[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: HP & DH Movi

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

> Kemper now:
> The union fights for the creative rights of the writers.
> Writers can break the picket lines if they choose. As they haven't, it suggests they are choosing to stand up for what they feel is fair and right.
>

Ali:
Crossing that line in Hollywood would be career suicide.  Yes, the
writers should stand up for their rights and demand their [very fair]
share of the profits.  However, I don't think that it's far to say
that everyone who isn't crossing the picket line is necessarily doing
it as a matter of belief.  Moreover, it's also not fair to say that
those who have "crossed" the picket line do it out of disrespect.
Shows like Letterman have come back on air and have had to explain the
reasons why they had to do what they did - in cases like Letterman, it
was a combo of network pressures and the need to keep the rest of the
staff paid and not fired.



> Kemper now:
> Rights and freedoms are never given freely without a fight of some kind.

Ali:
I agree with this in theory, but in practice, you have to pick your
battles and know when to fight them.  In the midst of reality tv being
ever so popular, is now really the right time for a strike?  How much
are they asking for, and is that reasonable under the circumstances?
Is there no temporary solution that can be arrived at so that not so
many in the industry are affected?  How do you deal with folks who
appear on tv and write their own materials?  There are million
questions.  (As a note for Carol, though, negotiations have been going
on, but the studios are saying the writers are asking for too much and
vice versa.  It's the standard union-business problem.)

~Ali, who has always supported unions but really don't like the Philly Teamsters