When spoiled Hollywood writers take to the picket line, they don’t operate in a vacuum, as they should have known.
Now the writers’ strike is costing blue-collar workers their jobs:
Meanwhile, the WGA is taking fire from a Hollywood union that represents behind-the-scenes workers such as drivers and stagehands. Thousands have been laid off, to the chagrin of Tom Short, the head of the Intl. Assn. of Theatrical Stage Employees. On Friday, he accused WGA leaders of holding to an overly rigid negotiating strategy. And Sunday, hundreds of displaced workers marched through Hollywood in a protest aimed at urging both sides back to the bargaining table.
Not only that, but their demand for respect is taking a beating, too:
On Monday, writer-director Craig Mazin (”Superhero!”) used his ArtfulWriter blog to suggest guild leaders focus primarily on new-media compensation, and drop peripheral demands such as jurisdiction over writers on reality TV shows.
“Now it’s time to dramatically reduce all of our demands down to the only one that matters, in an attempt to wrest this negotiation back to our union and away from the DGA,” he said.
What a bunch of assholes.
