Writers Guild Needs to Win

The importance of the Writers Guild strike should not be underestimated. The affects of the global economy on American workers are often only considered in terms of manufacturing jobs - or more accurately the loss of manufacturing jobs. The raw deal writers are getting at the hands of corporate conglomerates is a clear example of how the "new economy" we have all been told we need to embrace because there is no other option is again leaving American workers behind.

New technologies and businesses that cross international borders are a new frontier yet the profits and ownership of those technologies are already concentrated in the hands of a few. The writers are not striking because they want a pay raise, they are simply asking to be compensated for their work that producers are now selling on the internet and through other new media.

American workers are tired of waiting for the benefits of the global economy to finally reach Main Street. Or have we realized this is a system in which the benefits will only ever reach Wall Street?