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Aussie unionist addresses striking writers

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Paul Howes, the national secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union, has addressed a writer’s strike picket line outside Rupert Murdoch’s studio in Los Angeles.

Howes is in California as part of a delegation of Australian officials and politicians meeting with US counterparts as part of the American Australian Leadership Dialogue. But he took time out to visit the picket line.

Significantly, Howes was not speaking on behalf of the Australian Writers’ Guild, even though the AWG has expressed its solidarity with the WGA.

“When I return home to Australia I will be working with our other unions to ensure we can take action and solidarity actions in support of you guys,” Howes told the writers.

Howes also took aim at Australian-born media mogul Murdoch with a sweeping gesture. “On behalf of the Australian population as a whole, we are sorry about Rupert Murdoch,” Howes told the screenwriters.

“That he would not be sitting down at the negotiating table with your union and solving this dispute. I’m disappointed and ashamed that such an important Australian overseas has taken this action.”

Paul Weiss, vice president of the WGA, said “It gives us strength and encouragement that we’re not just walking in a little circle on the sidewalk in front of Fox, but people in Australia and all over the world are watching you.

“A visit from someone who represents a very powerful union in Australia helps us.”

Must have been a slow day on the picket lines. It’s one thing to support the writer’s cause, but I’m still trying to work out the point in having Howes speak, apparently on our behalf.

Source: The Australian
Photo: stock image

5 Responses

  1. I know this strike is annoying but I can see two plusses – less American content on our TV is the first.

    Number two is that writers will gain more attention and hopefully more credit as it’s quite simple if a script is good then the episode will be good. The writers are equally important to the actors/directors and producers and are the only creative artforms out of the four the others are interprative arts.

  2. Anon, yes, of course I know the CLAIMS the writers have, that’s been well publicised. As I said, though, I can’t see the point.

    They’ve decimated the entire industry to the point where any possible gains they might have gotten from success have been completely negated by loss of income from work. They’ve killed off entire shows. They’ve put hundreds of thousands of people with NO claim to new-media residuals out of work indefinitely, causing many to end up in financial peril. They’ve destroyed the very art form they created – the intelligently-written TV drama – by decimating this year’s season.

    And then there’s the claim itself. I can see BOTH sides. After all, it’s not as though the writers of these shows own the copyright on their work, now, is it…?

  3. Neon Kitten , it is quite simple.
    Due to the gigantic popularity of the internet, a lot of Networks are starting to stream their TV Shows over the internet.
    Writers get paid a small royalty fee for when there shows are aired and they are demanding a royalty raise for internet streaming as its becoming very very popular.
    As for movies, they arent streamed as much but with Apple talking about intergrating movies into its ipods and itunes service, if the strike is successful it will see writers roles in movie/tv writing being more respected and given there dues to the large role they play in making your favorite actors/actresses say all those cool things.

  4. Ha! Im an active member of the AWG. Been to the meetings and seminars and write my butt off but get next to nothing green lit here let alone in America. The AWG showing support looks good on a press release but doesnt really do anything for its members. At least he got his head on TV.

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