A Nice Hard Slap – The Right to be Paid Less

The Right to be Paid Less.

Fuck a union in the mouth.

I understand the point of a
union. They exist to protect their members. In the film business they
exist to create a barrier between the big studios and their controlling
ways and the talent. It used to be really messed up and the unions
provide a shelter and a powerful voice. In sports the union gives the
players the same thing, preventing the owners of teams from ruling with
an iron fist.

Right now there’s obviously a writer’s strike. It
looks like it’s about to go away [and not a moment too soon my selfish
ass says] and it looks like threatened SAG, DGA, and International
Nigerian Claymation Homosexuals (I.N.C.H.) strikes will also be
averted. That’s a good thing. You want to know a bad thing?

When a union disallows a member to exercise their God-given right to make LESS MONEY if they want to.

Especially
in the world of sports. I know about that “the needs of the many
outweigh the needs of the few” policy. It helps keep the Klingons at
bay [Botany Bay?]. I
understand that if a player wants to play for one team so much that he’ll
accept a pittance to play there, it creates a tough situation for a
union that is working hard to strengthen its position against the
owners it always feels isn’t paying the players enough. Guess what?
Sometimes the players ARE
paid enough. Too much even! Not that I mind a 23-year old kid who can’t
hold an adult conversation being able to own a sixty-three car garage.

In
a world trying to achieve a happy medium I think there has to be a
point where the player is empowered enough to decide if winning or
location is more important than his union’s desire to see him get the
maximum paycheck. Many times a player has wanted to take a pay cut or
defer their salary in order to join a winning team, lighten his team’s
financial load, or whatever and there comes a time when the union has
to decide on if he’s able to. They often say no.

The same goes
for free agency. There comes a point where a player should be able to
make whatever the hell he wants, his union’s demands be damned. The
bottom line is that a union is a tool. Not the ultimate authority.
Unions have a funny way of becoming too strong and too important and
there has to be a time when the impenetrable stronghold eases to
accommodate its members.

Especially if it means averting a strike or work stoppage of any sort.

On a related note, I’ve noticed how someone’s “quote” can also get in the way. Established filmmakers have a “quote” that is their expected salary. It is built on a variety of things and exists to protect the individual. It’s not as rigid as the monetary situation with unions but I can think of a few experiences in recent memory where a person’s quote kept them from working on a project they were passionate about and were unable to modify it for fear of dropping their value to the next client.

It’s a weird dynamic but I’m the belief we should try and make as much as we want in this free country, but also that we should be entitled to make less if the situation warrants it. That’s how it is in the private sector and that’s how it should be in show business, sports, and prostitution.

– Nick Nunziata wishes Alex Rodriguez didn’t get so ripped off all the time.

And now… a Mary Worth War Strip from the vault…

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