Was Ellen Right To Cross The Writer's Picket Line? - Page 5
And who says that just because someone makes a large amount of money for their job, that they shouldn't be paid fairly for the amount of work they do? After all, if they are paid fairly, with a good contract in place, the people just starting out at a lower salary will be fairly paid according to that contract as well.
Basically, to get back to the original point...while Ellen might not want to go back to work, she has to honor her contract just like anyone else. There's a no-strike clause. Pretty self-explanatory. It may suck, but it is in the contract. To lose her show may not hurt her financially, but it certainly would hurt those who don't have multi-million dollar accounts to fall back on. And Ellen isn't the only one crossing the picket line...other workers held by the same contract are having to do the same. For Ellen to continue to sit out in defiance of her no-strike contract could cost her the show, and then there will be no job for the writers to return to. The head honchos have them by the proverbial balls.
But, like I pointed out in a previous post, this is probably what the head honchos want...this is exactly what they are counting on. They know that people who work together care about each other, and nobody wants to be the reason that someone else is fired, strike or no strike. The pressure is on from the major studios for writers to come back early, with little to no changes to their contracts, as a guilt offering to preserve other people's jobs. Mark my words, more people than just Ellen will be forced back to work out of loyalty to their coworkers...what they are striking for is right, but right don't pay the mortgage or feed their children. It's the proverbial rock and hard place.
While the networks might be trying to find replacement hosts for their late-night gabfests, I doubt they will find any takers...people just will not do it. Plus, let's face it, who will want to appear on a show with a replacement host during a strike? Dave, Jay, Jimmy, Conan, and others may soon find themselves faced with the same decision, Ellen just did it first.  Unpopular, perhaps, but in the long run it just might keep all the below-the-line people in work until such time as a decision can be reached.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati