Hollywood and the Left: On July 14th, the SAG-AFTRA, a union representing about 160,000 Hollywood actors, officially went on strike after rejecting the contract offered by the motion picture and television studios. They joined WGA, the writers guild, that went on strike on May 2nd. This is the first time that Hollywood actors and writers are on strike simultaneously in more than 60 years and these actions have brought most film and television productions to a halt. Jan Haaken talks with labor historian Paul Buhl about the history of unions in Hollywood and what might be learned from earlier eras of union organization and mobilization in building solidarity for the current strike actions. Paul Buhle taught at Brown University and is the co-author of four books on the history of the Hollywood Blacklist and the editor of a series of graphic non-fiction works by American comics artists and writers. He has contributed frequently to journals and newspapers, including The Nation, The Village Voice, Monthly Review, Jewish Currents, The Chronicle of Higher Education and The San Francisco Chronicle.
- KBOO