Good morning and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Monday October 11th. I’m justin ray
One of the worst parts of the pandemic was isolation. Even the introverted (like me) wanted company because bars, concerts and other social events were banned.
As a result, streaming entertainment became popular – not just because we were bored, but also because the loneliness made us appreciate the beauty of the collective viewing experience. Online conversations around shows like “Tiger King”, “The Undoing” and “Wandavision” were one of the only ways people could get in touch.
Something that you may not have considered is the many people who are behind these productions. Much of your favorite entertainment would not be possible without them. Around 60,000 customers, makeup artists, cameramen and other entertainment workers who make up the International Theater Workers Alliance have overwhelmingly advocated a nationwide strike if no agreement is reached with the studios. The last time crews went on a major strike was in 1945 on what is known as Hollywood’s Bloody Friday.
Talks will continue this week. I spoke to my colleague (and really good friend) Anousha Sakoui, who wrote about the situation. She explains what IATSE workers are asking, what could happen to Hollywood if they go on strike, and what precedents exist for this situation.
What is the IATSE asking for and what difficulties have prompted you to make such demands?
Crews complain about long days: 12 to 14 hours are standard. You often work on so-called Fraturdays, which are commonplace today; This is a term that means that weekend rest is shortened by working until the wee hours of the Saturday morning.
IATSE calls for concessions that improve four main concerns: raise wages to provide their low-income earners with a living income; sustainable benefits; more rest periods; and for streaming productions to compensate members at the same rate as traditional productions. Under the current contract – even though streaming is now a predominant form of distribution for both feature films and series – streaming productions can claim discounts on wages and contributions to the IATSE health and pension plan. This goes back to a decade when the union wanted to encourage new employment and streaming was still in its infancy.
Why is this happening now?
Many of these problems have been a bogeyman for the crews for decades, such as rest periods; Crews driving home tired have resulted in deaths. The cost of living in LA has made the minimum wage many of these unionized workers hard to make ends meet.
The pandemic has caused many people to rethink their priorities. Crews are no different. Entertainment workers saw studios spend millions on everything it took to get the crews back to work. Now that the crews want more wages and peace of mind, the money cannot be found. For their part, the studios have suffered losses as a result of the pandemic, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers – the organization that represents studios and streamers in negotiations with unions – said it had listened to the union and made offers to improve the current contract .
What could happen to the entertainment studios if Hollywood workers decide to go on strike?
Most television and film productions rely on a skilled unionized labor force, and without IATSE’s 60,000 members, production would likely grind to a halt. Now some productions for pay-TV platforms like HBO may be able to continue. Or, as in previous Writers Guild strikes, we could see studios attempting to fill their airtime with non-scripted shows. Some reality productions don’t use union crews.
And now this is happening across California:
Note: Some of the websites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without a subscription.
The new state law makes it illegal to remove a condom without consent. California became the first state to ban “stealthing” or removing a condom during sex without permission after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law Thursday. Rep. Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) originally attempted to make it a crime in 2017 after a study by Yale University earlier that year found camouflage is increasing against both women and gay men. Legislators in New York and Wisconsin have previously proposed laws to do so. Los Angeles times
Attention California drivers: your insurer may owe you even more pandemic reimbursements. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara noted earlier this year that auto insurers had reimbursed policyholders for hundreds of millions of dollars in premiums because of the pandemic. He told companies to stop fooling around and make their customers whole. Most Californians no longer drove as much as they did before the coronavirus, Lara emphasized, and the accident damage had fallen far, which should lower the premiums. At least three leading insurers shrugged his warning, according to the insurance commissioner’s office. Now these companies – Allstate, Mercury, and CSAA – could face millions in fines. Los Angeles times
The California insurance commissioner says Allstate, Mercury and CSAA continue to underestimate auto policyholders.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
LA STORIES
LA wants your leftover utensils and sauce packages. You can donate them here. Do you have a mountain of leftover utensils and sauce packs in a drawer that is gathering dust? Well, you can put them to good use. LA Sanitation and Environment’s urban facility recycling program will collect them throughout October for use in a downtown grocery kitchen and pantry. Loose plastic items will not be accepted. The donations will go to the St. Francis Center, which provides services, hot meals, and groceries to the homeless and low-income people in downtown LA at the Los Angeles Times
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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Oakland is awarding $ 100,000 in grants to help bridge the digital divide. The City of Oakland has launched several initiatives in recent years to address some of the problems some residents have with accessing the Internet. The city announced that 10 local organizations are receiving $ 10,000 each to help bridge the digital divide between residents. Recipients receive the grants through the city’s partnership with the Greenlining Institute, a local nonprofit that focuses on eliminating systemic inequalities through political work. Oakland side
California is the first state to require ethnic studies for high school graduation. After more than five years of intense scrutiny and effort, California became the first state on Friday to make ethnic studies a compulsory high school graduation class to help students understand the past and present struggles and contributions of blacks, Asians, Latinos and Native Americans to understand Americans and other groups who have experienced racism and marginalization in America. Though critics remain across the political spectrum, the bill received overwhelming support in the legislature and was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, who vetoed an almost identical measure last year. Los Angeles times
HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Unvaccinated Californians were 15 to 20 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people when deaths from the disease last peaked in early September. That comes from data from the California Department of Health, which publishes information about the vaccination status of people who test positive for coronavirus and people who are hospitalized with COVID-19 and die from it. San Francisco Chronicle
CALIFORNIAN CULTURE
The pandemic left offices full of idle technology and students with no digital access. Then reWerk stepped in. During the pandemic, California schools and nonprofits were in dire need of tech. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of laptops, monitors, and keyboards began collecting dust in engineering offices across the state after Governor Gavin Newsom ordered non-essential office workers to stay home. A nonprofit called reWerk decided to take the technology and redistribute it to bridge the digital divide. So far, big companies like Disney, Twitter, and Yelp have donated equipment. Point LA
Dodgers vs. Giants is more than a game. It’s California’s ultimate divide. The gap between those who stand up for the Los Angeles Dodgers and fans of the San Francisco Giants creates much tension. “The teams are not just a collection of players on a baseball diamond, but the representatives for a competition between cities that cannot be measured in balls and strokes or is decided by runs or stranded men. Wealth and culture. Style and sophistication. Social influence and political influence, ”writes columnist Mark Z. Barabak. Los Angeles times
The division series Dodgers-Giants National League brings the rivalry between Los Angeles and San Francisco clearly rolling.
(Los Angeles times)
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CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles: 73 San Diego: 69 San Francisco: Enjoy this photo of a baby llama. Cloudy 70 San Jose: Cloudy 70 Fresno: Cloudy 68 Sacramento: Cloudy 70
AND FINALLY
Notable birthdays:
Cardi B was born on October 11, 1992. Her appearance of “WAP” at the Grammys 2021 sparked a lot of comments on social media.
Hugh Jackman was born on October 12, 1968. The actor recently starred in the film Reminiscence, a dystopian detective story in which the private detective works his way through memory to solve the mystery.
If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please limit your story to 100 words.)
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