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Closed caption protest!
In the midst of labor negotiations, the National Captioning Institute fired its entire (unionized) Burbank staff. And the workers are pissed. What the company called its best offer included, according to union reps, wage freezes, tripling and quadrupling of production expectations and wage concessions amounting to 58% of salary. Yuck.
Closed captioners are the people who translate what happens on the audio track of TV shows or DVDs into words, including sound effects like [screams] and [bangs on door]. The people who insta-caption for sports and the Oscars use steno machines, which have diphthongs like "oi" instead of simple letters, and clock in at an incredible 225 words per minute. You probably knew most of that, but it's been a long time since we've been able to use the word "diphthong" in a sentence.
The captioners will be having a protest rally on Friday, March 31 from 11am-1:30pm at 303 N. Glenoaks in Burbank. We tell you the exact address because if you drive by you might miss it: the sum total of the now-fired former employess is just 16.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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