Thread by @ThatSunil

Chatted w/a friend who‘s worked many sides of our biz abt our #SAGAFTRA elections. He reminisced how a lawyer on the producer side said they‘re very scared of the DGA&WGA. But when it comes to us, the largest entertainment #union,they just”send in the B team.“ Let’s unpack that🧵

They send in the B team b/c we are not organized as a union to leverage our strength. Meaningful change doesn’t happen thru arbitration,or holding up the opposite faction as the bogeyman while mgmt dances in glee giving us the bare minimum. These past tactics won’t/never worked.

The things that we ALL want and deserve will have to be fought for (bc power concedes nothing...). And our greatest weapon is US — our bodies and our work. When we threaten to, or actually do, withhold that, that’s when we find our collective power, BUT...

...that threat of a strike doesn’t carry strength just because we issue it. We have to be organized, publicly, for that to work. This takes time, energy, and a willingness to put aside our ongoing internal toxicity for the greater good of the real fight that lays ahead...

...the fight with management.

(Good time to note that if you don’t view negotiations as a fight but rather as an opportunity to simply get along, you don’t belong in the business of a union!
Also, let’s not get distracted by fellow members who are also large-scale employers.)

We ignore this concept at our peril. The alternative is the status quo: mgmt eats popcorn & sends in the B team while we, election after election, term after term, further devolve into bickering, posturing, defending w/personalities, smears, vitriol, & gaslighting.

One idea: Striking (or threatening to) per contract, as opposed to as a full union, inevitably leaves us fatally vulnerable.
Consequently:Everything we prioritize should build towards us achieving the latter.
So I ask you, @MatthewModine @frandrescher, what’s your plan for that?

I love u ALL bc we’re all truly sibs in this biz. But pls spare the aggression,gaslighting, patronizing,defending & toxicity. I humbly ask you consider the above & then share your own thoughts for all of us.
❤️✊🏽
A fellow #SAGAFTRAmember
@unite4strength @MembershipFirst @sagaftra

ps - If these questions scare or offend you, or if your first instinct is to attack me, you should check what your priorities truly are (your desire for status, or the betterment of your union siblings).
❤️✊🏽
A fellow #SAGAFTRAmember

@unite4strength @MembershipFirst
@sagaftra

Reposting this chart showing the diff btwn 2 modes of unions: Organizing vs Service, along with some thoughts I shared earlier.
We desperately need to be in the Organizing Model (we’re not now). Whatever “side“ you’re on, that shd be our task as a #union.

Love & solidarity❤️✊🏽

Cc: @MatthewModine @MsJoelyFisher on this thread because I couldn’t tag you in the pictures! Hope you join the conversation❤️✊🏽