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WWE News
WWE News: Wrestling executive comments on dire consequences to WWE if wrestlers join Hollywood union Jan 12, 2009 - 10:28:59 AM
At its core, WWE presents scripted entertainment with an athletic background. That "shades of gray" classification, and the fact that WWE doesn't advertise to the general public that the product is scripted, is one factor in how WWE has avoided compensating the wrestling talent as employees and union members.
Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" movie has pushed the underbelly of pro wrestling into the international limelight, with the movie winning two major awards last night at the Golden Globes.
Aronofsky has said in recent interviews that after studying pro wrestling for several years to create his film on pro wrestling, he believes pro wrestlers should be part of Hollywood unions.
After all, they are performing in a scripted television series, with WWE openly acknowledging to Congress that they have writers who script storylines and conflict between the on-air talent to be played out in a theatrical setting.
Former WCW president Eric Bischoff has intricate knowledge of what it takes to run a pro wrestling organization, including the hush-hush topic of unions and pro wrestlers being classified as employees of the organization they primarily wrestle for.
"I am not sure how long WWE will continue to be able to dodge the union bullet," Eric Bischoff recently said on his blog. "The arenas WWE produces their events in are generally union 'houses.' The local crews that are hired to set up staging etc., are union members (usually). Which means that for the most part, everyone associated with the staging of a WWE event are either employees of WWE, the arena, or members of a union. Everyone except the talent."
Although Bischoff takes a personal attack at Raven and Chris Kanyon for their recent lawsuit against WWE claiming they should have been paid as employees for their work in WWE years ago, Bischoff says it would be devastating to WWE and Vince McMahon if the lawsuit indirectly pushed for legitimate change to the top company in the industry.
"The implications of this lawsuit are beyond frightening," Bischoff said. "Should the government, as a result of this suit, determine that WWE wrestlers are employees, the fines and back taxes that WWE could be held liable for are astronomical. There is no statute of limitations on these taxes and in the case of a public company, the Chairman can be held personally responsible."
Bischoff says the financial impact of being forced to comply with the Hollywood union SAG would be staggering to WWE's financial position. "Combine that with union rules regarding overtime, residuals, and things like mandatory meal breaks, and it's easy to see why Vince McMahon would fight this move until his last breath."
[Vince McMahon art by Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]
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