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‘We are not machines’: Hollywood workers poised to strike for better conditions

US unions‘We are not machines’: Hollywood workers poised to strike for better conditionsUnion leaders say a strike will start Monday if there is no deal with studios as workers describe low pay and grueling days without breaks Michael SainatoFri 15 Oct 2021 05.00 EDTLast modified on Fri 15 Oct 2021 12.55 EDTAt the start of the pandemic, Hollywood productions abruptly shut down, leaving many workers out of work before things began to resume with Covid-19 safety protocols in place.Since then, workers in Hollywood say they have worked long schedules and endured increased workloads, including staggering work because of social distancing; wearing and distributing personal protective equipment through long work days; and regularly getting tested for Covid-19.“We were working at breakneck speeds, and that was something that was supposed to have changed. We were supposed to have the time we needed to work in that kind of environment,” said Mike Loomer, a set dresser in Hollywood and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 44 member.“The only thing that changed is what we had to endure to make the product that they had to have to get out for the public to see.”Studios will again go quiet around the US as IATSE leaders say its 60,000 members will go on strike from 12.01 PT on Monday if a deal is not reached with employers. It would be the first such national strike since the IATSE was formed 128 years ago.Members of …

The big idea: should we work less?

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The big ideaBooksThe big idea: should we work less? A shorter working week could benefit society, the environment – even the economy. Is it time to reassess our relationship with our jobs? Sarah JaffeMon 11 Oct 2021 03.00 EDTLast modified on Mon 11 Oct 2021 03.48 EDTFor the last year and a half, most people have fallen into one of three categories: the unemployed, whose jobs disappeared during lockdown; the work from home brigade, who balanced family responsibilities or solo strain with a workday that extended even longer sans commute; and those who were still going to work but under hazardous, sometimes terrifying conditions, whether in healthcare or grocery stores or meatpacking plants. In so many of these cases, much of what made work enjoyable or at least tolerable was stripped away, and we were left with the unpleasant reality of what our jobs actually were: not a fun pastime, but something we have to do. As Amelia Horgan notes in her book Lost in Work, “We, almost always, need a job more than a job needs us. Our entrance into work is unfree, and while we’re there, our time is not our own.”Yet for all its misery, Covid-19 did show us that it was possible to radically change the way we live and work, and to do it quickly. And it’s worth remembering that working life pre-pandemic wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows for many people – a UK poll early …

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‘What are the options?’: a new film on the toll of the gig economy

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Documentary films‘What are the options?’: a new film on the toll of the gig economyIn the new documentary The Gig Is Up, film-maker Shannon Walsh travels around the world to uncover the human cost of the new way many of us work David Smith in Washington@ …

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Universal Music chief predicts billions of dollars of growth from digital listening

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Universal MusicUniversal Music chief predicts billions of dollars of growth from digital listeningRecord firm’s €40bn flotation is just beginning of new wave of music consumption, says Sir Lucian Grainge ‘Ruthless but good ears’: key architect of music industry revival Mark Sweney@ …

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