Understanding Building Concepts
This episode focuses on the essential aspects and principles of building. The discussion is aimed at providing a foundational understanding of building concepts for listeners.
00:00 Introduction to Building
Rough TRANSCRIPT:
[00:00:00]
Speaker 2: Greetings, Sibling Stations, KPFK, and WPFW, and of course, WBAI 99. 5 FM, I'm Mimi Rosenberg.
Speaker 3: I'm Ken Nash.
Speaker 2: We're building bridges.
Speaker 3: Later on, worker organizing, repression, and trade policy in the Philippines.
Speaker 2: But first, the famous screenwriter Raymond Chandler, whose fiction did much to film, to create film noir into an art form, once described Hollywood as a showman's paradise.
Emphasizing that showman makes a paradise. Nothing. Rather, they exploit what someone else has made. He described Hollywood television as a cauldron of egos, credit stealing, and self promotion where scribes We're [00:01:00] ruthlessly neglected, marginalized, and stripped of respect, toiling at the mercy of producers, some of whom, he wrote, had the artistic integrity of slot machines and the manners of a floor walker with delusions of grandeur.
Nearly 80 years ago. Years after Chandler excoriated the industry, a new generation of scribes, writers, says that not much has changed and they've taken to the picket line to denounce the pileup of indignities, where Ken joined the striking writers for them to tell it like it is.
Speaker 4: New York is a union town.
Get up, get down. New York is a union town. When I say A I, you say bye bye. A I. Bye bye. A I. Bye bye. Contracts. Now. Shut it down. Shut it down. Shut it [00:02:00] down.
What do we want?
Speaker 5: Contracts!
Speaker 4: When do we want it? Now! If we
Speaker 5: don't get it, shut it down! If we don't get it, shut it down! What do we want? Contracts!
Speaker 4: When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Contracts! When do we want it? Now! If we don't get it, shut it down! Corporate greed has got to go, hey, hey, ho, ho. Corporate greed has got to go, hey, hey, ho, ho.
Corporate greed has got to go, hey, hey, ho, ho.
Speaker 3: I'm at the Writers Guild East picket line at Miserold Avenue in Brooklyn in front of Broadway Stages. Can you tell me your name please? I'm
Speaker 6: Michael Dugan. Hey, hey, hey, ho, ho.
Speaker 3: Are you a screenwriter? Yes. And tell us a little bit about your history. How you started up until the current crisis?
Speaker 6: I started in 1984. Um, I was a [00:03:00] soap opera writer for television. And then I transitioned out of that and moved on to being a screenwriter and wrote screenplays. Until now.
Speaker 3: Okay, and during that time before the current crisis, what was the situation of screenwriters?
Speaker 6: Screenwriters have always been on a fairly dicey basis because you have to write a spec script.
After, after the first, uh, strike we had, I think back in the 80s, all the writers went home and they, they actually wrote while we were on strike. And so, before that, studios used to take, uh, a pitch and would pay you to buy the, you know, to write the script. from the, uh, pitch. But after that strike, unfortunately there were so many spec scripts already written that, um, you had to write a spec script for the studios to buy it.
Then came, uh, basically the, uh, TV services like [00:04:00] HBO and Cinemax and also VHS and DVD. And that changed the landscape, which was, I think, we addressed in the last strike. And then now streaming is a whole different technology that no one had predicted. And so it's gonna have to require a whole set, different set of rules.
Speaker 3: Okay, so let's bring that up to the present situation. So where are things now? What has changed? How?
Speaker 6: Right now what they're wanting to get is better work rules for the writers who write the streaming shows on TV. Because, um, what they did, they'll hire a number of writers to start the show, and then once they get all of the scripts into production, they fire most of them, and only have like a showrunner to kind of supervise the show as it goes through production and editing.
What that does is that puts many writers in the [00:05:00] position where they're only working for a couple of weeks until they get the shows done and then nobody gets a career and nobody can really have a family because you just never know where your next check is coming from.
Speaker 3: And what are the conditions of work right now?
So how has things changed between then and now in terms of the benefits?
Speaker 6: The benefits have always been very good. The union's always taken care of us for that. Um, what, what we're really changing, we're changing the rules and how things are defined and how we get paid for the work we do.
Speaker 3: Right, and what are those new, what are those new rules?
Speaker 6: Well, that's all the streaming things. That's where they put you on a shorter term contract. They can, um, they can fire you at will when they think they have enough shows written and they're, they don't train like regular writers to be [00:06:00] showrunners, which is a higher paid thing. Um, it's a position where you can make more money.
And also have a longer, more career like, uh, career. What about automation? That's a big thing now because A. I. is coming in and, um, You know the studios are going to want to replace writers with A. I. And And what
Speaker 3: is
Speaker 6: A. I.? A. I. is Artificial Intelligence and you can basically tell it to write a screenplay or a scene for you and it will.
Shut it down!
Speaker 3: So you get nada. What? You get nothing.
Speaker 6: Absolutely nothing.
Speaker 3: Okay, so what's the union doing?
Speaker 6: The union is trying to put in rules that limits their use of artificial intelligence.
Speaker 3: And with regard to the other problems now?
Speaker 6: The union is trying to negotiate with the producers, and [00:07:00] get contracts.
More money, um, better work rules, and, uh, create a better working environment, as well as put some sort of rules and limits on what's allowed with AI and what's not allowed.
Speaker 3: And we're here picketing in front of Broadway Studios over here in Williamsburg. What's this about and what is the union doing that's like this in terms of this?
The
Speaker 6: reason we want to shut down productions is because, and most of the other unions are sticking with us, they've been amazing. The Teamsters and SAG AFTRA and the DGA, uh, and IOTSE have all been, um, have all been wonderful because they're not crossing the line. Picket lines. And therefore, the streaming companies who need to produce shows to, um, basically feed the audience, they aren't able to shoot those shows.
Speaker 3:[00:08:00] Okay, thank you so much. And your name again is?
Speaker 6: Michael Dugan.
Speaker 3: And what do you do?
Speaker 6: I'm a
Speaker 3: writer. And hopefully you will continue to do that and get good wages and benefits. Thank you very much. I agree. Thank you so much. Okay. Bye bye.
Speaker 7: When I say fair, you say contract fair! Contract! Fair! Contract! When I say wages, you say wages! Wages! Wages! Wages! When I say fair, you say contract fair! Contract! Fair! Contract! All right. We are
Speaker 4: the Union
Speaker 6: Mighty, Mighty Union
Speaker 4: Mighty, Mighty Union Oh,
Speaker 7: oh, oh Everywhere we go Everywhere we go People wanna know People wanna know
Speaker 4: Who
Speaker 7: we are, who we are, we are the union, we are the union, the mighty, mighty union, the mighty, mighty union, and if they can't hear us, and [00:09:00] if they can't hear us, we
Speaker 4: scream!
Speaker 8: The Riders United will never be divided. The Riders United will never be divided. The Riders United will never be divided.
Speaker 3: The Riders United will never be divided. Why are we here? Tell me your name and what you do for a living.
Speaker 9: I am an actor. My name's Zantha Smith, and we're here to ensure that all unions within the industry, um, writers in particular, this, uh, this go around, are afforded the opportunity to, a fair wage, fair contract, roof over their heads, so that we can watch quality television and film.
I'm part of SAG Astra, it says on my t shirt.
Speaker 3: Okay. And, uh, so SAG AFTRA, [00:10:00] uh, supporting the strike? Yes. And, uh, and what other unions that you know are here supporting the strike?
Speaker 9: Uh, so far it's SAG AFTRA and, um, the WGA, but hopefully the Teamsters come around. Um, IOTSE comes around also. They're definitely holding strong in L.
A.
Speaker 3: And are you afraid also that if the Writers Guild Doesn't witness strike to be repercussions for you, your unit?
Speaker 9: I'm not afraid to fight or to, um, take it for what's fair. Never afraid.
Speaker 3: Great. Can you give me your name again and what you do?
Speaker 9: Sure. I'm, my name's Zentha Smith. And I'm an actress.
Speaker 3: Great, on a very great one.
Speaker 9: Thank you so much, have a great day. You
Speaker 3: too now. Fair work,
Speaker 4: fair pay, WGA is here to stay. Fair work, fair pay, WGA is here to stay. Fair work, fair pay, WGA is here to stay. [00:11:00] Corporate greed has got to go.
Corporate greed has got to Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Woo! I support everyone! Woo!
Speaker 3: Okay, we're on the picket line at Broadway Studios. We've got about 200 people here, would you say that?
Speaker 10: Yeah, something like that. It's a great group.
Speaker 3: And I'm with?
Speaker 10: Oh, Tori V. Bennett. Lex Levy.
Speaker 3: And you are, uh, Writers. [00:12:00]
Speaker 10: I'm a writer.
Speaker 11: Uh, I'm an actress, just like Africa.
Speaker 3: Tell us about what's happening now with the residuals, with your pay, how much you make.
Give me a rundown.
Speaker 10: Uh, so I am a consultant. Uh, I am, uh, I support the WGA entirely. Um, it's, residuals are nothing. Uh, streaming has changed everything.
Speaker 3: Tell me what residuals are, tell me what streaming is.
Speaker 10: Oh, okay. Residuals are the money that somebody, that uh, a writer will make when their show has, for reruns, which effectively no longer exist.
Uh, except on television, everybody goes to streaming now. It is, especially, uh, one of the biggest issues for me, um, is that online content, uh, from things like Late Night and Variety, The writers for that get absolutely nothing, uh, for what is put [00:13:00] on, online, and it's like millions and millions of views that are just being given right to the studio, right back to the studios, not the writers.
Speaker 3: Tell me again what streaming is.
Speaker 10: Streaming is a online consolidated, it's basically just a content machine that is, uh, you pay a flat rate for.
Speaker 3: The boss pays a flat rate.
Speaker 10: Yes, boss pays the flat, uh, the flat fee too, but the consumer as well.
Speaker 3: Okay. And you are?
Speaker 11: I'm Lex Levy. I'm an actor with SAG AFTRA. And you're
Speaker 3: supporting the picket line?
Speaker 11: I am supporting the picket line. The, the, like eight people who are in charge of the corporations made more money this year than all of the writers are asking for combined. Um, there, it's not that there's no money in TV and film. It's. It's that it's being hoarded by the people [00:14:00] at the top and it's, I mean, this is just another example of corporate greed taking over.
This just one has, happens to have like a, such a robust union behind it that people are paying attention. But it's the same thing that's affecting everybody in every sector, you know,
Speaker 3: and how is it affecting you?
Speaker 11: Me as an actor? I mean, listen, uh, the SAG's union, or SAG's contract is up in July and up for negotiation in July.
I'm sure you'll hear all about it. But, uh, film and TV are collaborative. And, uh, there's no, there's none of it without the script, right? So, uh, we all have to stand together in solidarity. Even, even the traffic in New York City is on board. But, uh, yeah, without, without the writers, there's nothing for me to say.
And so we, as a collaborative, uh, medium, we have to stand together in all [00:15:00] ways, even in struggle. So, I'm happy to be here, you know. And
Speaker 3: you're, let's take our time. And you're supporting it. Is SAG AFTRA itself doing it, and what other unions are supporting it, the riders?
Speaker 11: I heard yesterday there was a big, uh, union meeting in L.
A. and I know that the Teamsters were there. I know the DGA, the Directors Guild, is in support. I know we have gotten, um, I get emails from SAG and we're in support of the riders. The other unions have a no strike clause in our contracts until, um, until they're up for negotiation. So, some people are going to be forced to work and, uh, The WGA knows that, but like, you know, hopefully, hopefully they get what they are asking for and it will help out everybody.
And if they're not, I mean, I'm personally ready to, to get out here in the summer if we have to and see what's up. Like, if the people want to [00:16:00] support, they can just follow all the WGA East and West and see, see how they can do it. But This is, uh, this is, uh, I think this strike is emblematic of the struggle that, like, you're seeing for everybody, all the, all the union activity that's coming up, and thankfully WJ is strong, and hopefully we'll set an example.
Speaker 3: In terms of your wages, your benefits, what's happening now?
Speaker 10: They're Figuring it out, uh, for two weeks we're being paid. Two weeks out of, you know, what's gonna be over a hundred days. Uh, we're getting paid and then one, uh, Uh, one week we have from the bosses, we're getting paid, uh, out of their pocket. Um, other, and then until then, you know, I'm, I'm pretty stuck.
Speaker 3: Alright, but tell me how much you make and, and what are the benefits you earn?
Speaker 10: I have to get independent benefits because I'm [00:17:00] a disabled person. So it's, it's very complicated and frustrating. But yeah, if I. It's How
Speaker 3: much money are you making now?
Speaker 10: It's not enough to live in any city in which, A, I would be working.
Uh, that's basically it.
Speaker 3: Okay, thank you. And your name again is?
Speaker 10: Tori V. Bennett.
Speaker 3: And?
Speaker 10: Lex Levy.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much. New York is a union town. Get
Speaker 4: up, get down. New York is a union town. Get up, get down. Corporate greed has got to go. Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Corporate greed has got to go. Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Corporate green has got to go, hey, hey, ho,
Speaker 3: ho.
We're with the picket line from the Green Guild East, [00:18:00] and I'm with James DeWill. And James, tell me a little bit about your screenwriter.
Speaker 12: I am, yeah, I write for television.
Speaker 3: Tell me what it's like these days to write for television.
Speaker 12: Uh, it's, it's difficult, I mean, um, writers are being paid fair wages, uh, they're expected to work for much longer spans than, uh,
It's a difficult situation. I think writers need to be paid fair wages, they need to be paid for their work when these companies are making, uh, more money than they ever have. It's, uh, it doesn't make sense that it's not trickling down to the writers.
Speaker 3: And tell me about residuals.
Speaker 12: Well, streaming has really changed the game.
I mean, uh, residuals used to be a pretty dependable source of income for a lot of writers, and now it's really not, and that, that needs to be righted.
Speaker 3: And as a person of color, are there many people of color, uh, who are in the [00:19:00] Screenwriters Guild on their day out here today?
Speaker 12: Okay. Yeah, there's some. There should be more.
Um, I think it's, yeah, there should be more.
Speaker 3: You're Latino. What about Latinos? Can you say the same there?
Speaker 12: Yeah, I mean, There should be more. It's a tough field to get into. There's a lot of opportunities, so it's tough to break in, but it would be great to see more Latinos and more people of color in writer's rooms on screen and everywhere.
And thank you very much.
Speaker 4: All right.
Speaker 12: Thank you.
Speaker 4: Contracts now. Contracts. Now shut it down. Don't get it. Shut it down. Get it. Shut it down. Woo.
New York is a union [00:20:00] town. Get it up. Get it down. New York, our union. Get up, get down. New York, our union down.
Speaker 3: Get up, get down.
I'm with another worker here. Tell us who you are and what your job is. My name
Speaker 13: is Demetri I'm a screenwriter.
Speaker 3: And what do you do as a screenwriter? Tell us more about that.
Speaker 13: Uh, so I'm like pre pre WGA and I'm writing scripts.
Speaker 4: And
Speaker 3: how do the issues here affect you?
Speaker 13: I mean, these are the people who will Some of my peers, you know, they are fighting for me to get paid, you know, properly.
So I'm out here joining them now and, you know, I'll be joining them in the future when I'm, you know, fully into the guild. Okay.
Speaker 3: So you're, what's your status now? I mean, how are you paid
Speaker 13: now? So I'm not paid by the guild yet, but I will be, I'm coming into the guild.
Speaker 3: Okay.
Speaker 13: But they're fighting, you know, [00:21:00] for, for proper wages.
And so they're doing the fight that I don't have to. So when I do come in, that I'll be paid, you know, correctly, and I don't have to worry about, you know, striking again.
Speaker 3: And what are the issues right now in terms of wages and working conditions for these people?
Speaker 13: I mean, you know, people have talked about how they were nominated for Emmys and they didn't even, they couldn't even pay to, you know, for their clothing to come to the Emmys.
They were working in retail shops. They couldn't even pay for the things that they were doing, um, while they were nominated for great shows. So, if someone can't pay their rent, if they can't even pay for a tuxedo to go to the show that they're nominated for, um, you know, obviously those wages are not being done properly.
Speaker 3: Okay, and among the people here, who are the people who are picking? Have you talked to any of them? What do they feel?
Speaker 13: I haven't talked to anyone. I, when I walked up, everyone was coming this way, so we just kind of walked and started to get it going. Okay, and there were people here
Speaker 3: from a number of different unions.
[00:22:00] Yes. What
Speaker 13: unions? So, there are people here from SAG AFTRA, um, there are people from the Writers Guild. Uh, I think it's kind of like everyone else. It's, it's, it's really interesting because they're all coming together. Um, and there's no, like, fighting them or anyone, but it's, yeah, it's really interesting everyone's coming together.
Speaker 3: And so, there's this thing about artificial intelligence. Do you want to talk about that?
Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean, it's, it's not going to be something that works. It's, artificial intelligence hasn't worked. Uh, chat GPT. These writers are talented writers who have been writing for years, who will continue to write for years.
And it just won't work. They don't have the, you know, the, the trauma, the confidence, the, you know, the writing skills. It's just not there. What do we want? That humans can do. It's, it's not there.
Speaker 4: When
Speaker 7: do
Speaker 4: we want it?
Speaker 3: When do we want it? Are you training to become a writer now or what? Are you in training now to become a writer?
Speaker 13: Yes. Yes. So I mean, I write in other things, so I like write for magazines, but I'm moving into the guild for screenwriting. [00:23:00] Okay, so tell me your name again. My name is Meechum Whitson Merriweather. Thank you, Meechum. Thank you. Okay.
Speaker 4: Corporate greed has got to go! Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Corporate greed has got to go! Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Corporate greed has got to go! Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Corporate greed has got to go! Hey! Hey! Ho!
Speaker 14: Ho! Corporate greed
Speaker 4: has got to go! Hey!
Speaker 3: Hey! Ho! Ho!
Speaker 14: I'm working to be a writer for TV, so I'm hoping to be in the WGA one day.
Speaker 3: Great!
And tell me what you see as the Whoa! Issues here at this demonstration.
Speaker 14: I think TV writers losing residuals is such a huge deal and losing that stream of income is making this job shrink and it's [00:24:00] making it impossible for this to be a career. And in the meantime, corporations and the CEOs are still making a ton of money when that money should be going to the writers.
I
Speaker 3: heard that word residuals a lot. Tell me what that is.
Speaker 14: Um, so when shows used to be run on TV after they had aired originally, writers would get a ton of money, or most of their money from that stream of income. But since things are on streaming now, they're no longer getting those residuals of episodes as they wrote airing again on TV.
Um, so a really primary source of income of writers has just completely
Speaker 3: disappeared. And what are the workers who are working now. What are they making?
Speaker 14: I honestly don't know. Um, because I'm, I'm not in the WGA yet, but I know that it's shrunk over time. In the meantime, we're having sort of like a golden age of TV and really great content, and yet these [00:25:00] writers are getting less and less.
and less compensated for their work.
Speaker 3: Is there anything else you want to add?
Speaker 14: Um, I just, I hope that we end up getting the contract and getting everything that we're asking for because I think that we're asking for really reasonable things, um, so I am with the WGA 110%.
Speaker 3: And your name again?
Speaker 14: I'm Maddie, Maddie
Speaker 3: Goggin.
Thank you so much, Maddie.
Speaker 4: Shut it down!
Contracts! What do we want? Contracts! When do we want it? Now! If we don't get it Shut it down! If we don't get it Shut it down! What do we want? Contracts! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Contracts! Now. Oh, corporate greed has got to go! Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Corporate [00:26:00] greed has got to go! Hey, hey! Ho, ho!
Corporate greed has got to go! Shut it down! Shut it down! The Riders United will never be divided! The Riders United will never be divided! The Riders
Speaker 2: United will never be divided! And the watchers, the listeners. Better never be divided either. That means get out there, visit the workers on the picket line because it's going to be a long and a hard strike.
And guess what? Tell your favorite personality to get out there and to support and not scab on the writers who are out there, many of whom, uh, Earned so little that they actually qualify for snap benefits and the like. So we support the writers guild and we all should do that and put pressure again on the [00:27:00] TV personalities, the Hollywood sets that ignore.
Who does the work? Well, it's the writers that do the work, while we got, as Raymond Chandler said, the rest of them who are, um, showmen, essentially. So, from the picket line, to striking, striking Writers Guild workers with Ken Nash, to support building bridges, we now head to a forum on organizing repression and trade policy in the Philippines.
Philippines.
Speaker 3: As U. S. negotiating meetings for Biden's largest trade initiative, the Indo Pacific Economic Framework, get underway, Filipino workers in the U. S. linked call centers are fighting to reunite and demand that international trade policies uphold fundamental human rights. Now the forum, Worker Organizing Repression and Trade Policy in the Philippines, with our moderators, Labor Day [00:28:00] Reporter from the Real News Network, Maximilian Alvarez and Ryan Harvey from the Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch.
Speaker 15: Despite the deep repression of the Filipino labor movement, workers have continued organizing for better wages and working conditions. For Their struggle and the role that international trade agreements play in shaping the contours of everyday life and work. For people throughout the Asia Pacific is the focus of our conversation.
We are incredibly lucky to be joined by Filipino labor leader, Mylene Cabellona, president of the BPO industry employees network, or BN. Mylene is joining us from the Philippines and we'll talk about the movement for workers rights in the country. And what the current reality is on the ground for labor organizers and activists.
We'll also hear from Elena Lopez from the Communications Workers of America, CWA. about how U. S. [00:29:00] labor unions have built partnerships with Filipino unions like the INN and the role that U. S. groups and individuals can play in demanding and ensuring stronger labor standards for workers around the globe through international law.
We'll also hear from Adrian Bonificio. National chairperson of BAM USA, who will discuss the network of Filipino solidarity groups in the U. S. and how the Filipino diaspora is organizing to support the struggles of workers, farmers, and other social movements in the Philippines. And finally, we'll be joined by Melinda St.
Louis, director of Public Citizens Global Trade Watch, who will give us a deep dive into the Indo Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, and the role trade deals could play. But rarely do, play in upholding or even raising labor standards and protections. Thank you all so much for joining us today on The Real News Network.[00:30:00]
Speaker 16: Elena, why don't you start us off? You're with the Communications Workers of America, one of the largest unions in the U. S., representing everyone from telecommunications workers to flight attendants, journalists, and healthcare workers. I actually first heard about groups like Bayan, who are with us today, because CWA had held a rally in solidarity with workers in the Philippines a few years ago.
in D. C. Tell us about C. W. A. S. Role in this story and the work you've been doing in partnership with workers groups in the Philippines.
Speaker 17: C. W. A. Represent workers in the telecom industry among many sectors. But you know, included in that are call center workers. And what we've seen over the years is that U.
S. Call centers are shifting work overseas, whether that's downsizing, moving call centers, shutting down call centers here in the U. S. In all regions, in all industries, they're shipping them overseas. And these are good family supporting jobs. You know, the average [00:31:00] wage for a call center worker, I believe in 2022 was about 17 an hour.
So when these call center jobs move, communities are devastated. You know, there's a loss of income for these folks, but in many cases, what we're seeing happening is that companies know that they can move these jobs overseas because they can profit off the exploitation of workers, like in the Philippines, where it can be literal life and death for a worker trying to organize or fight for better wages.
And, you know, at CWA, you know, we've heard stories from our friends and allies in the Philippines, like Mylene, about the you know, the persecution, the red tagging and the attacks on labor activists and human rights defenders because it's much more than just an attack on labor. From our union, we know that we really can't fight for our own dignity and respect.
here in the workplace without helping our brothers and sisters abroad. [00:32:00] CWA has had a long standing relationship with Filipino workers. CWA, we've worked with, I think, Filipino workers for a long time and many years at this point. But it really started, that went in 2016 when our members were on strike at Verizon.
Filipino workers reached out to help us in our fight because Verizon actually routed calls from our striking call center. to them. And it was really a brave act of solidarity on their end because of the repression of labor rights there. And that kind of really resulted in a growing partnership between our two groups.
So in 2019, a group of CWA workers traveled to the Philippine meet with workers there. And from what I've heard from our workers and our leadership that that went, it was just truly one of the most eyeopening experiences of their life. You know, they met with call center workers and union leaders and really heard first hand accounts about how [00:33:00] Filipino workers who participated in any union activity were subjected to physical threats.
And severe intimidation. They met Ann Kruger, who was a union organizer, who showed members around Manila and hosted them at home during their stay. But shortly after our her their visit, you know, her union office and many others were rated by the police and she was arrested under false charges 'cause of her union activity.
Even just two years ago, we saw the armed forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police perform a series of raids that led to the murder of nine. labor activists and six others. These victims were advocating for human and labor rights protections. We see this sort of targeting and attacks.
It really leaves a chilling effect on labor activists and their work, which puts more downward pressure on wages and working conditions in the U. S. We know that giant telecom companies are preying on [00:34:00] Filipino workers. You know, they're getting paid pennies on the dollars and don't have basic rights to organize.
Really don't want it to be us against them. We're not in that business. We're not in the fight. You know, global labor solidarity is so important because our struggles are all connected. Our fight for better working conditions, wages, and unions is all connected. And I think when you talk to union members and workers, they get that.
That argument resonates with them. They understand that we all have this common goal of fighting corporate greed and putting power into the hands of workers. And it's important that we as American workers get involved and unions get involved because we face many of the same struggles that workers face abroad.
We face explication in the workplace here, along them. We can't let multinational corporations and corporate greed divide us here. Workers across the globe are in this together. And when we stand together, we fight together, we all win. [00:35:00] So, you know, workers in the Philippines must be able to exercise their right to join a union without fear of retaliation or death even.
And we cannot stand ugly by as we watch the government of the Philippines continue to harass and target workers. So when we're talking about any trade negotiations, whether it's in the Indo Pacific or not, we need to have strong labor law and strong enforcement mechanisms to that. So we can hold countries accountable for the human rights abuses that are going on
Speaker 15: there.
Mylene, I want, I want to go to you next. Tell us about yourself. And the work that you do about BM and a little bit about the state of the labor movement in the Philippines right now.
Speaker 18: Yes, I'm Mylene Cavallona, National President of BN Philippines. We are the call center workers. We're called the BTO Industry Employees Network.
A call center worker. is only getting an average salary of 350 to [00:36:00] 400 monthly. Um, and considering that the industry is already considered, um, a better of industry compared to others. Working in the provinces could bring this income to as low as 200 to 250 monthly. We work in a graveyard shift. To follow the time zone of customers that we're serving provide a world class seller service which our country used as a marketing strategy for stakeholders to invest in the Philippines and yet collective expenses allocated by our companies to pay our salaries account only to around 10 to 25 percent of the gross revenue.
So we're taking a stand. We are now organizing workers so we can collectively assert from the 10 percent profit Through unions and CBAs, we can make it 30 percent or even 50%, since we are committed to organize the largest, most advanced and comprehensive union in the industry. We are currently working on the [00:37:00] legislation for the Magna Carta per BPO.
Once passed into law, this will give better platform for BPO workers to organize more unions, uh, for better wages and benefits. Secure our safety and enforce health protocol, but that does not stop there. How unfair policies are enforced in the country for different labor sectors, and that includes the, you know, us, the BTO.
Unique, there is a creation of an export processing zones that restrict workers from organizing unions. And that's only in the industry for us. A new hire employee of a call centered company in the Philippines will experience disenfranchisement between unions from the very first day of joining the company.
New hire orientation includes branding of unions or joining unions as illegal. An organizing union is considered a terror act. Of course, not surprisingly, as the government uses this, uh, like a marketing strategy to encourage companies to invest in the country. And this is because of those trade agreements, [00:38:00] frameworks that puts workers even more at the mercy of these big tech companies, where workers will actually suffer.
Based on the embedded biases in the algorithm and ensure, I mean, this would actually put more workers in a precarious labor arrangement, especially us in the call center. Now we live in a world where the economic conditions are right to further advance organizing and union building efforts. The demands to form unions is ever present as companies and government continue to enforce policies for workers against the wall.
Mandatory overtime, unhealthy and unsafe working environment, unfair labor practices, these conditions make union organizing very conducive regardless of the attacks, red tagging, intimidation. for disappearances and a lot of harassment for union organizers. So comrades in the labor movement, resistance to any crisis is only effective when we join in solidarity among other labor movements.
Bien Philippines is turning 11 years this [00:39:00] 2023. What we have become, we started with 13 members. Right now we've grown to about 4, 000 to PTO companies in different PTO bobs. This is far from over. We have 1. 6 million Filipino working in the call center industry. They are projecting to increase this to 1.
9 million by the end of the year. And what is 4, 000 compared to 1. 9 million? Not even enough to scratch the surface. So we take the challenge to make us 4, 000 to 40, 000 or even 400, 000. We will generate waves after waves of resistance. It is our dream, our vision, our goal. Thank you so much and long live the working people of the world.
Speaker 16: Mylene, thanks so much for joining us and of course for all the work that you and your fellow organizers and workers are doing there. Adrian, let's, you're the national chairperson of Bayan USA. It's a coalition of more than two dozen progressive Filipino organizations in the U. S. Tell us a bit about the work that [00:40:00] Bayan and other Filipino diaspora groups are doing, both here and elsewhere around the world, and then also the issues that you're focusing on right
Speaker 19: now.
Bayan USA is a grassroots alliance of almost 30 organizations across the U. S. We're fighting for genuine sovereignty. We're fighting for real democracy in the Philippines. Historically been at the forefront of fighting against neoliberal and unequal trade agreements between the US and the Philippines since its formation in the 1980s.
Back then, we are under the dictatorship of Ferdin and Marcos Sr. The father of the current president who ushered in a neoliberal era in the Philippine economy. Marcos Sr. Opened up the Philippines to unmitigated trade and participation in the global market. He had many infrastructure projects that were funded both by the public, but also massive foreign loans from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other agencies, which were meant to win the favor of the people.
But their true [00:41:00] impact is actually felt in the economic crisis that came as a result of skyrocketing debt. And so the people are actually still paying for that debt. To this day, under Marcos senior, we also saw the shift to an import dependent and export oriented. Meaning that we're importing a lot and the goods being produced or grown in the Philippines are being exported type of economy.
That was a direct result of the liberalization and deregulation of trade in the country. It's persistent economic crisis. It's spurred mass discontent and it's spurred a people's movement. That's why Marcos eventually declared martial law in the Philippines in the 1970s, that this goes hand in hand with political repression and fascism.
Especially when the people's movements are fighting back to change the status quo. So the formation of BAYAN as an alliance to unite the people against economic and political violence was super important. We continue to play that role until today. Uh, the current president Marcos Jr. So the son of the dictator has made it a trademark of his administration to [00:42:00] travel across the world.
To just cement deals that benefit those in power, right? And this is at the expense of working people. Marcos and allies in the Congress are pushing for constitutional change to open up the Philippine economy to more foreign investments. More foreign ownership of land, of industries, up to 100 percent even.
So, this is really laying the groundwork to make deals that would be negotiated at APEC more feasible, right? Again, what does this mean for Filipino people today? Of course, lessening restrictions and protections for workers, uh, like Maileen mentioned. It means driving up the costs of basic goods.
Inflation, that's the highest in over a decade. Uh, it also means that for Filipinos overseas Our remittances are worth less. Because the money we're sending back is not able to buy as much for our families back home. Jeepney's reliance on imports disenfranchises peasants and farmers, and also just reinforces the fact that our agricultural sector in the country, in [00:43:00] the Philippines, because of the over dependence on foreign investments in the Philippines, I stunted development of sustainable national industries.
And so the Philippines looked at this and said, abroad for service work abroad to help to supplement the economy. And so the labor export, the forced migration of Filipinos spiked in the two thousands as the government relied more and more on these remittances to stay afloat because of trade deficits.
So currently over 6, 000 Filipinos are leaving the country every day to find work abroad. And so, um, tied with these economic policies, we're also wary of. The ongoing political repression that Elena, that Maileen mentioned, go hand in hand with the repression of, of workers rights. And so, uh, you know, red tagging, uh, extrajudicial killings, mass arrests continue.
And there's even seeking of support from the U. S. government from this. So U. S. military aid, police aid, currently the U. S. military and the [00:44:00] Philippine military are training in the largest ever joint exercise. Over 12, 000 U. S. troops are currently in Philippine soil and, you know, further militarization does not bode well for the workers, for farmers, uh, and the Filipino people.
And so, you know, together with the organizations on this call, with the International League of People's struggle, we are part of efforts fighting to confront Marcos, to confront Biden, to confront other world leaders at the upcoming APEC meetings in Detroit, in Seattle, in the In San Francisco, wherever they go, we'll be there.
So please join us for any Filipinos who might be watching. We really encourage folks to join with us, to link with our organizations.
Speaker 15: Oh, yeah. Well, uh, Adrian, thank you so much for the incredible work that y'all are doing. Melinda, I want to go to you now. You are the director of public citizens, global trade watch division, and you have been watching.
And of how, you know, U. S. trade policy has been shaped over the last three decades. [00:45:00] So what does trade have to do with everything that we've heard so far tonight?
Speaker 20: And Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch has been monitoring the impacts of U. S. trade policy on workers, consumers, and the environment for decades.
And unfortunately, it has not been a positive story for the vast majority of us in the U. S. and around the world. Trade negotiations have historically taken place in utter secrecy. Not utter secrecy for everyone, for us, but there's a trade advisory system in the United States that's made up of 500 corporate advisors that have access to the negotiating techs who are able to influence what is being negotiated while the public Doesn't know what's in them until they're finished and it's too late to make any real changes.
And so the result, over the past decades, has been that there have been rules embedded in these agreements that benefit big corporations and [00:46:00] it make it, make it easier for them to take advantage of low wages and lack of worker and environmental protections. And facilitated, you know, as we talk about, a race to the bottom.
And this has happened not just because they've lowered tariffs or the taxes that we pay. Place on imported goods. Um, but it's also because the rules themselves were particularly rigged to benefit multinational corporations at the expense of workers. For example, there were rules inserted that limited our government's ability to pass.
types of laws to protect food safety, uh, pharmaceutical companies snuck in terms that allowed them to expand their monopolies and block generic competition for life saving medicines. Um, they inserted extreme rules that allowed sweeping corporate rights for foreign investors to allow corporations even to sue governments.
over laws that they thought would impact their profit making. And then they were decided in [00:47:00] unaccountable tribunals outside of our courts and, and have awarded billions of dollars in taxpayer money to corporations around environmental or public health laws. And none of these rules were really about trade.
They were really about expanding corporate power, and they embedded them in this idea of free trade. Republicans and Democrats, no matter who was in the White House since the 1990s until very recently, pushed this model of corporate dominated trade agreements. So, you know, unsurprisingly, there's been massive opposition, uh, both here in the United States and in other countries to this model.
Uh, and so one of the, one of the ways they addressed this opposition, um, and political backlash was to, um, kind of tack on, labor rights in the environment, you know, kind of as an afterthought. Initially, they were weak and meaningless standards that were unenforceable in the original. The North America free trade [00:48:00] agreement or NAFTA, for example, had these side agreements that were really just an afterthought to try to get them through Congress.
In subsequent agreements, there's been more and more pressure from labor unions and many in our movement. They started to include. Labor and environmental provisions into the core text of the agreements. But again, window dressing is still very weak, um, standards compared to the pro corporate rules that were binding and required, you know, and that they could, the corporations could sue governments, but that was not the case for, for workers.
And it really did not result in any meaningful improvements on the ground. And so, you know, we saw this continued race to the bottom. We have, as our, through cross border solidarity, we've managed to stop some of the biggest attempts to expand this model. So we've had some success, even though it's been a pretty dire story.
To support independent unions in Mexico. So that was a positive development. [00:49:00] And President Biden has also responded to this political shift. He previously supported these past trade pacts, but now has seen the writing on the wall. And he's been calling for worker centric trade. And he's insisted that these new trade initiatives, such as the Indo Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, will not look like traditional free trade agreements.
So, fair enough, that sounds pretty good. Um, but, the devil will always be in the details. And so far, We're not allowed to see what's being negotiated. Um, there's unfortunately still this very unbalanced trade advisory system with hundreds of corporate advisors and just a handful of labor groups that have access to the text.
And it's totally classified for the rest of us. We've been demanding a more open process to produce a better outcome that benefits workers here and in the Philippines, but we know that they actually signed five year secrecy agreements by all the countries participating in the negotiations. [00:50:00] Again, not a great sign.
The negotiations started last year. They're picking up pace as the U. S. would like to deliver some results by the APEC meeting that Adrian mentioned that they're hosting later this year. But, you know, countries participating with such dire labor rights situations like the Philippines, like what we heard in the Philippines, but also Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, They, we need to ensure that labor and human rights are required as conditions of benefiting from any commercial part of the deal, if we're talking about worker centric trade.
Um, and so that, and we need to build off of any enforcement mechanisms that were included, as I mentioned. In the most recent U. S. Mexico and Canada agreement. We know corporations would like nothing more than to turn this into another corporate dominated deal in particular. And it was interesting that my Lee mentioned big tech companies see this as an opportunity to insert binding rules over [00:51:00] so called digital trade.
In order to thwart government's efforts to regulate them and hold them accountable, even here in the U. S. And that has huge implications for consumers, but also for workers. We know that there's some people in the administration, such as U. S. Trade Representative Catherine Tai, who have been trying to move this IPEF away from the traditional model and to try to fix some of the problems from past impacts.
But others in the administration just want any deal to counter China's influence in the region and, uh, corporate interests continue to have this privileged access. So we really can't let IPEF fly under the radar. It's, I really think that would be a recipe for corporate interest to dominate once again.
So it's important for us to reinforce the importance of centering worker rights in a meaningful way at any commercial engagement we have with the Philippines or any other country. And my colleagues of Ryan and also Aisha will, will talk a little bit more about Some of the education and [00:52:00] advocacy events that we're planning also, um, in Detroit as trade ministers will be coming from across the Asia Pacific again to ground zero Detroit where, um, manufacturing has been hollowed out due to bad, bad trade policies.
And so it will be important for us to, to show up there as well. So awesome.
Speaker 16: Thanks so much, Melinda. And again, thanks to everyone who's spoken so far. Linda, I want to bring in my colleague Aisha and Aisha, what do we got going on in Detroit? My name is
Speaker 21: Aisha. I am an organizer at Global Trade Watch and I'm based in Michigan specifically.
And basically what we kind of have going on in Detroit is again, the finance ministers from 13 countries are going to be convening in Detroit and we have planned a day of action around um, Uh, the, the, the meetings. Um, and so that day of action is going to be taking place on [00:53:00] May 20th, which is a Saturday.
Um, and what we have planned is kind of a morning starting off with some educational workshops and some panels put on by various organizations, um, followed by a rally in the afternoon to, uh, you know, kind of rally people together and very, um, you know, kind of go through downtown Detroit and make sure that, uh, you know, we.
We bring in more supporters as we go. Um, and so those actions are planned for again, Saturday, May 20th. And, um, we're working with various organizations in Michigan, including, um, Michigan Climate Action Network and others. Um, and. We would love to get more people involved, more people to come to the events, and, uh, more organizations to, uh, join us.
So if anybody would like to get in touch, um, and, you know, join us in our efforts, um, my email is, uh, my first name, a s i d d i q u i s citizen. org, um, and we would [00:54:00] love to get you all involved.
Speaker 16: And Adrian, before we jump to you, I also, um, uh, make sure to mention that the events in Detroit, there's going to be a very similar mobilization in August in Seattle.
Um, and if you get in touch with, with Aisha, we can also connect you with the folks over there, um, from the Washington Fair Trade Coalition, the Trade Justice Education Fund. Adrian, talk about the Bay Area at the end of the year.
Speaker 19: We'll definitely also be there in Detroit, in Seattle for the different ministerial meetings happening in May and August, respectively.
In November, there will be the big APEC summit in San Francisco, so we are planning to mobilize there as well to confront these world leaders and really put the people's issues at the forefront. So together, Buy in USA, The International League of People's Struggles U. S. and other partners are organizing efforts, building coalition work to fight back against all of these neoliberal attacks on the people.
And so if you'd like to [00:55:00] join the efforts, you can also email us at byanusa at proton. me.
Speaker 15: So again, uh, everyone listening, uh, you should definitely, uh, Follow all of these unions and organizations and follow the work that they're doing on social media. Go to their website and be sure to mark your calendars for these upcoming events.
Because one of the things that's coming out of this discussion, and hopefully one of the things we have all learned after decades of watching unfold without any say so from us, the rank and file, is Of our respective countries is that we can't just keep entrusting the shaping of these deals to a shadowy cabal of corporate advisors and government, you know, official, so on and so forth.
We got to dispense with that yesterday, right? And we all have a stake in this and there are things that we can all be doing in our respective corners of the world, but also collaborating across international boundaries, much like. Capital itself does right? So if the [00:56:00] bosses are collaborating across borders, we the working people of the world should be doing very much the same thing for an independent union, right?
So this is just a couple of stories of struggle. That show what regular working people standing up for what's right and standing with their brothers, sisters and siblings around the world. What can come of that? Right. And now I just really want to implore y'all as I do all the time here at the real news.
And as everyone here, I think has dressed in their own beautiful and important way. We can actually. have a hand in shaping the world that we inhabit, right? We don't just have to accept what these larger imposing forces give us. That is the soul. Always of the labor movement. And the more that we carry that internationally, the more that we let that guide us to crafting better trade policy, to carving a pathway to a more permanent peace and a more sustainable and livable planet, the better.
Thank you all so much for [00:57:00] being part of that fight, wherever you are. Please keep fighting. Please keep following this fight in particular. And as always, we will continue covering that fight and your fight. And struggles around the world as best we can at the Real News Network.
Speaker 2: And you were listening to Worker Organizing Repression and Trade Policy in the Philippines.
We were listening to, I almost forgot the microphone, what's happening here? We were listening to worker organizing, repression, and trade policy in the Philippines. And before that, we were on the picket line with the Writers Guild staff who's telling you to support them. them by telling all those personalities out there that they're scabbing if they continue to go on and the hell with, uh, the streaming and stuff, get out there, support the workers because you as a community member can have a lot [00:58:00] to do with them getting a decent contract.
So for building bridges. I'm Mimi Rosenberg.
Speaker 3: I'm Ken Nash.
Speaker 2: And we're doing just that. We're building bridges for the working class to educate, agitate, and organize for all power to the working class. Thanks for listening.
