Okay, we are going to do away with them permanently?

I thought it was meant that it would be temporary, just for the strike?

"give the writers their money or the quotes get it."

Which is, strictly speaking, true.

I hate the feeling of the writers getting this outpouring of support while so many of the other folks being hit by this situation are either a last paragraph mention or not mentioned at all.

FWIW, ND. When I emailed my Mom and told her of my intentions to bring fruit to striking writers, she wrote back, "you know it's the below-the-line employees who are really being hurt by this strike." So she must have heard that somewhere.

That really kind of sucks.

I just like them.

So do I. But I like the symbolism that the board is giving up something that the writers created as a show of our support.

I know that there are a lot of people swept up in this, I don't mean to ignore that.

But what we are considering officially supporting is not really "the writers" - it's "the strike". It's implicit, but I don't think it should be forgotten or elided. We're not voting over whether writers are deserving of respect or adulation or whatnot - we're voting over whether to cast our support behind a specific labor action. That's why I think we need to vote on it. To me, that's also why the focus is and should be on that group, and not everyone getting a raw deal in Hollywood.

Edited to avoid totally derailing the converstation.

So do I. But I like the symbolism that the board is giving up something that the writers created as a show of our support.

Yeah, me too.

making as statement support of labor and collective action

I appreciate what unions do. But declaring our support for labor and collective action as principles moves us closer to the "we take official political stands." That's my problem.

But declaring our support for labor and collective action as principles moves us closer to the "we take official political stands."

Just to clarify, I don't see this as a blanket statement of principle from us. But it does have that element, and it's why I've come around to the "really need to vote on this" side from my initial "bullshit consensus would be so much easier" reaction.

[Alternatively, you can just take this whole thing as proof that there's nothing so uncontroversial that at least one of us can't overthink and make it so.]

It's as important to me to be making as statement support of labor and collective action in this as it is in support of the individuals behind it.

I do not, under most circumstances, support labor unions. I support the strike because that's the way Hollywood works, and I want the writers to get their fare share of revenues. (Like that will happen.) I am, as are most of us, a writing-oriented television viewer, and, under the current circumstances, I don't see an option for the writers other than a strike.