Why We’re On Strike

People today (yes, I sound like I'm about 90, but really I'm only less than half that) don't understand the importance of unions. My 10 year old son doesn't understand the strike. They don't remember the past. While it's true that writing is not working in a coal mine (no comments, please), if you are in a union, you get the benefit of your numbers. My father who was in the postal workers' union until he died was strong on not crossing picket lines. I couldn't understand how the schools could teach us about the value and importance of unions in our society while they marched us to school across a teacher's picket line ( who would have to compete with the writers on who earns less in America and who is undervalued more). Maybe if there were more unions where we get our toys from, they would contain less lead and GBH and 10 year old children would be playing with the toys instead of making them. I don't think that eight cents per DVD is that much to pay. Where would the DVDs be without the written word or idea for the movie?

A writer deserves to be paid if his work is earning the company money.
Anyway, see this site, it has come out after the negotiations broke down and the strike too off.
http://www.gateway.sify.com/
Seems that the writers are soon to be "bangalored"
LOL

I tried for years to become a TV sitcom writer and could hardly get "in" unless I knew someone. I took classes, made contacts, networked, etc. Wrote treatments, registered at WGA to no avail. It is a very difficult industry to get into and I love writing epsiodes, however, when I found out about payment and to "pace" myself as I never now when I will be working again, I said, NO.......got to do something else. The bottom line here as a financial friend told me, "No one pays you to have fun".

I heartily support the writers in their efforts to be fairly compensated for their work. Without the writers, what is there?

I was also struck by the clear case of deja vu between the early 1960s efforts to get a TV residual [Industry sez: "It's too new of a media, kid. We don't know how it's all going to pan out." to the current "New Media" excuse.