Sometimes life really does imitate art…well, not that “Entourage” is art, but you get the idea. Just as his character Lloyd is mocked on the show by being called “The Gaysian,” his portrayer Rex Lee also gets shit from crew members while on set. Lee admitted to TMZ that he’s sometimes a target of jokes about his race and sexuality at work, and that it bothers him.
After the story broke, “Entourage” creator Rob Ellin responded that he was “horrified” to hear of Lee’s on-set harassment. He said that when the show resumes filming he’ll be giving everyone a lecture (sensitivity training class, perhaps?) and insisted that “[Harassment] is not something condoned or acceptable.”
I’m glad to hear that Ellin is laying down the law (even going so far as to say he’ll fire people who make homophobic comments), but did it really have to take this long? How many years has Lee been on the show? Is this a recent problem or something he’s just speaking out about now? Either way, I’m glad that Ellin seems to want to do the right thing.
It’s Labor Day. For most of us, Labor Day means a long weekend off from work, the end of summer, and a moratorium on wearing white shoes. However, as assistants we should remember the real meaning of Labor Day - a holiday to celebrate the worker. Here are some links you should check out if you want to learn more:
Wikipedia, of course - learn about how Labor Day differs from International Workers’ Day and more
If you’re unemployed, why should you care about this holiday? The Associated Press weighs in.
It’s not truly a worker’s holiday unless you get free stuff. Chick-fil-a is giving away free sandwiches to people who show up today in sports-themed gear (click here for details).
Should you really want a challenge, take this Labor Day quiz - and don’t cheat by scrolling down.
Cracked.com has a hilarious article about some of the worst workplace safety videos ever. They feature everything from vintage mullets (the non-ironic kind) to superthick Canadian accents to people being impaled. Here’s my favorite, which is about how to handle those dames in the office who just walk around in their skirts asking to be sexually harrassed.
You can see the others - plus entertaining commentary and carefully analyzed screenshots - here.
Labor Day is more than just an excuse for a long weekend or the last day you can wear white shoes. It’s a day that honors all workers in America–and, by the way, that includes you. Hopefully, you are far away from the office right now. But in case you’re not, here’s some reading you can do–and forward to your boss–about this very important date.
China is doing whatever they can to clean up their international image just before the Olympics start. One of their very welcome changes is a brand-new law against sexual harassment at work. A startling (and saddening) 79 percent of Chinese working women reported having been victim of some kind of harassment at the office. Before the law was passed, the very few women who were brave enough to press charges had their cases filed in civil court, where they were arbitrated quietly.
The first person convicted under the new anti-harassment law is a male office manager who came onto a female employee.
The man, a manager surnamed Liu from Sichuan province, invited a new female colleague to “discuss work matters” in his office but then told her he wanted to be her boyfriend, the Beijing News, citing a local newspaper, reported.
When she turned him down, he held her by the neck and kissed her. Colleagues called police after hearing her scream.
The man has been sentenced to five months in prison.
Liz Weiss, senior policy analyst for Interfaith Worker Justice, has an excellent post on this week’s God’s Politics blog about the plight of the ‘working poor’ in America. It really hits home how many people in this country aren’t entitled to sick days and put up with terrible working conditions because they are poor and have no other options. A choice selection:
Last Tuesday was a great day for low-wage workers in my hometown of Washington, D.C., when the City Council voted to mandate paid sick and safe days for many private-sector workers. The legislation could affect 200,000 District workers who do not currently have the right to a single paid sick day.
In fact, this is an indignity that exists nationwide. Neither the federal government nor any state has granted workers the right to paid sick days. (San Francisco passed a municipal measure in 2006.) As a result, more than 50 million workers in the U.S. must work when they are sick - through colds, fevers, and stomach flus - on pain of lost wages or even lost jobs.
Nearly 100 million workers can’t take a day off to care for a family member, such as a sick child or elderly parent. When a worker or a loved one gets sick, she or he must either work anyway or risk losing a day’s pay or even her job.
This is yet another example of why fighting for the rights of some workers means fighting for the rights of all workers. Except for a very few people at the top echelon, we are all working for someone, and we all deserve to be treated with respect while on the job.
Sometimes life really does imitate art…well, not that “Entourage” is art, but you get the idea. Just as his character Lloyd is mocked on the show by being called “The Gaysian,” his portrayer Rex Lee also gets shit from crew members while on set. Lee admitted to TMZ that he’s sometimes a target of jokes about his race and sexuality at work, and that it bothers him.
China is doing whatever they can to clean up their international image just before the Olympics start. One of their very welcome changes is a brand-new