I Was Laid Off…
Hello Friend. Welcome back. Thank you so much for being here in a hard moment for me. I truly appreciate it.
Over the past few days, I've been going through a lot of different emotions. It feels like a lot has happened, but in reality, only one major thing has happened. Due to work coming to a stop because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, I have been laid off. I am a motion picture costumer part of IATSE, so my union is not on strike, but the work we do is so interconnected to other labor unions that what affects one of our groups, will end up affecting all of them.
Personally, I have been going through all kinds of emotions about it.
My workplace did everything it could do to keep everyone employed for as long as possible. Work had been slow since January because studios were already anticipating a strike. So when I was laid off, everyone around me was laid off as well. The 100+-year-old company had to temporarily shut down for the first time due to the strikes. (We are not including 2020 pandemic-related closures here.) So, my company is blameless. My boss seemed like he might cry when I went to say goodbye to him. It was a very sad day all around. When I got home, the feelings finally had a chance to bring attention to themselves.
· I felt sadness because I knew a lot of my coworkers, whom I had become friends with, would likely move on once work resumes.
· I felt anxiety because I no longer had a reliable income.
· I felt frustration because I was making steady progress on building my emergency fund because this job was the first time I wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck.
· And lastly, I felt shame. Because the ugly shame monster saw a moment of weakness, an opportunity, to come out and whisper in my ear that somehow, I hadn’t done enough and that it was my fault.
My logic warrior has been dealing with the shame monster and this assortment of emotions for many days now.
· When I get sad, I remember that I made sure to connect with my coworkers on social media so that I wouldn’t lose contact with them and maintain our friendships.
· When I start to have income anxiety, I remind myself that I have a safety net. My partner is still gainfully employed in an industry that is not currently being impacted by the strikes. We talked about what we would do, what expenses would be taken over should the need come and we have transferred those expenses already.
· And when I feel that frustration, I keep in mind that because of the aforementioned safety net, I do not need to dip into my emergency savings right away. That steady progress might not always come every year and that there will be slow years and really great years, but no matter what, I have made it a priority for myself to make sure I take care of myself so that someday I can help take care of someone else should they need me.
· Lastly, to address the shame monster, I just keep repeating to myself, that these circumstances are so extremely outside of my control that there is absolutely nothing I could have done to change what happened and that I did everything in my power to prepare for an emergency since the day I started working at this job. And that I am not alone in this either. All of my union kin are out of work too, waiting for when deals are made.
This pain is short term and it will pass. But for now, I’m still going to cry when I feel the need.
There is a much bigger picture at hand that must be discussed.
Through all of this, it has come to my attention that a lot of people don’t understand the huge and widespread impact the outcome of these strikes will have on literally everyone.
First, I would like to point out that news outlets have been reporting on a widening wealth gap for years. Forbes reported in 2019 that the wealth gap has gotten as bad as the roaring 20’s. And with the world being only a few years out of the pandemic, the gap has only gotten worse, not better. It seems less noticeable because we have better access to creature comforts and technology. However, laborers across all industries (not just film and television) are poised to strike. The rail union threatened a strike in December 2022, UPS workers are threatening to strike right now. There are strikes happening across the pond in Europe. Pay is bad, working conditions across the board are inhumane and hours are disgustingly long. Few people actually work 40-hour weeks and can make a living off it anymore. Most people just don’t talk about it because society has conditioned everyone to feel shame about not being able to meet this magical standard. If no one talks about it, then nothing changes.
Courtesy of SAG’s facebook page
People are talking now. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA are screaming at the tops of their lungs about it. The producers at these major production companies have annual salaries that START at 20-something MILLION DOLLARS. Most of these people make more in a day than what laborers make in an entire year. Add in the extremely high cost of living that has been inflated by people who have millions to spare through gentrification and monopolies plus inflation, you get unsustainable living circumstances for literally everyone else. The average cost of gas per gallon in Los Angeles ranges between $5 to $7/gallon depending on what section of the city you happen to be in. Houses for sale START at 700,000 for a 3 bedroom that is likely actually a 2 bedroom and someone converted their dining room into a bedroom even though it doesn’t have a fire escape window or a closet. Plus the house is likely falling apart. (The house next door to me listed itself as a 3 bed 1 bath and when I poked my head in during the open house, this is exactly what I had discovered.) Average rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in Los Angeles is about $4,000 according to rent.com.
I point out all of these numbers because people outside of California do not realize that the cost of living is nearly unliveable. They just hear that laborers make an average of 69K/year and think they’re rolling in the dough (Which btw, I make significantly less than even that.) But 69K/year is a lot if you’re living in a low-cost-of-living state like South Carolina (I hear its increasing because everyone keeps moving there.) So I get where the misunderstanding comes from. But at the end of the day, every laborer regardless of industry should be compensated fairly for their work with consideration for the location of their industry and its cost of living. The WGA and SAG are fighting for their fair compensation and ability to live.
And like the tycoons of the 1920’s the AMPTP has stated that they are going to “Starve out” the WGA in order to break them and that the demands are “Unrealistic.” Or “Very disturbing.” The demands are barely 3% of the profits these companies make annually. The truly disturbing thing is that the outcome of these strikes will determine the outcome of strikes across the board. Just like what happened with the Trump administration and white supremacists:
If the AMPTP get its way and continue taking away more and more from laborers, it will embolden other top executives holding the purse strings across all industries to do the same to their laborers, union or not.
No other strikes will get the coverage that these strikes will get because WGA and SAG are professionals at grabbing your attention and keeping it. No one else will be able to bring as much attention to this as these unions can. That is why this is so important.
The outcome of these strikes WILL affect you too.
How to help
Donate to the Entertainment Community Fund to help strikers and those affected by strikes pay their bills and put food on the table while they strike for all of our sakes.
https://entertainmentcommunity.org/
