have voted to unionize under the Animation Guild, the union announced Wednesday on X. Production coordinators, managers and supervisors at Disney Animation are poised to be represented by Local 839 IATSE, a branch of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Sixty-three of the 68 workers who participated in the election voted in favor of union representation, according to the National Labor Relations Board. “Congratulations to the production workers at Disney Feature Animation!” the Animation Guild posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “With 96% voter turnout, 93% voted yes!!! Let’s celebrate!”
i would just like to say: I love spiders and I love strikes and I think the spiders should strike bc of unfair working conditions
they're employed by humans in our spaces, eating bugs and just generally being chill dudes
but every day they get the news like. 'local spider brutalized for building a web to do their job'
I would strike too, no hesitation. the leggy fellers need a union.
wishing spiders a successful strike, may they get everything they want
13 Jul 23