The Ankler notes frustration by two old labor activists who are unexpectedly members of SAG. Nader complains that he wrote letters to Fran and she didn’t answer, which seems cranky and whiny. He’s warning that AI is a serious threat, which is redundant because SAG is already treating AI as deadly serious. I don’t see how they could do more in that area.
Nader also brought in Ray Rogers, a highly experienced labor organizer who has meaningful and specific suggestions.
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The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA combined have more than 170,000 members, manpower that could “organize a revolution, let alone win a strike, but you gotta have an A-to-Z strategy,” says Rogers. “A is the beginning, Z is total annihilation.”
While noting the effectiveness of modern strike messaging on social media, Rogers and Nader separately talk of adding pressure to the studios, in part by analog means that might raise eyebrows among younger union members: shrink-wrapped stacks of pamphlets for strikers to hand out at picket lines to passersby and local residents, for instance, or the above-mentioned pressure on colleges and universities whose boards include studio execs. Rogers sends me two informational brochures he’s designed, one of which accuses Hollywood elites of “operating like a criminal syndicate with impunity.”
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Digital vs Analog! Wonderful metaphor.
SAG is a binary AND-gate, setting Work to 0 and holding it there until all requirements are 1. This might be effective if the industry was feeling real pain, but the Tech Tyrants don’t need the tiny entertainment segment of their monstrous holdings, so they’re happy to leave it 0. Zero production is a better tax deduction than risky products and Negative Externalities. SAG’s binary approach doesn’t reward individual action by the older non-Tech studios.
UAW is analog. They started with a few plants and made it clear that they were ready to turn the knob up or down on each company according to each company’s response. Automatically splitting the enemy’s army. They turned the knob down on Ford as Ford started to respond, and turned the knob up on GM and Chrysler.
UPDATE: And now UAW has ended the strike at Ford with a massive victory.
Analog wins.
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