You All Disgust Me

Before I get on with the bitching, let me first say that I was a union member for several years.  I was a proud member of IASTSE Local 470.  I have worked with somewhere between 50 and 100 different locals in about 40 different cities.  The unions included IATSE, IBEW, and the Teamsters.

That being said…

The union representing the Public Works employees for Baraboo, WI are a bunch of greedy fucking bastards.  They should be ashamed of themselves, and the union members should kick every one of the so-called “leaders” out on their fat asses.

In the past few weeks, south-central Wisconsin has been dealing with the same environmental tragedies that have been plaguing much of the mid-west.  Severe and continual storms have resulted in flooding and destruction that has reached unprecedented levels in the area.  Communities have worked to deal with these emergencies in whatever ways they could.

Baraboo is one of the communities that has been hit by flooding.  When things started looking bad, they called in the local volunteer fire department to help out.  The fire department worked to rescue stranded persons, pump water out of buildings, and sandbag against rising waters.

And there’s the problem.

The union representing the Public Works employees says that sandbagging is <i>their</i> job.  Their <i>paid</i> job.  And since the city asked the Fire Department to do the work, the union members are entitled to all the overtime pay they would have gotten if they had been filling sandbags.

First of all, let’s make something very clear:  nobody prevented anyone from stepping up and filling sandbags.   This isn’t a “you wouldn’t let us help in a time of emergency” situation.    I think it was pretty clear to everyone in the area that the town (not to mention several <i>counties</i>) were in serious danger from rising flood waters.  As I understand it, anyone who was able to got out and helped to protect the city–voluntarily…..  for free…. because, y’know…. it’s the right thing to do.

Apparently, however, “saving the city from flooding” is one of the jobs contractually delegated to the Public Works union.  They have “first rights of refusal” or something.   Calling the emergency response teams (FD, PD, EMT) during an emergency is… well… it’s a violation of the contract with the union.

So, taking into consideration the record-level flooding, devastating destruction of property, and serious potential for loss of life, the union is doing the only reasonable and responsible thing.

They’re filing a grievance for lost overtime pay.

“Hey.. I know the firemen did this for like twelve bucks and a sincere “thank you”, and the rest of you didn’t even get a free t-shirt out if this… and I know that it was a serious disaster and lots of lives were at stake and just down the road an entire lake disappeared and several miles of the interstate is underwater severely disrupting interstate commerce and stuff, but…. hey…  we should have been called to work so that we could be paid time and a half to do what everyone else was doing for free.   Right?”

This union needs to be slapped down.   Hard.

Even its own members are speaking out publicly against this.

I really wish I was on the city council.   I would make it my personal crusade to make sure that each and every interaction with this union was as difficult and unproductive as I could make it.  I would pull out every trick in the book to block these people at every turn.  I would take every opportunity to nit-pick at every minor detail of their behavior and make an issue of it.

The town was <b>UNDER FUCKING WATER</b> and they have the balls to insist on overtime pay?

This is a clear and vocal “fuck you” to each and every person who owns a home or business in that city.  This is the union saying “we don’t give a flying fuck about the property destroyed, the people killed, or the lives destroyed; we want a lot of money for sitting on our asses and doing nothing while the rest of the community got out there and busted their asses for no other reason that “it was the right thing to do.”

This is the union of the city pubic works department saying “we don’t care if the city was destroyed, we want money for <b>NOT</b> trying to save it.

I know that the city government will be all apologetic and inoffensive in an effort to save their pansy-ass selves from any controversy, but I also know that the citizens of Baraboo won’t be quite so pansy-ass.

To the union reps:  be prepared to deal with hateful glares and rude comments whenever you get in line at the checkout counter; don’t even bother to eat at a local restaurant (unless you have a true desire to know what every vile scraping in the kitchen tastes like); and pray to God with all your might that the members of the emergency response teams have a better–and far more professional–attitude than you in the unfortunate even that you’re ever in need of the police, EMTs, or (God forbid) fire department.

“Yes, I realize your house is engulfed in flames.  I’m sorry, but our contract doesn’t include saving your house, just you.  If you’d like us to save everything you own, you’ll have to sit down and negotiate and overtime compensation package.  I think we have an opening next Thursday.   How’s that work for you?  I’ll just call your home phone number to confirm, okay?”

Rot in Hell, you greedy fucking bastards.

Does anyone have Bono’s address? I feel so heart-broken for the poor, penniless bloke that I want to send him a little something to help him get started with his pan-handling. It’s a really nice, tin cup, too: blue enamelware with a stainless steel rim. I used to use it when I was a stagehand with IATSE Local 470, so it’s no stranger to the tragic and destitute life of internationally-famous rock stars.

Why am I sending Bono my tin cup? [1] Because Paul McGuiness–U2’s manager–says that his boys aren’t getting paid enough.   Nope.  That $30 million they earned in 2006 has left them starving and begging for change (the kind that jingles in your tin cup, not the kind that Obama wants).   The only way to save his poor, destitute boys from living in a public shelter and eating in a soup kitchen is to institute a “music tax” on everyone who uses the internet.  C’mon… fess up.  You know you’ve been illegally downloading tracks from…   umm…   I’m sorry, can anyone name an album that U2 has put out in the last 15 years?  The last one I listened to was Rattle & Hum.   I worked as a stagehand for that Zoo-TV abomination, and got so annoyed and disgusted with the pop crap they were spewing I’ve never bothered to even listen to anything of theirs since.    <i>However</i>, I’m obviously a pirate who needs to pay McGuiness and his starving boys more money (for songs I’m not listening to and don’t want to listen to).

He’s just looking out for his boys, y’see.  He’s very honest about it.  “I would like to see the workers (creators) paid, which they aren’t at the moment.”   This is why Bono needs a tin cup. Because, you see, he’s “not getting paid”.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  Why don’t they just do some sort of media or product tie-in?  Y’know… use an ad-supported business model. Well, obviously that’s an insult to an artist!  As McGuiness says, he “does not want to see ‘artists reduced to the status of employees working for glorified ad agencies.’”  U2 would never lower themselves to getting money from advertisers.

Okay.  Let’s set aside the (admittedly fun) sarcasm for a second and look at the facts.

1) McGuiness’ contention is that the internet is stealing money from the pockets of U2 (and himself) simply by existing, and therefore all the users of the internet owe him and his clients money.

This is, quite honestly, the most arrogant and pompous attitude I’ve seen in a long time.  He believes that illegal music downloads are one of the–if not the most single–powerful reasons that people sign up for internet service.   Those billion+ downloads from iTunes–a company who pays 70 cents on the dollar to the music industry?  They’re irrelevant.  Amazon.com?  Irrelevant.  All those other companies that have legal contracts with the music industry and pay royalties?  Irrelevant.   All those things the internet has to offer that have nothing to do with music?  So amazingly irrelevant.   People only sign up for internet service so that they can illegally download music.

Yeah.  Right.   Get fuckin’ real, McGuiness.  Everybody knows we get online for the porn!

2) McGuiness just wants “to see the workers (creators) paid, which they aren’t at the moment.”

2 responses to this one:

a) Right now, iTunes pays 70% of it’s income to the music industry.  Less than 2% of that reaches the artists.  If McGuiness has a problem with how much money is making its way into Bono’s pockets, he needs to talk to Universal, Sony BMG, the RIAA, and the rest of “The Industry”.   It’s not the listeners how are taking your money, mister.  It’s “The Industry”.

b) I’ve worked in the arts for over 20 years and this little detail still annoys me:  Please name any other industry where someone continues to get paid for work they did years ago.  It really bothers me when rich musicians bitch that they’re not getting paid enough for work they did 20, 30, even 40 years ago.  Boo fuckin’ hoo.  God forbid you actually have to keep on working like the rest of the world.

3) The hypocrisy of “artists” that sold out wholesale to Apple suggesting that using advertising as a revenue source is somehow beneath them is…  well… I’m at a loss for words.   Let’s also remember that every tour that they’ve been on has been sponsored by some company–usually a brewery or distillery.  Any TV appearances have been sponsored by advertisers.  And, of course, every single second of radio play they’ve gotten–you remember that, right?  The medium that promoted them and <i>made</i> them famous?–has been paid for by advertising dollars.

The market has changed.  Evolve or die.  Because, quite frankly, those of us that actually work for a living really haven’t got an ant’s ass worth of sympathy for your spoiled rich boys.  When I start getting residuals for those dishes I washed back in 1985, and that U2 concert I built the stage for back in 1992, I might be willing to give you a listen.  Until then?  Sit down and shut up!

[1] Get fucking real! That rich bastard can buy his own cup. I bought mine when I was a college student making less than $5,000 a year, and paying half of that to the state in tuition and taxes.

• Rush Limbaugh states that Obama only got the nod because he’s black (Quizlaw)
• Kenneth E. Holder, the drunk bastard who shot his girlfriend’s dog with a bow and arrow (Houston Chronicle)
• Hartford residents who avoided, circled, and generally did everything but actually help this 78-year-old who was victim of a hit-n-run (WTIC 1080)
• Hillary Clinton who, defying all common sense and logic, refuses to drop out of the race despite there being absolutely no way for her to win (CNN)

…but the ones they have lately really suck ass.

Courtesy of Den of Geek!, we have 30 sequels that no one asked for and even fewer will care about. A few gems for your consideration: Ace Ventura Jr., Shrek Goes Fourth, and Beverly Hills Cop 4, to name only a few. Now, I must admit that there are a few that I wouldn’t mind seeing, like Crank 2 and компютри втора употребаmaybe The Descent 2. They’re guilty pleasures, and I make no apologies for them.

What happened to taking a chance? What happened to directors who were willing to try and tell a story or convey something to the audience other than “Give me your money”? Is the industry so hard up for funding that they’re unwilling to try something new anymore?

This image hits a little too close to home (but it’s still really goddam funny).