Tuesday, September 19, 2023

I'm with Labor


When it comes to the current United Auto Workers strike, I stand with labor.

When it comes to the current Screen Actors Guild strike, I stand with labor.

When it comes to the current Writers Guild Strike, I stand with labor.

When it comes to the current Janitors Strike at Hotels, I stand with labor.

When it comes to any movement seeking fairness, wage equality and better working conditions for the people who make, do or lift a finger in any manner -- as opposed to supervising the lifting of a finger -- I stand with labor.

I say that despite spending the latter part of my ad agency career in so-called "management." 

And who are we kidding? 

Yes I had a Senior Vice President status and a fancy Group Creative Director title but I did as much time "managing" as I did trying to make nice with cretinous clients who wanted to change voiceover copy during a film coloring session. 

Or argue for 3 hours over which blue sweater on an actor accurately fit the brand guideline.

The truth is the value of any company is derived from the people who DO the work. 

Not the overpaid slugs who fly around the country in first class, order market price food off the menu and can often be found at Davos, conducting useless panels and stuffing their luggage bag with the kind of swag the average teacher couldn't afford after 25 grueling years in the classroom.

Do I sound angry? I am. Because this class warfare between the Haves and Have Nots can only lead to disaster for people like me, who Have A Little.

This won't win me any fans at General Motors (and to be clear I haven't written any car advertising for a good 20 years, so I'm not gonna start worrying about that now) but I came across this infographic that tells a disturbing story.


I believe it was President Abraham Lincoln who once said, "You can't believe everything you read on the Internet." That said, let's say the margin of error here is 50%. In other words, let's say Ms. Barra only takes home $55, 000 a day. 

A DAY!

If GM clears $2000 profit on every Vega, Chevelle, Impala and Silverado truck they sell, they've got to get 25 vehicles off the lot every 8 hours just to set the fine silverware out on Mary's daily dining table. I know from my days working with car dealers how difficult it can be to move that much metal.


As you can see, my understanding of profits and losses, revenue streams and COLA clauses is rudimentary at best. This is odd, in that I come from a family of CPAs and financial analysts. Nevertheless, I want to see all these strikes settled. For the good of our economy. 

And for the good of President Joe Biden. If he loses to that Nazi, I am outtahere.

To that end, I'm even willing to give some valuable R17 real estate to pimp these handsome Chevrolet floor mats which will look in any vehicle, even yours, learn more at: https://amzn.to/48f6Vgb







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