U.S.A.
Everyone Else
Health
Science
Business
Technology
Sports
Video Games
Entertainment
Future
Humour
Its a Fact!
NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > BIG NAME PORN STARS TEAM UP FOR WORKER COMPENSATION
BIG NAME PORN STARS TEAM UP FOR WORKER COMPENSATION
December 8 2008
Los Angeles, CA – Jenna Jameson, Briana Banks, Stormy Daniels, Jenna Haze, Taylor Rain; All names synonymous with the American adult entertainment industry; all names that are now taking that same industry to task to bring porn into the modern age of workers’ rights with a new organization.
The APAW (Association for the Protection of Adult Workers) is an attempt to bring rights to adult workers that employees in mainstream professions have enjoyed for decades, such as workers compensation sick time.
“We are not looking to create unions. That word is very scary for the industry for a variety of reasons and we do not want use that word,” said Desmond Wright, President of the organization. “What we are seeking to is give basic rights to all industry workers and allow them compensation for basic issues, namely work related injuries.”
The organization is not seeking to find compensation for major STD’s or psychological issues, but is instead seeking treatment for smaller day to day injuries that can occur on the set.
“People don’t think of the adult industry as having the same issues as mainstream jobs, but our workers encounter small threats every day,” continued Wright. “Groin pulls, dry skin, injuries from falls, all these things are major issues for the industry. Many people don’t realize that wrist related injuries are responsible for more lost man hours in the industry than any other injuries combined. These types of injuries result in massive amounts of lost revenue both for workers and for producers. You can imagine what it’s like to get to the end of a scene and a performer has a bum wrist. All of a sudden a clean shoot becomes a wreck and dozens of dollars are lost.”
But in an industry dominated by dollars and dictatorial moguls, any attempt at anything resembling a union is immediately met with scorn and anger. Despite the presence of such big names, industry titans are railing against any efforts to change the status quo.
“There are a number of reasons that any kind of compensation would be disastrous for our industry. Aside from the costs involved, and the potential for deeper moves into socialism, we would be opening ourselves up for exploitation by workers,” said Steven Hirsch, President of Vivid Entertainment. “You can imagine with the type of people we employ the number of claims we would have to fill. Instead of saving us money through prevention, we’d end up with endless stalled productions and millions in lost revenue. We respect our big name stars, but this just isn’t a feasible option.”
Steve Orenstein, head of rival producer Wicked pictures, sides with Hirsch.
“We’ve always made an effort to help out our major players to ensure that they are healthy and happy and we don’t need any kind of legislation whether it be governmental or industry based to interfere with our efforts,” said Orenstein. “Our industry cannot be held to the same standards as any other type of business. Our workers are not the same as other workers and shouldn’t be judged by the same standards.”
For their part, the major names have stated that they intend to push through the program in order to protect the lesser known performers in the industry.
“People need to understand that there are a number of workers and performers that go into making an adult film work and we need them to be healthy and happy,” said Briana Banks, one of the industry’s most respected performers. “From fluffers to stunt cocks, these are the people that bring the magic to the movies and they need to be protected just like us stars. If for no other reason than to just make sure shoots go smoothly and we don’t waste time waiting around for wood.”
Regardless of the intent and the power of the people behind the push, it’s likely this will be a long, hard battle that may not end up with a happy ending.
“We deeply believe in this and we will fight to make it happen,” continued Banks. “Without some kind of oversight we run the risk of the industry not being accepted or respected by the world at large and we can’t allow that to happen.”
Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent
NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > BIG NAME PORN STARS TEAM UP FOR WORKER COMPENSATION
|
Scrape Store
