This union could end the WI and Ohio battles in 24 hours

[wiggs]

We've heard that other unions have joined the protest in WI and Ohio. To their credit, firefighters, police, truckers, and some non-union farmers have gotten involved one way or another. But I suggest that if another union joined the fray in a non-violent, non-threatening, safe work stoppage all the talk of union busting, pension robbing, and teacher incompetence would go away within days.

Television, movie, and broadcasting workers are unionized via AFTRA, I believe. A strong union. If they decided to support their fellow workers (instead of contributing to the misinformation) and call in sick for a few days....no TV. No American Idol, no Fox News, no Hannity, no CSI, no NBA, no hypnotic and life-sucking crap on the tube. There wouldn't be any threat to services the public depends on...and less TV would benefit many. But overall, you can bet that a lot of noise would be made VERY quickly and a lot of pressure would suddenly be focused on Wisconsin. Keep the news on, maybe, but that's it. This issue would get tons of play instead of 30 seconds every other night on MSM news.

There have been strikes before and I believe some new shows were delayed. But the screen has always had reruns or something else on. Imagine if your 200+ channels were blank. Just fuzzy snow, except for the evening news.

Threats to teacher and worker pensions, work, future, way of life, honor and respect are one thing....but mess with TV and you'll get the public's attention immediately.

[rgbecker]

1. DO IT!

[OneGrassRoot]

2. Wow, THAT is an interesting proposition!!! K&R! n/t

[xxqqqzme]

3. It would certainly

demonstrate the power of the working person.

[somone]

4. Great idea!

[negativenihil]

5. one factor you're forgetting...

the networks could easily just roll some pre-recorded material or rerun prior shows and few would notice outside the reality tv fans...

I also wouldnt be surprised if the major networks kept a cache of premade specials and such to roll out just in case.

[drmeow]

8. Are the people who run

the equipment unionized? I agree with you but even in the case you are describing doesn't someone have to do some work somewhere? Find the shows and queue them to run, etc?

[negativenihil]

9. i dont work in the industry

so please treat my comments as pure speculation -

But in this day and age is it too far out an idea to consider that a lot of what goes into making a tv network run can be/is automated?
If everything is digital now, is it too crazy an idea to imagine a sort of "play list" for programming (a la itunes play lists?)?

If i had to guess, i'd bet 90% of the network functionality could be handled by a few higher up people clicking a few buttons in a worst case type scenario.

[drmeow]

17. That assumes

that the higher ups know how to do that stuff. I could certainly see that not being the case which would make it even sweeter - "We could defeat this damn union silencing of our airwaves if we only knew how!" :)

[socialist_n_TN]

23. Oh i'm sure if they wanted to the union guys could.......

make it such that they couldn't run it at all. I'm not talking about sabotage, but..... something? :)

[KurtNYC]

11. yes -all union. The guys who make coffee and bring donuts are union

The secretaries at Fox (features/film) are in a union. TV/Film is all union.

[wiggs]

12. I'm thinking they need union tech people to run those. nt

[Tatiana]

6. Great idea. Maybe we should ask them.

National Office - New York
260 Madison Avenue
New York NY 10016-2401
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]


National Office - Los Angeles
5757 Wilshire Boulevard, 9th Fl.
Los Angeles CA 90036-0800
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

http://www.aftra.org/D1C432626E8D43E5AA67781ABE9390B6.htm

[wiggs]

13. I'll send an email too! nt

[wiggs]

18. done

The message window is small but I wrote: While unions are under attack generally this year, perhaps AFTRA should consider supporting its fellow workers in WI by thinking about legal ways it can pursue work stoppage of its own. Would be a powerful statement and would bring attention to what's going on! As it is, some union members are actively aiding in the distribution of misinformation or are downplaying the importance of the battle so that, ultimately, worker organization will suffer.

[southernyankeebelle]

7. Hell they are to selffish. I don't think they will do it. It would be interesting cause fatboy

Limbaugh is a member of that union I think.

[blindpig]

10. That would be a violation of Taft-Hartley.

No 'sympathy' strikes allowed, think it could get ya a year in the slammer.

One might wonder, why has that friend of the unions, the Democratic Party, never lifted a finger to vote down that odious legislation?

It need happen and it's gonna happen but I suspect that your scenario is premature. As we are seeing people can get radical pretty damned quick. Won't happen in a month or a season but it's bearing down on us like a freight train.

[wiggs]

14. Didn't know that. But there might be a way to do it to get around the

technicality of the law. Might have to call it something other than a sympathy strike.

[rbixby]

19. Who would get thrown in the slammer though?

The workers?

[blindpig]

21. I would expect union officers....

and there may lie some of the problem, damn few of present day union officials know the barry place. William Z Foster would know what to do.

[socialist_n_TN]

27. They couldn't throw them in jail if they OFFICIALLY........

disowned the strike and urged the members to come in. That would relieve them of the obligation not to support a sympathy strike.

I lost my Boilermaker Shop Steward's job because I couldn't cross a sub contractor's picket line back in the day. It was either cross the line and urge all other members to do so or resign. So I resigned the union position.

[NashVegas]

25. Really, It's Time For People To Say "Fuck Taft-Hartley"

[socialist_n_TN]

26. Yeah it is pig, BUT............

(and I know this because I've gone through an illegal wildcat before), IF you set up a picket line, union people tend to not want to cross it, even if not crossing it is illegal.

IOW, if a picket line is set up and people don't cross it, the union will HAVE to tell them to go in, but the techs don't have to do it.

[timo]

15. whats stopping them???

why dont all the unions get together and once and for all flex their muscle and show solidarity and put a stop to all this??

[ChoppinBroccoli]

16. The Right-Wing Media Would Use It As An Opportunity............

.........to run Faux News (or other similar right-wing programming) on every single channel. Because even though we all know that Limbaugh and O'Really? and Hannity and Beck are all members of the AFTRA Union, they'll "cross the picket line" and go on the air anyway, denying the entire time that they're really in a union at all (or that they're only in the union because you HAVE to be in the union to get on-air work, or some other such nonsense). Then, rather than running dead air, the right-wing owners of EVERY channel would put on propaganda in place of their regularly scheduled programming. It would backfire horrendously because right-wingers have no integrity and no souls.

[VoteProgressive]

20. +1

[socialist_n_TN]

22. Yep. Do it! If Walker signs that bill we're headed for......

feudalism within 5 years or so anyway. Have you got any contacts there?

[NashVegas]

24. AFTRA Won't Even Defend It's Own Workers Against Corporations

How do you expect them to defend anyone else?