Posts by David Hood
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
DexterX- when it comes to actually getting collected funds back to people eligible, independent agencies have a far, far worse historical reputation than organisations run by the people meant to be receiving the money. Collection agencies tend to be very good at not following up with people who would be taking the money from them, and very good at creating self perpetuating bureaucracies. While in an ideal world any well auditable institution should do the job equally well, pragmatic history has creator controlled ones doing a better job.
-
Agricultural workers are a quite unusual one, they are actually pretty low paid when you look into the overall economics, which is very unusual for a male dominated industry.
For the overall economy, the question is more one of is the sector an export (or import substitution) sector, and internal sector, or an import sector. In this respect the creative industries are very much for the good of the country. Now, people will generally only eek out an existence in the creative sphere, so the need to have motivations like the love of the craft and getting satisfaction from the work (which is generally not something ascribed to those on the killing room floor). A particular individual may well be able to be wealthier in the non-creative industries, but I say let them try to find their happiness where they can. -
I'm struggling to understand how, amongst other things, he can be a proud and loyal member of SAG at the same time as undermining them and both NZ Equity and MEAA.
Well I'm not Peter Jackson, and have no inside knowledge, but would guess, for him, a chain like:
1) PJ really wants to make the Hobbit in NZ.
2) PJ observes SAG contracts for those covered by them.
3) MEAA demands something impossible under NZ Law. Lets be quite clear about this, the in writing public initial demands were not a freeform discussion about how conditions might be improved, they were for all people working on the movie to be covered by a collective MEAA contract.
4) PJ feels he is being held to ransom over something he can't grant.
5) PJ gets upset with the MEAA(NZ) -
If the Hobbit moves overseas, and assuming it's something that makes it into the world public consciousness (which it seems to be), then it's going to be the perfect argument for every right wing politician who wants to suggest global unions want to wreck local industry. In particular the film industry.
That would be a pretty hard argument to make stick if the film shifts out of New Zealand and gets made in a unionised country. If anything, it would be easier to argue that a unionised workforce makes it easier to attract high paying jobs to a country.
-
I get the impression she volunteered to be thrown in the deep end
Keeping in mind that Actor's Equity is (was?) a tiny union it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the public fronting was being done by whoever happened to volunteer.
-
Sacha, sorry to leave your comment ambiguous, because it had been fixed I thought I'd use the space for something that made sense in the discussion (and hadn't seen your comment at the point I hit Edit)
-
[Edited] I'd like to see some signs at the hobbit march like "I support government subsidies" or "We welcome your American dollars"
I won't be going. I'll be mourning in advance what I expect the government to do to employment law.
-
they can’t be blamed for having a go
I would tend to say that, in the manner in which a badly planned and executed industrial strategy stuffs thing up for allied unions and alienates the general population, yes actually they can wear the consequences of their actions.
Or were they playing their roles in an orchestrated strategy
While people might have exploited the fuck-ups that have run through the campaign, I think this is more a case of opportunism than somehow manipulating A.E. to stuff things up so badly so that they could take advantage of that.
all mere pawns
Aside from that fact that if unions actually coordinate their actions with other unions they multiply their strength and become substantially more than pawns, that is a really bad metaphor. If a pawn, for reasons it cannot clearly articulate, goes and attacks the wrong piece, in the wrong way, at the wrong time, that will severally stuff-up the entire side.
I may never have held union office (for all I've been a member all my working life, and struck on occasion) but even I know the basic, kindergarten level of industrial strategy:
1) Co-ordinate with allied unions before you do anything, and if possible act jointly.
2) Be clear about what you want and how who you are targeting can make that happen.
3) If people outside the union are going to be suffering for your cause, get them onside before you start. Be clear, and detailed, about why you are being forced to make others suffer.
4) Don't leave gapping truck-sized holes in your campaign which people can exploit to make you look like incompetent muppets (have your union registration up to date). -
I thought it was fixed term employment?
I am pretty sure it is not fixed term, because the length of time is not know (it is based around projects where the finish date is not necessarily known).
You might be able to approximate it with a fixed term casual contract, but that is, in employment terms, the worst of all possible worlds: It has none of the cash benefits of contracting and none of the security benefits of being an employee.
But none of the unions involved have been ask for that, or anything like it.
Now personally I think that if N.Z. is going to be involved in international film projects, it will ultimately have to fit its film model into one compatible with both the international production companies and the international unions (so will need some kind of collective bargaining model compatible with the SAG). But I also think it will only get there long after than ranker over the hobbit has died down, and with the co-operation of all of the parts of the industry. -
but I may be mistaken about that
It is fairly easy to find multiple sources quoting that part back on the 29th of September.