Of the UAW, SAG, and “interesting times” for labor columnists

[villager]

Union Roundup
by
Mark London Williams

It’s a lively time to be a labor columnist — even a Hollywood labor columnist, a sentence whose very construct might garner laughs in auto plants and machine shops anyplace east of Barstow.

The reason things are so lively is that suddenly “labor” — as a construct, as a concept, as a prism for viewing the last 30 years of pillage and rapine visited upon the American economy — is back in the news in a way it hasn’t been since either the 30’s (during the previous depression) or the 60’s (during the last meaningful Democratic administration); take your pick.

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“‘This is the Democrats’ first opportunity to pay off organized labor after the election,” read an e-mail circulated Wednesday among Senate Republicans. “This is a precursor to card check and other items. Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it.’”

So that’s why the funds for keeping the car companies afloat until January were yanked: It’s solely a way to screw over labor.

Interestingly, more and more Americans are getting on to the fact that they, too, are “labor” and not — to their surprise — part of the elite ruling class. Generally, losing your home and your job will inform you of this.

Hence, an MSNBC article for consumers/viewers/civilians on “The ABCs of a SAG Strike,” bylined by Kay McFadden, gives a pretty good, if simplified, overview of the issues at stake. Posing - then answering — questions like “What is SAG?” and “Who’s on the other side?” After the preliminaries, and a rundown of the streaming/digital revenue at stake, the article asks “Who do I root for?”

McFadden answers thusly: “If your goal is to see seasons of “24″ more often than 18 months apart, maybe you should send flowers to Kiefer Sutherland beseeching him not to honor his SAG membership,” and then continues, “others may feel differently. While actors aren’t exactly auto workers or bank tellers, you still may feel there’s no reason for a union to make any concessions after years of management enriching itself.”

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http://btlnews.com/blog/archives/218