As a moderate liberal, sometimes I support a given action by a union and sometimes I do not. In the case of the Hollywood writers' strike, I do not support it.
These people say their average salary is $60,000/year, as stated in the following BBC article
writers strike coverage
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/7093981.stm
When I got out of the Navy, I was a 3rd Class Petty Officer, paygrade E-4. According the Pentagon, the current pay for that rank is $1443.60 per month, which is a salary of $17,316 per year, or 1/3 that of a hollywood/tv writer. So the writers are making a little over 3 times what I made in the USN.
http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/militarypay2002/paychart2002.html
military pay table
Serving on submarines is hard work. You're up for long hours, and your sleep, if you get any in a given 24 hour period, is usually interrupted. All junior people, which included me when I first reported to my first boat, are required to do food service and "deck division". The latter includes painting, grinding, sanding, greasing, etc. Once we removed the "nonskid" coating from the deck of the submarine, which is 500+ feet long. We didn't have pneumatic needle guns for everyone, and I had to use a hammer. It takes about 12-15 good strong hits from a little guy like myself to get a square inch of nonskid removed. Another time we sanded the escape hatches. A civilian contractor would inspect it afterward, and ended up having us redo it 3 times. It takes at least a day to finish one of those with the pneumatic sander. As a member of the weapons division, I took part in torpedo loading. Before I became qualified Torpedo Handling Team Member, I had to help carry the heavy harness equipment back up two levels of submarine and up the aft missile compartment hatch.
Underway, it is typical to go for at least 24 hours without getting sleep. I personally have stayed up for 4 days at sea on a submarine.
My point here is that the writers don't have to do anything remotely approaching this kind of labor. They write TV episodes for a living. I don't doubt this takes skill, and is worth money. But it is not as demanding, physically or mentally, as being on the crew of a nuclear submarine.
oh and by the way...that E-4 pay quote is what any enlisted member of the military would make at that level. There is also submarine pay and sea pay (which amounted to less than $100 in my case if I recall correctly), and for people in combat in Iraq there is no doubt some kind of combat/hazardous duty pay.
Surely, those people in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are doing A LOT more work than a TV writer. They are DEFINITELY taking more risks as well. Those brave, valiant men and women are being shot at and having terrorist bombs explode near them and are making far less than $60,000 a year.
They are making $1400 a month and less.
Yet the writers are complaining because they make "only" $60,000 a year. There are a lot of Americans who wouldn't see that kind of money unless they saved for three or four years.
Plus, the writers are denying work and pay to a lot of people with actual blue collar jobs. People like "grips", stagehands etc. People who actually get dirty and sweaty at their job and get paid a lot less than $60,000 a year.
So, no, I'm sorry, Hollywood/TV writers, I do not support your stupid strike.
These people say their average salary is $60,000/year, as stated in the following BBC article
writers strike coverage
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/7093981.stm
When I got out of the Navy, I was a 3rd Class Petty Officer, paygrade E-4. According the Pentagon, the current pay for that rank is $1443.60 per month, which is a salary of $17,316 per year, or 1/3 that of a hollywood/tv writer. So the writers are making a little over 3 times what I made in the USN.
http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/militarypay2002/paychart2002.html
military pay table
Serving on submarines is hard work. You're up for long hours, and your sleep, if you get any in a given 24 hour period, is usually interrupted. All junior people, which included me when I first reported to my first boat, are required to do food service and "deck division". The latter includes painting, grinding, sanding, greasing, etc. Once we removed the "nonskid" coating from the deck of the submarine, which is 500+ feet long. We didn't have pneumatic needle guns for everyone, and I had to use a hammer. It takes about 12-15 good strong hits from a little guy like myself to get a square inch of nonskid removed. Another time we sanded the escape hatches. A civilian contractor would inspect it afterward, and ended up having us redo it 3 times. It takes at least a day to finish one of those with the pneumatic sander. As a member of the weapons division, I took part in torpedo loading. Before I became qualified Torpedo Handling Team Member, I had to help carry the heavy harness equipment back up two levels of submarine and up the aft missile compartment hatch.
Underway, it is typical to go for at least 24 hours without getting sleep. I personally have stayed up for 4 days at sea on a submarine.
My point here is that the writers don't have to do anything remotely approaching this kind of labor. They write TV episodes for a living. I don't doubt this takes skill, and is worth money. But it is not as demanding, physically or mentally, as being on the crew of a nuclear submarine.
oh and by the way...that E-4 pay quote is what any enlisted member of the military would make at that level. There is also submarine pay and sea pay (which amounted to less than $100 in my case if I recall correctly), and for people in combat in Iraq there is no doubt some kind of combat/hazardous duty pay.
Surely, those people in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are doing A LOT more work than a TV writer. They are DEFINITELY taking more risks as well. Those brave, valiant men and women are being shot at and having terrorist bombs explode near them and are making far less than $60,000 a year.
They are making $1400 a month and less.
Yet the writers are complaining because they make "only" $60,000 a year. There are a lot of Americans who wouldn't see that kind of money unless they saved for three or four years.
Plus, the writers are denying work and pay to a lot of people with actual blue collar jobs. People like "grips", stagehands etc. People who actually get dirty and sweaty at their job and get paid a lot less than $60,000 a year.
So, no, I'm sorry, Hollywood/TV writers, I do not support your stupid strike.
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
thora:
Have you ever been to the Footnight parties? If you want a foot session some time, message me and maybe we can set something up.
thora:
There's one on the 14th: http://www.footnight.com/sf.html