Philadelphia newspaper employees planning to strike

And the answer is, I would not.

 

Personally I would be very reluctant to cross a picket line but that is me. I agree circumstances of strikes can differ.

But would you work free lance assignments or cross a picket line in Philadelphia if there is a strike in the current situation?

 

I might do it in Philadelphia. They booed Santa Claus there.

 

I'd be very interested to know. I don't think we are going to find out, because it sounds like they've reached an agreement, but there are an awful lot of out of work journalists out there, not to mention legions of young kids writing/blogging for free. The dynamic is vastly different now than it was even 10 years ago. There is no physical crossing of a line needed. If you are a kid who is already covering the team for a blog and the local paper approaches you and says, "Hey, we'll give you $100 per day if you let us reprint the stuff you are publishing on the web," it has to be awfully tempting. Shit, in the free-for-all that is the content business these days, if you say no, they could probably just rewrite your shit anyway. You know, "aggregate" it. Except in print format.

 

Riptide won't have to cross a picket line. The strike was averted with a tentative agreement. It's good for two years and that will go by pretty quickly. The papers are losing money and respect. The Daily News is bare bones and can't survive too much longer in its present state. The Inquirer is a shell of its former self. Some hard decisions will have to be made. Stay tuned.

 

Sort of good news.

Back to the earlier point, when employees at a company elect to form an organization to collectively represent themselves and negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment, as is their right, it is reprehensible for others to undermine those efforts to reach fair agreements.

That people seem more and more willing to screw their neighbors in such a way is one of the main reasons the middle class is losing ground economically.