I laughed loudly enough that it woke up my dog.
For fucks sake
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Hi folks. There seems to be a lot of confusion about what we as fans can and can't do with the striking happening. So I made a flowchart.
Let me make this SUPER DUPER EXTRA CLEAR. Unless an AMPTP studio reaches out and says "We would like to give you X (money/swag/whatever) to create content for us" (that would include writing or acting in anyway on your part) you will NOT be crossing a picket line.
Cosplay, fanart, fanfic, going feral, sharing marketing posts, watching your favorite show, getting your friends to watch your favorite show, etc does not count.
It is ONLY scabbing if you are getting REIMBURSED by the STUDIO.
Please take this flowchart, repost it, spread it everywhere!
The studios benefit from us being confused. The studios benefit from us not promoting and not watching and cancelling our subscriptions. The unions, the actors, the writers, they all benefit from us promoting in their absence, they get paid when we watch the shows, we bolster their argument when we boost the shows numbers. If we make the media popular and successful the studios have to meet the writers and actors at the table, and the writers and actors will be in the position of power.
reblogging with donation link:
Also, heading this off now: HK, how do you know all this?
I am not a SAG member. I am in a sister union, however, and in recent positions was the one who had to deal with contract negotiations with said union as my daily job.
All right, kiddos, buckle up cause it’s time for some labor organization education.
Again, I want to reiterate. I am a member of a SAG-AFTRA sister union. What’s that mean? That means that as a member of Actor’s Equity (known as Equity in other parts of the globe), I can work on a SAG-AFTRA contract and get the full coverage of that union while on that contract without paying dues to SAG. Likewise, my peers in SAG-AFTRA can work on Equity contracts without paying dues to Equity. This is a unique thing to the entertainment industry. You don’t have two separate unions for baristas who work at the Starbucks in a Mall vs Starbucks in their own store. But you DO have two separate unions for actors, that’s because the contracts, time demands, etc, are incredibly different between screen and stage. The point is, however, as sister unions, it’s incredibly important for members of both to understand what the other is saying, to keep in line and in step. My union may not be on strike, however, as a sister, my union cannot support me taking on SAG work right now otherwise I’m a scab.
So, when I say something isn’t scabbing, I’m not saying this because I want us all to cosplay and have fun. I’m saying it because it’s. not. scabbing.
Okay. That out of the way. Let’s break this down.
SAG-AFTRA’s FAQ for Influencers is where the confusion seems to be coming from. Let’s define the word “influencer” yeah? An influencer is someone who uses social media to market and promote for brands. This is these people’s jobs. They are not just someone with a big twitter following, but someone who literally makes a living by asking companies to pay them to promote their goods and services. Influencers MAY be Content Creators. But Content Creators are NOT always Influencers. Influencers, specifically the Influencers SAG-AFTRA is talking to, are generally folks who are self-employed and have created an LLC or other corporation entity to perform their work under.
SAG-AFTRA recognizes these folks as actors in their own rights, and knows those folks need health insurance. So, they created the SAG-AFTRA Influencer Agreement. They make it pretty clear who this is for:
“If you are an individual who works directly with brands who hire you to create, perform in, produce and distribute content through your own social media feeds, this contract is for you. SAG-AFTRA members can use this agreement, and so can influencers who aren’t members yet.”
(emphasis mine)
And part of their requirements include:
“You have a corporate or business entity, such as a corporation or LLC.”
If you are not hired or contracted as part of your corporate or business entity to create content for brands, you are not an influencer. You may have a huge following. You may be an amazing content creator. You may be really cool! But you are not an influencer.
SAG-AFTRA has told these Influencers that they should not accept any new work, however, they have said that “if an influencer is already under contract to promote struck work, then the influencer should fulfill their work obligation.”
(emphasis again, mine)
Influencers previously contracted are not scabbing. Additionally, influencers who do not have deals to promote shows or companies for struck work are able to participate in conventions etc, so long as their participation is wholly independent of characters from struck work, or sponsorship by struck companies.
So, if I’m Influencer with a deal with Netflix, I’m probably not going to go to a convention as a character from Nimona, even if I haven’t been asked to do anything for Nimona recently. However, if my buddy needs an Aziraphale to their Crowley for a day, and we’re doing it for fun, and I don’t have any deals with Amazon, and Amazon hasn’t reached out to me about doing deals. I can probably get away with going to the convention as Crowley, so long as I don’t then jump on my influencer social media accounts and go “haha! Let’s all go watch Good Omens!” But if a fan of mine sees me and takes a pic, I'm not in trouble and I'm not a scab. I can even say on my own accounts "Having a great time at comic-con!" and share a picture of something that isn't me, and I am STILL not a scab.
If I’m not an influencer (and I suspect most of you who are confused by what SAG-AFTRA means right now are not, in fact, influencers), but just a Big Name Fan, or a Content Creator with a large following, or just HKBlack, overwhelmed by you-know-who reblogging a flowchart (hi Neil), I can do whatever the heckadoodle I want and it is not scabbing.
You have to think of a picket line as a physical thing. You can literally cross a picket line and walk onto a set and work. And for many people who work in positions that are not covered by unions (interns, administration like HR, finance, IT, etc) do, but they are not scabs because they are not performing work or services that is covered by the strike. The strike is for WRITERS and ACTORS. Yes, that includes a bit of promotion, but that’s because promotion is literally in the contracts for writers and actors these days. It’s part of their job description. But promotion is also the Marketing department’s job, and it’s their entire job, but the Marketing department is not covered by SAG-AFTRA. They have to keep working in order to get paid, and they are not eligible for union benefits if they don’t do their work. So, they are still promoting and they are not scabs. Other union members (IATSE) who need to get paid who are not currently on strike are ALSO not scabs if they have to cross the picket line. In fact, that’s why unions publish when the picket lines are going to start, so that if you are an electrician who needs that paycheck, you can get on set before the picket begins, and then when the picket shuts down work for the day the studio still has to pay you. You are not a scab. If you’re an electrician who can afford to go without a day of pay, you can wait to show up until after the picket begins and then are able to say “I’m sorry, but as a member of X union, I don’t feel comfortable crossing a picket line.” HOWEVER, as an electrician whose union is not striking, you risk losing your job on that set, and having to deal with it. Solidarity between unions doesn’t just mean we sometimes strike together. It also means understanding each other when the other union isn’t striking, and someone has a baby to feed.
In a digital world, there is still an element of physical that has to happen to become a scab. There has to be a physical exchange. A physical exchange of money. If you are not paid to write or act or to promote as an influencer (which is its own writing and acting), then you are unable to cross that picket line.
If there is not a physical crossing of the line to do work that is being struck, or an exchange of money, you are not scab. Period. End of statement. Anyone who says otherwise does not understand labor movements. And may be parroting Studio Propaganda.
What’s that? Studio Propaganda?
Yes. Studio Propaganda. We cannot just talk about what we can and can’t do in the vacuum of not understanding why the strike is happening.
Studios are saying that Streaming is Volatile and Unknown. It’s “too new” for them to pay fair wages.
Unions are calling bullshit.
If viewership goes down, if subscriptions get cancelled, you are actively proving the Studio’s point.
If viewership/subscriptions remain the same, or, even better, go up, you are actively calling bullshit with the Unions.
Union members cannot currently promote their stuff. This means there is a very real risk of viewership going down. Mr. Gaiman recently shouted praise for the lovely human behind the Good Omens marketing. Do you think a man with membership in both striking unions would be praising the person responsible for promotion if the unions didn’t want things being promoted?
Every ticket bought for Barbieheimer, every full watch in the first 28 days of Good Omens and What We Do in the Shadows, directly translates to money in Cast, Crew, and Writer pockets. Immediately. Because the Studios still have to pay during Strikes for contracts that have been executed. Additionally, every viewer number counts in favor towards the union. If there’s enough viewership and demand for a show, that weakens the studios position as they have to meet the unions in order to get the people who created that show back. Less viewership = less demand = Studios retaining their positions of power that streaming is just an unknown. Will people stream? Will they? (yes. We…all literally are.)
Studios want you to not remind folks that Good Omens Season 2 premieres on July 28th. Because they don’t want you to watch Good Omens because they don’t want to pay Neil and Michael and David more money for (Hypothetical) Season 3. Studios don’t want you to tell your friends to see Barbie on July 21st, because they don’t want to pay the cast and writers once the movie goes off the screen and into the streaming void. Studios want you to think being a fan and talking for free hurts them, not the actors and writers, because the very opposite is true. The more we create demand for the things we love, the more we put the people who created those things—the actors and writers, NOT the execs—in a position of power at the negotiation table.
So, stop drinking the studio propaganda. Get out there, cosplay, get hype, and be a fan. Because right now we are the most powerful tool the unions have to put those studios in their place.
The Swedish warship Vasa. It sank in 1628 less than a mile into its maiden voyage and was recovered from the sea floor after 333 years almost completely intact. Now housed at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, is the world's best preserved 17th century ship
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Here’s the link for my followers! It’s super easy— all it needs is your name and an email address.
I have been doodling a lot on my iPad mini these days, after a couple of years of just not feelin’ anything artwise. But I have shamefully neglected to post them to Tumblr! So have an art dump!
ALTIt started with a sheep. I was messing around with new watercolor tools and crosshatching tools, thought “that looks kinda like a sheep” and then took out the bits that didn’t look like a sheep.
ALTThe noble Aukhound, originally bred to herd migratory seabirds. These majestic, slightly damp creatures are now used extensively in ecological restoration work.
ALTI do this whenever I see a frog.
ALTThen I was just in the mood for weird shadowy cloaked figures.
ALTYou know that’s a clove cigarette.
ALTPortrait Of A Creature With A Chicken On Its Head
ALTJust two weird little creatures having tea together.
listen I say this with patience bc some people may genuinely have not thought about this before but if you firmly say “AI art is terribly unethical and steals from artists” (which is correct) but then turn around and use voice AIs to generate songs/voice lines that sound like your favourite voice actors or singers……………………………………that is also AI art and it is also terribly unethical
just a few examples of voice actors making their stance clear for all the ppl who are trying to disagree w me