Entertainment industry workers need an extension to PUA

Stepping away from baseball for a quick minute today. I work in the film business and I have been lucky enough I work in a department where I am able to put money away for rainy days. People think the film business is a glamorous place to work. It is a hard business to be in. You have to work your ass off in extreme weather. There are crazy hours. You have to sacrifice a social life and events because you never know how long you are going to be working. That being said, the folks who work in the business still love it and bust their asses because they believe working in the business pays off for them in the long run. They also like working on projects that make people think and also entertain. That being said, there are a lot of below the line production folks who need this. The Production Assistants who break their backs trying to make it in a grueling business, being the worst paid, getting physically and mentally beaten down, need this extra money. There are background actors that have made a career of being folks that you don't realize are walking behind the main actors to make the scenes look real. Don't forget the people who are just getting into the business that were just getting into certain departments after passing the tests to get into unions. People who make tv, films, and work on broadway want to go back to work, but it’s going to be a slow process.

The $600/wk Pandemic Unemployment Assistance needs to be extended until at least the new year.

Why is this important?

The entire live event industry has been shut down plunging everyone into unemployment with no end in sight. People like me who have invested 38 years of my life to be at the top of my game working on Broadway. The extra $2400 monthly has allowed me to have a grain of hope that I can hold on long enough living in one of the most expensive areas in the country. If I lose it, I will need to sell my place and move away from NYC. Tens or even hundreds of thousands more are in the same position all over the country. We are ready to work but work is not ready for us.

 

I don't ask a lot out of people who follow me on twitter, or themediagoon.com page on FB, But I am asking you guys to do me a favor and sign this. Click here to sign. Can you also pass this along to your friends and family to sign this also. 

There is a separate petition that has over a million signatures. If you can, sign here too?

Thanks guys.