The Job Bored: Katsup Edition

• UAW ends strike at International Truck, drops ULP charges. No, we're not taking the heat for this one - the UAW strikes at bright lights & loud noises these days. No one with a life could keep up. [AP]

• Scandal over illegal workers and clashes with unions over Social Security overhaul ousts government's head of labor. In Greece. Had you fooled for a minute though, right? [NYT]

• The Killers back in court on former manager's $3 mil. unpaid commision suit. We know this just happened, but the Killers are so five minutes ago. [TMZ.com (it's a gossip website - ask your wife/daughter)]

• Writer's Guild having trouble with Conglomerate Conglomerate, decides to just work with conglomerates for better result. [Official release, via UnitedHollywood.com] NOTE: comprehensive update on the WGA sitch to follow some time this week. I promise.

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WGA Strikers Blog

If you're interested at all in the writer's strike, check out United Hollywood, an unofficial blog started by some of the strike captains. There's information about the strike, photos of famous people and comments from strikers on how things are going. Our current favorite:

CHELSEA PIERS, NYC: All Jacked Up
"One guy from our group got hassled by some stockbroker-looking dude who was screaming 'Get back to work! I don't want 24 to be cancelled!' He was serious."

We're adding United Hollywood to our roll (on the right column) in case you forget about it later.

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Writer's Strike: Lawyers are Busy, Writers are Solid and Michael Eisner Cares?

Here's some randoms on the Writer's Guild of America Strike, Day 3:

Entertainment Lawyers can't get off the phone, according to the ABA.

Apparently no one remembers the last writer's strike, so none of the writers know what they can and can't do. The WGA told writer-directors (aka show runners) that they couldn't do any "writing services", and so far they've just gone along with it. But now that the WGA is ordering scripts turned in (so no one does any under-the-table creativity shilling) the questions are pouring into attorney's offices. Plus, the shows have to be replaced, and somebody's gotta negotiate and write up the contracts.

"Hollywood is not Flint, Mich. It's not Allentown, Pa."

The biggest issue facing the picketing writers wasn't the studios so much as the other two unions, the Director's Guild and Screen Actor's Guild, so says Tim Goodman at the SF Chronicle:

The cynical in Hollywood - and that's a town built wholly on the failed dreams of the jaded and the bitter - suggested that the agendas of the members of the three unions were, roughly in this order: "looking out for myself," "getting what's rightfully mine" and "bleep the other guys."

But then, as we previously mentioned, the show runners (directors and writers) joined the strike. And the stars showed up. And the "no-strike clauses" in those union contracts started to look a little thin. According to the piece, there's been an email from producer Shawn Ryan (the Shield, the Unit) "floating around" that kind of summed it up:

I obviously will not write on my shows. But I also will not edit, I will not cast, I will not look at location photos, I will not get on the phone with the network and studio, I will not prep directors, I will not review mixes. I can't in good conscience fight these bastards with one hand, while operating an Avid with the other. I am on strike and I am not working for them. PERIOD.

If you're a network exec, and you expected all these people to be working on scripts and now the people haven't shown up and the scripts are confiscated, you may be a little more willing to negotiate? Hmm? Maybe LA's more like Flint than they'll admit.

"The only real winner here is Steve Jobs. They should be striking up at Cupertino or wherever he is."

The WGA strike does have it's detracters, though. If this is going to sell, we'll need a good villain. Someone get on the phone and see if Michael Eisner's available. He is? Of course he is.

Eisner, the former Disney CEO, was speaking before some "we're all rich enough to think about money" club and said the following:

For a writer to give up today's money for a nonexistent piece of the future -- they should do it in three years, shouldn't be doing it now -- they are misguided they should not have gone on the strike. I've seen stupid strikes, I've seen less stupid strikes, and this strike is just a stupid strike.

Hmm. "Stupid" and "Less Stupid". That joke kind of sells itself. Eisner went on to say the writer's didn't put blame on the right people, faulting the networks instead of Steve Jobs and Apple. Word to the wise: Don't take your financial advice from the guy who recommended Ovitz to the Board at Disney.

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The Writer's Strike Not Entertaining, Apparently Serious

We're going to assume that the basics of the Writer's Guild strike, now in its 3rd day, are apparent to everyone reading, mostly since it's getting more press than the entire UAW 3-way negotiations and strikes combined.

If you don't know what's going on, here's a good synopsis from Reuters.

Upon hearing of the strike, our initial thought was how great the chants were going to be. This was clearly misguided. From the LA Times:

In Los Angeles, striking screenwriters chanted, "Network bosses, rich and rude, we don't like your attitude!"

[sigh] Really? We hoped for so much more. Forgive us for expecting brilliance, but isn't the team from "the Office" out there?

As per usual, the MSM gets stuck on a tangent. Most of the news reports are focusing on the lack of new programming and the big names supporting the strikers (Jay Leno had Kispy Kremes, Eva Longoria had - herself) and walking the picket line like Paul Haggis and Robert Towne. But don't think for a minute that this isn't a real strike, with consequences that go far beyond our ability to enjoy non-reality television.

The LA Times article points out (albeit at the very end) that this strike effects a lot more regular, workhorse, paycheck-to-paycheck writers than it does Oscar winners and millionaires.

Although top screenwriters like Haggis can make as much as $250,000 a week, many WGA members collect middle-class wages and can go months between jobs; the threat of an extended work stoppage could have grave consequences for the industry's lesser lights.

And, unlike most strikers, many writers have other responsibilities on set, like executive producer status (called "show runners") or pod deals where the studio gives them development money that pays administrative salaries. The networks are starting to pull those funds now, which means non-union employees could be laid off as soon as this weekend.

According to Business Week, everyone involved is projecting a pretty drawn-out process here, with no negotiations officially scheduled anytime soon. Teamsters in LA refused to cross the picket line, as did Steve Carell, apparently against Screen Actor's Guild rules (we're putting our celebrity stuff at the end, see?). Amy Pohler joined the SNL writers on the line in NY.

If you are in southern California, and are interested, here is a list of the strike locations.

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Supreme Court: Whining, Country Cookin' and Celebrities

In our recent post on how overly concerned the Supreme Court seems to be with old people, we pointed out that there were a few other employment cases this term that didn't have anything to do with those along in years.

While that's not exactly true (see below), the cases present a couple of age-neutral issues, parties, bigots and other tabloid-ready topics worth considering, and a judge/justice SCOTUS celebrity showdown that will blow your mind!!

Descriptions after the jump.

CBOCS West v. Humphries.
As a preliminary matter, we note this post is being published in the N.D. of Ill. so we'll take our cues from the 7th Circuit's opinion and refer to CBOCS by it's Christian name, Cracker Barrel.

We tried to skim the questions presented to sum up the case, but somebody must've read the brevity suggestion for SCOTUS questions. From the petition:

QUESTIONS PRESENTED:
Is a race retaliation claim cognizable under 42 U.S.C. § 1981?

What kind of question is this? They better have good orals, 'cause Cracker Barrel is definitely not winning best brief this term.

The 7th Circuit opinion summarizes the case pretty well: Humphries was an assistant manager at Cracker Barrel in Bradley, IL (go Boilermakers!) And, after the store manager who liked him left, they apparently brought in a temporary manager from the early 19th century. From the Circuit Op.:

According to Humphries, Cardin [the mgr] routinely made racially derogatory remarks, such as stating that all African-Americans are “drunk or high on drugs” or that “all Mexicans have a bunch of kids.” Humphries alleges that other employees confirmed Cardin’s inappropriate comments, and told Humphries that Cardin had stated that he was there “for the white people” and was “going to take care of the white people.”

Humphries was fired, of course, and claimed it was in retaliation for bringing the manager's actions to the attention of the district manager. When his Title VII case was dismissed, the district court granted summary judgment on the 1983 claims, holding that retaliation isn't an option under section 1983. The 7th Circuit reversed, and now here we are.


Sprint United Management v. Mendelsohn
Ok, so we said these cases didn't have anything to do with old people, we were speaking from a purely academic point of view. Ms. Mendelsohn, is, in fact, an old person. But the question before the court is not about her underlying ADEA claim (she got riffed and claimed she was picked because of her age) but the fact that she wasn't given a fair trial because the trial court wouldn't hear "me too" evidence

"Me too" evidence is the hilariously juvenile nickname (we're waiting for the "nuh-uh, stupid" evidence debate) given to testimony from fellow employees who experienced similar discrimination (in this case, during the reduction-in-force) though not necessarily by the same manager or under the exact, same circumstances. Introduction of this type of testimony has actually been a pretty hotly-debated issue in discrimination cases.

Preston v. Ferrer
Ok, this case is not necessarily an employment case, though the result will definitely have implications on L&E law, because it involves federal preemption under the Federal Arbitration Act. That substantive importance, however, has nothing to do with our interest in this case.

The "Ferrer" in the caption is "Judge" Alex Ferrer, more commonly known as "Judge Alex" to anyone in college, raising small children or sick from school. The other guy, what's-his-name, is Ferrer's former manager. If ever there was an unfortunate and sordid relationship leading two individuals to the Supreme Court, this is it. From Preston's attorney's press release:

Alex Ferrer is a former Florida District Court Judge, who now makes his living on television, arbitrating petty legal disputes.

Arnold Preston is a Florida attorney, who once practiced before Judge Ferrer in Miami. In 1999, Mr. Preston left Florida and took a job with the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills, California. Recalling Judge Alex Ferrer’s charisma on the bench, Arnold Preston introduced the Florida jurist to the top agents at William Morris. When Arnold Preston left William Morris to become a talent manager and television producer in 2002, he became Judge Alex Ferrer’s manager.

The two had a falling out, of course, and Mr. Preston is trying to arbitrate commissions he is allegedly owed. Heartbreaking.

Current Employment is reading right through this. We think the Supremes are merely trying to capitalize on their involvement in the media high-point that was Anna Nicole, though we hope they're planning some kind of judge-on-judge Iron Chef-style showdown where Judge Alex gets to pick a justice to opine against (we say go with Alito - he's new and seems easliy flustered).

At the very least, we hope the Roberts Court will adopt a minimum c-list celebrity standard for future terms. We'll keep you posted.

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“THE PRICE IS WRONG????”

We all remember the opening….the late great Rod Roddy, in his sequence suits (I want to know where I can get one of those things) would yell out a contestants name…..”Joe Blow, c’mon down, you’re the next contestant on The Price is Right”….and like mad the contestant would run front and center to “contestants row” to play crazy games for huge prizes.

Of course the man overseeing all of this action is one of the greatest actors of all time - Bob Barker. (That’s right I said actors. And Bob Barker. Ever seen Happy Gilmore? The price is wrong, B***H.) For millions of us, staying home sick from school meant we got to watch The Price Is Right. No matter what ailed you, TPIR always made you feel better, and if you are like I am, you genuinely liked Bob Barker, almost like a grandpa.

Deborah Curling, however, is not like you and me. She is a former employee of the Price is Right who recently filed a lawsuit against Bob Barker and other producers claiming, among other things, that she was sexually harassed over an extended period of time.

Curling claims that because she testified on behalf of another employee who was suing TPIR, that Barker and the other producers sexually harassed her and created a hostile work environment. This is not the first time the 83 year Barker has been sued. There have been several former employees, many of them the models that display the products and prizes, that have sued Barker, alleging sexual harassment. Many of those cases were settled out of court. Curling cited those cases in her complaint.

We here at Current Employment take this kind of thing very seriously, and will continue to follow the developments in this case. At time of press, CBS had no comment regarding the lawsuit.

For more info on this story click here for a link http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071005/us_nm/barker_lawsuit_dc_2

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