Labor Pains

A Tale of Kicking, Discomfort, and Joy on the Broadcasting Delivery Table

by Jeffrey Ruthizer


Formats

Hardcover
$35.99
E-Book
$9.99
Softcover
$24.99
Hardcover
$35.99

Book Details

Language : English
Publication Date : 8/25/2022

Format : Hardcover
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 552
ISBN : 9781665706773
Format : E-Book
Dimensions : N/A
Page Count : 552
ISBN : 9781665706797
Format : Softcover
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 552
ISBN : 9781665706780

About the Book

For well more than a century, unions and companies have experienced a state of push and pull. Confrontations occasionally led to war. Some battles became legend. Hollywood movies were made and books were written. Because the broadcasting industry is in the public eye, its labor struggles often became very familiar to the American audiences. But much remained behind the curtain.

A battlefield commander at the bargaining table for more than four decades while at ABC, NBC, RKO, and The Walt Disney Company, author Jeff Ruthizer was not just a participant in but was also a major strategist handling the peace and struggles with actors, technicians, directors, musicians, and writers. His companies were, and remain, world famous.

In Labor Pains, he tells the story of gaining his sea legs in his early days of his first tour of duty at ABC during broadcasting’s Golden Age of the 1960s. He gradually rose in the industry to assume top labor command upon his two-decade return to ABC before retiring in 2009. Legendary titans up to and including his last CEO, Disney’s Bob Iger, ran these companies and looked to Ruthizer for advice.

Slugging it out when necessary, through the bitterness of unwanted strikes and lockouts, Ruthizer narrates tales of kicking, discomfort, and ultimately joy on the broadcasting industry delivery table. Interspersed between turbulent times were moments of calm necessary to prepare both the body and the soul for the next battle looming on the horizon.


About the Author

Jeffrey Ruthizer joined the networks during their 1960’s Golden Age, and he capped his 40-year career at ABC, NBC, RKO, and Disney as one of the entertainment industry’s top labor negotiators. A major participant in moments of great turbulence, the Lafayette College and Columbia Law educated senior executive provided counsel to and represented at the bargaining table a long list of entertainment’s legendary titans.