Tag: Strike

To support striking workers, Reddit users spam replacement job portal for Kellogg’s

On By alanapotIn Ethical Issue(s), RedditLeave a comment
Image via https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/10/22827990/antiwork-reddit-kelloggs-jobs-portal-spam-solidarity-workers-strike-subreddit

Over two months ago, over 1,400 Kellogg’s cereal plant workers from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and Tennessee went on strike over stalled union negotiants with the food brand. This week, Kellogg’s announced that they would be hiring permanent replacements for striking workers. This comes after the striking workers voted against coming to a tentative agreement proposed by Kellogg’s management.

In retaliation and in solidarity with the workers on strike, users on the r/antiwork subreddit are submitting and spamming fake job applications for the replacement job portal. A subreddit is a thread of posts related to a particular subject and posts can be ‘upvoted’ or ‘downvoted’. A post about spamming the scab application portal received more than 62,000 upvotes and thousands of comments. A moderator on the subreddit gave a comment and said:

“That’s why this kind of action gets popular,”“Everybody feels the struggle, and the pain, and the misery that these Kellogg workers feel right now.”

Kevin McKenzie, Moderator of r/antiwork

Digital activism isn’t new in this online community, but it’s the first time it has been to this scale. The online company itself, Reddit, commended users for their support and efforts for the striking workers. They also reported that over the year 2020 to 2021, the subreddit had grown by 279%, now with over 1.3 million users following it.

Sato, M. “Redditors are spamming Kellogg’s job portal to support striking workers” (10, December 2021). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/10/22827990/antiwork-reddit-kelloggs-jobs-portal-spam-solidarity-workers-strike-subreddit

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Hollywood’s Behind-The-Scenes Staff reach Tentative Deal with Studios, adverting strike scheduled for Monday

On By alanapotIn Cable, Media Covergence, Movie, Netflix, Regulation, TelevisionLeave a comment
IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb, Image via AdWeek/IASTE

IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, recently came to a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), adverting a scheduled strike for this upcoming October 18th. IATSE is a union representing about 60,000 crew members including hairstylists, costumers, gaffers, propmakers, cameraworkers and other behind-the-scenes jobs on set. The union had been negotiating pay, work schedules and more with AMPTP, an organization that represents companies such as Netflix, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures, since May.

Prior to the tentative agreement, IATSE President Matthew Loeb said in a statement posted on Twitter: “We will continue bargaining with the producers this week in the hopes of reaching an agreement that addresses core issues, such as reasonable rest periods, meal breaks and a living wage for those on the bottom of the wage scale” 

If the strike had occurred it would’ve been the first time Hollywood’s Behind-The-Scenes workers had held a strike since World War II and would represent the largest cease Hollywood’s workforce since a 14-week writers’ strike in 2007.

According to IATSE, the 3-Year contractual agreement with AMPTP includes living wages for the lowest paid workers, higher wages, daily 10 hour rest periods and weekend 54 hour long rest periods along with other basic benefits. Prior to this, streaming TV and film productions featured lower pay scales for workers which reflected budgets at the beginning of the medium and platforms. However, streaming is now a very large chunk of the market and worker’s felt their wages should reflect that. The increased production and volume of streaming entertainment had also made for grueling, “around-the-clock” and “around-the-calendar” (Sutton, 2021) working conditions.

Overall, this situation between IATSE and AMPTP reflect the truth behind what is going on behind the scenes of the public’s favorite shows and streaming platforms. It also reflects streaming as medium that is here to stay and in need of regulation for it’s workers.

Del Barco, Mandalit. “Hollywood crew members reach a tentative deal with major studios, averting a strike” NPR, 16, October, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/10/16/1045711954/hollywood-crew-members-iatse-reach-deal-no-strike

Sutton, Kelsey. “TV, Film Workers Set Oct. 18 Strike Date as Negotiations With Studios Stall” AdWeek, 14, October, 2021. https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/tv-film-workers-set-oct-18-strike-date-as-negotiations-with-studios-stall/