@renthony / renthony.tumblr.com
I missed Friday's Patreon update because Life Happened, but here I am with the second of four huge updates about my work lately!
Check out this post if you're interested in updates about my WiP, The Star's Ascent! There are some pretty goddamn big ones, namely:
I missed Friday's Patreon update because Life Happened, but here I am with the second of four huge updates about my work lately!
Check out this post if you're interested in updates about my WiP, The Star's Ascent! There are some pretty goddamn big ones, namely:
Re-watched over the garden wall
Like, I don't know how to explain to you people that the posts with long descriptions that don't get right to the point don't get reblogged.
People don't give a shit about new content. If it's not their established blorbo, they don't give a fuck. Plastering my book cover and the plot summary all over tumblr doesn't do shit when people aren't actually stopping to read the posts.
Little pithy marketing statements like, "Hey, wanna read a story about a queer autistic ship captain with synesthesia?" are what get people's attention. Time and time and time again, my own advert posts have reflected this, and it's the same for every other author I know.
If you hate it, and you think that book marketing sucks, and authors are lazy and stupid, and you think that it's ruining books, or whatever the fuck, here's what you can actually do:
yet again i am forced to beg for help against my will
hi i’m disabled and deeply mentally ill, and can’t work! i have $1200 worth of bills to pay and zero consistent income.
whether you boost or donate, my love for you knows no bounds i would [redacted] for you
In case you’re wondering how my day is going, I’m in danger of my car being repossessed if I don’t come up with $771.45 just to become current – the September bill will still be due on the 12th, which makes the actual amount more like 1,171.45 + the 227.12 for the car insurance due on 8/23.
So I functionally need 1,400.
For context, my car is the only transportation my household of four disabled queers has. Most importantly, it’s how @natalieironside gets to her night job to pay the rest of our bills like rent and electricity.
Hey folks, this is the car that gets my entire household around town, plus the folks we give rides to because they don’t have their own car right now.
We super super super super super cannot lose this car.
Thanks so much to all the boosts and incredibly generous donations. The outpouring of support and compassion has been amazing. I can honestly only hope to one day pass along the good fortune to others <3.
That said, we’re at 50% of the goal right now, with $700 left to go and the car will be safe for another month T_T
(If you like queer and fucked up fiction, keep an eye on it!)
Over the last decade, whenever California lawmakers tried to pass new legislation aimed at boosting the state’s alarmingly low housing stock, they’d come face to face with a politically powerful barrier: organized labor. It wasn’t that unions wanted no new housing in California, but their top priority was ensuring that any new units would be built with unionized workers, and that the nearly half a million members represented by the State Building and Construction Trades Council, or “the Trades” as it’s locally known, would be well positioned to find good jobs in the future. Keenly aware of how sharply industry standards have declined in parts of the country with less union power, and still reeling from job losses during the last recession, the Trades have assertively fought bills they deemed threatening to their way of life.
United States Steel said any potential purchaser of the company or its assets would need to recognize the United Steelworkers as the representative of the company's employees. In a letter to employees that was disclosed in a securities filing, Chief Executive David Burritt said any potential purchaser would also need to assume the terms of the existing labor agreement with the union. A potential buyer would need to agree to any other agreements at the acquired plants.
The New York Film and Television Union Coalition is praising a pair of identical bills pending in New York State that would “prohibit applicants to the Empire State film production credit from using artificial intelligence that would displace any natural person in their productions.” The coalition is made up of SAG-AGTRA, the WGA East, the Directors Guild of America, the Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600), the Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700), United Scenic Artists (IATSE Local 829), IATSE Local 52, and Teamsters Local 817. The use of artificial intelligence in the production of film and TV shows is a key strike issue for both the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA, which have been on strike since May 2 and July 14, respectively. The DGA’s new contract, which was ratified in June, contains guardrails on its use, and IATSE, which will begin contract negotiations next year, has said that artificial intelligence “threatens to fundamentally alter employers’ business models and disrupt IATSE members’ livelihoods.”
As the summer marked by nationwide labor movements continues to heat up, another major national corporation with deep roots in Kentucky may soon face a strike. The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, or UAW, is applying pressure on the Big Three automakers, which include General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands — by hosting a nationwide strike authorization vote. Ford Motor Co., which operates both the Louisville Assembly Plant, LAP, and the Kentucky Truck Plant, KTP, in Louisville is facing a strike authorization vote from union members at UAW Local 862 as national UAW negotiations continue ahead of a nationwide contract expiration on Sept. 14. UAW Local 862 represents roughly 12,000 rank and file workers at both LAP and KTP. While a strike authorization vote is often seen as a formality and a common tactic for unions to take during negotiations, it will allow the UAW to strike if deemed necessary in order to secure a contract it feels is best for its membership.
As a spotlight shines on Hollywood’s shutdown, SAG-AFTRA and the WGA continue to battle it out with the studios. We take a look back at how the film studios captured the struggle and victories of unions and labor throughout history. From the biographical tale of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa portrayed by Jack Nicholson in Hoffa, to classics like On The Waterfront starring Marlon Brando, and hits such as The Pajama Game, Norma Rae, and 9 to 5, featuring Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Jane Fonda. The latter film drew inspiration from the women’s movement, addressing issues of gender inequality, workplace harassment, and unequal treatment in the workforce. Take a look at the selection of films that embody labor solidarity on the silver screen.
SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has acknowledged “significant economic consequences” impacting workers around the world due to the strikes, while the boss of British Equity said his union is prepared to enter disputes if U.S. producers try to recast roles with UK actors. Speaking on a webinar alongside Equity boss Paul Fleming and broadcasting union Bectu chiefs, Crabtree-Ireland said he recognizes that AMPTP members are “global businesses that have global presences around the world,” and that “members are hurting” outside the U.S. But Crabtree-Ireland, SAG’s National Executive Director and chief negotiator, laid the blame squarely at the AMPTP’s feet. “The only reason these strikes are happening is these companies refuse to make fair and respectful deals with our members,” he declared. “There was no need for a strike, and I have been told that by members of the public when they see what our proposals are and really understand what we are fighting for.”
The Youngstown City School District's teachers union has voted to strike starting on Wednesday, the first day of classes for a new school year. The union's membership voted "overwhelmingly" late Monday afternoon after an hour and a half of negotiations with the school district's bargaining team, said Jim Courim, spokesperson for the Youngstown Education Association. "The school board has had the ability and the power to end this labor dispute months ago, and they have one more opportunity to tomorrow at their board meeting at 4:30 (p.m.)," he said.
Amazon was accused of violating federal law multiple times to obstruct unionization efforts at a warehouse near Albany, New York, last year, according to a new complaint filed by a regional director at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), first reported by Bloomberg. The complaint, filed yesterday (Aug. 21), reportedly accuses the retail giant of illegally firing an organizer prior to a union ballot last year, calling the police on employees, barring discussion of unions at the workplace, and seeking to limit employee interaction at the warehouse before and after hours to thwart organizing.
Labor unions successfully organized more than 58,000 workers through the National Labor Relations Board’s election process in the first six months of 2023, a massive influx of workers on a scale that we’ve rarely seen before—but that we’re likely to see again. The 662 NLRB representation elections won by unions in the year’s first half covered a total of 58,543 workers, according to Bloomberg Law’s just-released NLRB Election Statistics report. That’s the second-highest first-half organizing total in this century. By itself, this statistic isn’t the surest measurement of labor strength; all it takes is one freakishly large election result to make a six-month period appear a lot more impressive than it really was. (This is exactly what happened in May 2013: A bargaining unit of nearly 45,000 already-unionized workers switched representation from one union to another through the NLRB election process, raising the midyear total to 67,687.) No such anomaly is present in 2023. The sheer number of union wins so far this year, surpassing even last year’s Starbucks-studded total, makes it plain that this current wave of organized workers is no fluke.
New York CNN — On Tuesday, the Teamsters union will announce if their 340,000 members at UPS have ratified a new contract or if they rejected it, reviving the risk of a crippling nationwide strike. A strike at the package delivery company could be only days, maybe even hours, away if a majority members vote no. For the last three weeks, Teamsters membership has been voting on the five-year tentative labor deal reached a week before an August 1 strike deadline. The union leadership has praised the deal, calling it a game changer. The company is calling it a win for the union members, for the company and for its customers. But the opinion that really matters now is what the rank-and-file have to say, and they have voted no in the past, including five years ago. The union said the results should be known after 3 pm ET Tuesday. What it won’t say is what it will do if the majority vote no. The options would be a near-immediate strike, or setting a new strike deadline perhaps only hours or days away from the announcement, giving union leadership and the company a last chance to reach a more acceptable 11th-hour deal.
Several thousand Postal Service rural carriers say they’re in favor of decertifying their union, after USPS implemented a new pay system that led to significant pay cuts for two-thirds of the rural carrier workforce. A grassroots network of rural carriers across the country is collecting signatures from their coworkers in the hopes of joining a new union. Rural carriers have until the end of the calendar year to gather signatures from nearly a third of the total rural carrier workforce, but individuals leading the project said they have already collected about 20% of the necessary signatures. Leaders behind the effort say their current union, the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA), has done little to prevent the Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS) from going into effect in May, or communicating its rollout to members.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It's been said before, but it's worth repeating: we have weekends because of unions. Still, unions aren't always appreciated, especially when their ability to legally strike is brought about by disputes that can't be settled any other way. On Saturday, it was time to pay tribute to all the benefits unions have brought, not only to members but to the economy and well-being of the entire country. So carpenters, plumbers, electricians, firefighters, teachers, police and nurses came together outside Local 1319 of the Southwest Mountain States Carpenters on Pan American Freeway NE to demonstrate just how vital what they do is, not only for themselves but for all the rest of us "I think the reason for the day, you know, it's the whole solidarity between all unions," said Rosero Najar, Local 1319 president. "We are blue-collar America. We are who built America."
