Solidarnosc

(The following is from Teamster Member, John Jabaley. The opinions expressed are not the IBT's point of view, but John's.)

Where I grew up in the deep south in the 1970's, union was a dirty word. Even in my family, conspicuously liberal (in our neighborhood, at least) for our attendance of public schools, unions were considered a way for workers to loaf on the job without being punished. Coming from the management side of the equation, most people I knew were happy they didn't have to deal with workers who stuck together.

I sailed through childhood with this belief essentially unchallenged.

My first exposure to the power that people can wield came with the news coverage of the Polish labor movement headed by a shipyard worker named Lech Walesa. The signs, handmade on sheets, painted in blood for all I knew, said "Solidarnosc." The word was at once both familiar and exotic, and the concept was simple to anyone with a basic knowledge of American History. In union there is strength. Only together can we stand.

When I came to California to be a movie star my first job was as a laborer in the art department of one of the larger non union production companies. When I left I was working as both Production & Location manager for $175.00 a day. No residuals. No benefits. No pension.

I didn't appreciate what I had been missing until I started working on union films, and realized that on union films, workers have a right to be safe. We have a right to overtime. We have a right to healthcare and pensions.

We have these rights, but it hasn't always been this way, and for many in our industry it still isn't. We only have these rights because someone before us carried a picket sign and saw their bank account go to hell. They carried a picket sign and were attacked by their fellow workers who wanted them to give up and get back to work. They carried a picket sign anyway, and they took to the streets and they marched. They marched in the sun, they marched in the rain, and they stayed there until they got the benefits that we enjoy today.

Today the WGA is still carrying signs, fighting right now to extend these benefits to the writers at Fremantle, the producers of American Idol and other "reality" fare. And because of pattern bargaining, they're working to extend union benefits to the electricians, the drivers, the grips and the rest of the crew.

Today the WGA is still carrying signs, fighting to extend the residual system to the internet. And because of pattern bargaining, they're fighting to ensure future residual payments to the health and benefit plans of IATSE, the Teamsters and all other below the line workers covered by the Motion Picture Health and Benefit plans.

Today the WGA is still carrying signs, and they've got extras.

John Jabaley
Location Manager
IBT, Local 399