Writers Guild Strike for Suffrage in Hollywood – Labor Protests Pa scriptor… – Payday Report
Greetings from the Burgh, where he worked for Allegheny County Council President Darrin Kelly is upset that the state’s largest coal plant is closing in the city of Homer, Pa.
PA Labor Protests Near State’s Largest Coal Plant
Earlier today it was announced that the largest coal plant in Western PA, located in Homer County, Indiana, is closing. Many environmentalists and clean air advocates celebrated the decision to close the plant.
But Western PA AFL-CIO president Darrin Kelly has blasted the plan to close the plant.
“It’s a sad day for West Tarrants to learn that the Homer City plant, the largest coal-fired plant in the state, will be closing this summer. It’s sadder still that some people will be celebrating this victory,” Kelly said in a statement sent to Payday Report. “It’s not a victory when hundreds of domestic workers and thousands of subcontractors — who make up a large part of our workforce — will lose their good union jobs.”
Writers are encouraged to vote for free
In May, the Writers Guild’s contracts covering thousands of TV writers are set to expire. As writers have seen pay and roles disappear over the past decade, many see the impact as likely.
Now, it appears that both sides are far apart in the conference calls.
“After two weeks they were on the agreement table” [the studios] They failed to offer meaningful answers to the core financial questions in any of the WGA’s primary work areas — film, episodic television and variety comedy.” The writers’ Audi leaders said in a statement. “They listened to our proposals politely and made small movements in only a few places, almost entirely with the rollers to join the patches intended for any gains. In short, the students have shown no sign that they are committed to fixing the problems our members have determined in this business.
For more, check out the LA Times.
BBC Journalists to Strike Through Local Elections
On May 5, the day of many local elections in the UK, BBC local journalists across the UK are aiming to strike. The blow comes as the BBC plans to implement a controversial plan that would cut local programming on BBC stations from 100 to 48 hours a week.
“Once local radio stops, then that’s the beginning of the end, and BBC bosses have no right to destroy an institution that has existed for over 50 years.
Elsewhere: for years, director of the National Union of Journalists Paul Siegert told the Guardian.
For more, check out The Guardian.
LA Times: “A Masked Mexican Man Fights for Immigrant Rights”
Finally, the LA Times has an excellent profile entitled “Mexican impersonator fights for immigrant rights, on the street and on the radio.” From the LA Times:
Two decades later, Valentan uses a pair of curious props to identify his goals as an immigrant labor activist: a microphone and a masked wrestler.
Every Friday morning at 11 o’clock, he enters the radio booth to Pasadena Community Job Center; he turns on the transmission equipment, adjusts his microphone, and fires up two hours of radio, “Voces Jornaleras,” Spanish for “Voices Making” or “Voice Journey.” His show is the cornerstone of the line Radio Worker’s Dayan internet-based streaming platform that is a project of the National Labor Day Organizing Network
Wearing jeans, a red shirt, and a baseball cap with a Mexican logo on one recent day, Valentan, 50, leaned on a mic to greet the audience as if they were old friends. The arms and mouth will be constantly working in the sun, the fingers will be stained.
“Good day, compas y compitas,” he began, before launching into an impassioned speech about the ongoing problem of theft.
For more, check out the LA Times.
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