I said nothing about the workers -- I'm sure they're great hardworking guys.
There's
> an illusion that film workers are rich, that our jobs are glamorous,
> and all we do is sit around on apple boxes all day counting our
We swing hammers for a living, lay cable, load and unload
>
> tons of equipment, operate heavy machinery, drive 40 footer tractor
> trailers, dig ditches, and do all the hard work other working people
> do. The only difference is our job security amounts to the first 8
> hours of the work day, we generally earn less per hour than the same
> trade in other industries, and our working conditions are among the
> worst in the world.
this strikes me as most unlikely. the world is a pretty big place. I'll bet he wouldn't trade places with a file clerk, a waiter in a chinese restaurant, an office cleaner or a daycare worker or a supermarket bagger-- not to mention a Pakistani carpet weaver, a thai sex worker or a MexicanMaquilardora worker.
We are probably the only group of workers in the
> world fighting (still without success) for a 14 hour work day.
See above.
> I don't know what our demographic figures are.
why not find out? That's what my comment was about.
Less than 5% of our
> electricians are women. We wish there were more,
Sure... how hard have they tried to recruit some?
but this job
> requires you to be able to lift a hundred pound piece of cable off the
>
> ground and throw it in a truck -- to do it in snow, rain, or 110
> degree heat, sometimes on very little sleep, without days off, or
> regular meal breaks.
There are some pretty big and tough women these days. This is the excuse always given for why women can't be firefighters, police officers etc. When challenged, these physical requirements often are shown to be pro forma only -- for instance, I'll bet the union doesn't retest old guys to see if they can STILL lift that weight in rain and snow on no sleep.
Our members come from all over the US and the
> world. We have many Latinos and Asians, not so many African
> Americans.
and why not? Are they also too weak?
>Entry into the locals has been formalized to the point
> where most new members are NOT relatives.
Why should ANY be? I can't pass my jobs--or union membership -- along
to my daughter.
I hope this helps in clearing up anti-worker stereotypes about the
> Hollywood working class.
>
> An honest answer from a movie electrician,
Hot air, mostly irrelevant, and tacitly conceding my basic point.
Katha