Weak laws embolden combative employers, so even with big wins and all-time high support, union membership is not keeping up with workforce growth.
Governor could leap past politics and sign unemployment bill just to keep striking workers in an uneven game.
People of color hired in the streaming-era diversity push say they now bear the brunt of inequities.
Despite the success of Blue Beetle, Latinos remain the most underrepresented group in films.
Extras say they have already been scanned without explanation.
Outdated 1935 federal labor act makes violations hard to prove, penalties easy to pay.
With employers stalling, unions seek to build public pressure by spotlighting CEO pay and corporate excess.
With consolidation and industry diversification, corporate studio and hotel owners have more money to wait out strikes.
If baseball is America’s pastime, unions are Hollywood’s. Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully symbolized both.
Hollywood insiders scanning the #Oscarsowhite lists of this year’s Academy Award nominees have not failed to notice that the five candidates for Best Cinematography are all male and all white—and to no one’s surprise. While the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced changes in membership rules to make its voters more inclusive in years to come, not a single woman or person of color in the “lenser” category, as the trades call directors of photography, has ever been tapped to receive the coveted gold statuette to be handed out this year at the Academy’s 88th ceremonials on February 28 at the Dolby Theater.
Also Read: Race and the Oscar Race
“It’s a shame,” says Rebecca Rhine, national executive director of the International Cinematographers Guild Local 600, which is part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Noting that “access and opportunity” to employment determine who gets to win awards,
» Read more about: #belowthelinesowhite? Hollywood’s Rank & File Leaders Tackle Diversity »
My name is Dana Wilson and I am a professional dancer. Whether I am performing with a major recording artist, or busting a move in television and film, it is my job to entertain and evoke emotion through movement. It is also my job to make it look easy.
The reality is, dancers train tirelessly, sacrifice our bodies and dedicate our lives to our work, and sometimes all we get in return is “the experience.” Most of us are young (twenty-somethings) and female. We are all are eager to work and it has taken a long time to gain respect as a work force. We have unions that represent us when we work on television shows and movies, but much of our work is still nonunion and many of us are without health insurance. Meanwhile, our bodies are taking a beating and we are always one injury away from unemployment.
Dancers’ Alliance is an organization formed by dancers and run by dancers to unite us and improve our working conditions.
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Cassidy Noblett[/caption]