More than 50 SAG-AFTRA members picketed at a Tuesday afternoon rally in the driving rain next to the Hollywood & Highland Center with secretary-treasurer Jane Austin among the speakers in support of the United Teachers of Los Angeles.
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
L.A. Teachers’ Strike: Hollywood Studios, Unions Support Parents
More than 50 SAG-AFTRA members picketed at a Tuesday afternoon rally in the driving rain next to the Hollywood & Highland Center with secretary-treasurer Jane Austin among the speakers in support of the United Teachers of Los Angeles.
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3 comments:
For this post, I am pretty biased. Growing up in Los Angeles and attending public schools all my life, I understand the value and potential of public education and I am incredibly familiar with the work these teachers do on a daily basis. In a city like Los Angeles, known for its liberal standards and booming film industry, it empowers me to see other unions like Sag-Aftra joining teachers on the picket line because one of the things that the UTLA has been fighting for is arts education in schools. These teachers aren't necessarily doing this for themselves, they are doing it so they can help a generation. No one teaches for the money. No one teaches for the prestige. They do it because they care about students. If you think that this strike is about money, you must never have known a teacher. If you think that the UTLA is asking for too much, I think you're mistaken. They're not asking for nearly enough.
This article really hits supporting teachers with little information as to why. It does give an immense sense into the importance of supporting them which is what is really important about this article and important to be spread everywhere. It also hits on something very interesting about filming locations and schools. Schools, like my high school, are chosen to be film locations for large movies and this makes sense for a lot of reasons. They are already close to sound stages, there is a lot of variety from school to school, and in the case of McFarland – A large Disney film, they are chosen because they are lesser, as is the case with my school. The other side to it is the newer schools while still lacking in many areas, still look nice and may be chosen as is a high school not from LAUSD that is also nearby and can be seen in the pilot episode of Heroes. McFarland highlights a reality of LAUSD schools through its choice in locations. They used our dirt track because it looks run down, lesser and fits for the story of an underdog team. The team ultimately ends up running against these all-star grade people who have amazing tracks, gear, support, and technology. This is much the reality of LAUSD, the run-down bunch of people with nothing whom are getting nothing for a lot of hard work. The other team with all the gear and people is the rest of the world. LAUSD teachers and properties need more because this isn’t an underdog story but a failing reality that needs to be fixed now.
There is a line in this article that says directly that the support being given is not exclusively about labor solidarity, but it is hard not to see that there are other issues wrapped up in the teacher’s strike. Over the past few decades, unions have been losing power or disbanding altogether, although the unions in the entertainment industry have largely held strong. I get the feeling that teachers’ unions are particularly at risk at any given point in time because, in effect, public school teachers work for the government. Teachers’ working conditions (and the conditions of public schools in general) have been on the decline for a long time, and they have been fighting for a long time without gaining much ground. When the LA entertainment industry unions decided to show up for the teachers, they added a significant number of people to the strikes. What the government may see, however, is that an industry that generates a vast amount of income for California (and the US) is standing with the teachers, and the possibility that the aforementioned income could be impacted by the strike should be a source of alarm.
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