America's Best, Most Creative. Most Dynamic, Best Globally Competitive Industry : Hollywood Is...

[Yavin4]

heavily unionized. In fact the entire entertainment industry, from movies to TV to music, is all very heavily unionized. There are guilds and unions from the gaffers to the extras to the directors to the stars of a movie. All are unionized.

The people pointing the cameras at Glenn Beck and making sure that Rush Limbaugh's voice is broadcast clearly are all part of a union.

The people who auto tune Justin Beiber are part of a union.

Even though our entire media industry is heavily unionized, the industry effectively competes on a global level. Maybe that's because the management of our entertainment industry understands the value of talent.

[flamingdem]

1. Except for the Visual Effects artist who work 90 hours a week with no overtime

and are mostly young and unable to understand the concept of a union. Meanwhile their jobs are being outsourced.

Somehow they think the coolness of making dancing soap bars makes up for that.. and the owners of the Effects companies do not want unions. It's mostly the fault of the the big names such as Time Warner that contract the smaller effects companies. They make the vendors underbid one another. A union could force things to improve no doubt.

What I'm not sure I understand is whether this would help outsourcing to Asia and Canada.

[el_bryanto]

2. I'd be willing to give up dancing soap bars

This wouldn't effect those coke-loving polar ba'ars we get at chirstmas would it?

Bryant

[cliffordu]

3. Or the football playing Bud horses....

They make me cry when they have a moment's silence before their big game.....

[flamingdem]

5. missed those ponys, darn nt

[flamingdem]

4. ha ha I LOVE the Coca Cola Polar Bears!

Even if what they market makes your teeth fall out.

[Rabblevox]

6. a huge negative on that...

Maybe that's because the management of our entertainment industry understands the value of talent.

I was with you until this statement. I'll assume, for kindness sake, that you've never worked in the industry.

Management does NOT value talent. Not writers, actors, directors, gaffers, key grips, artists, musicians, or stage hands.

The business has been taken over by bean-counters who think a movie can be created by the same principles as a Walmart franchise.

The reason...the ONLY reason that the industry is still unionized is that smart, brave workers banded together, and stuck together, and most importantly...STRUCK TOGETHER!

The entertainment industry has important lessons to teach us about labor relations and the value of unions. Intelligent and reasonable management is not one of those lessons.

I'm a former (and still proud) member of IATSE Local 33.

[Yavin4]

7. It's A Comparative Statement

All management, no matter what industry, are bean counters. However, the management in the entertainment industry does value your talent a lot more than say management in the IT or auto industry, which is not to say that entertainment managers are wonderful people.

But I love to use the entertainment industry's high level of unionization to rebut claims that unions destroy companies and make them uncompetitive.

[Rabblevox]

8. and that's absolutely valid. But remember...

The writer's strike was not won because management got "reasonable". It was won because the strikers stuck together, were willing to endure hardship, and got other unions to join them until the fat fucks were choked into submission.