Funferal

Of strikes and solidarity

The Writers’ strike has garnered quite a bit of support, both from other entertainment workers and from the wider public. One idea for support that originated with fans, before being picked up by the union, is to send pencils to the media moguls that run 6 of the major companies targetted by this strike. The idea is, of course, based on the successful fan campaign to save the Jericho series. In this case you can donate online to fund the purchase of boxes of pencils (at $1 per box) to be sent en masse to the networks and studios. Funds left over will go to the Union Solidarity Fund that supports non-WGA members affected by the strike. You could also go to Strike Swag and buy one of their products (t-shirts, etc., with slogans of solidarity with the WGA) which also benefit the Solidarity Fund.

A strike that has received much less coverage has been that of the United American Nurses union members striking at Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) hospitals since 1st October. A Union Review piece republished on Alternet details the intimidation the strikers are facing:

hired security guards on the picket lines who routinely harass the nurses. The company also has resorted to surveillance cameras taking shots of who walks the picket and when. And now, though it is not clarified yet that its their doing, the company appears to have orchestrated the burning of a car that belonged to one of the union staff who was on hand to assist the nurses.

The AFL-CIO are co-ordinating donations for the nurses.