Labor & Employment Law

Leo, Portman Shout Out to Unions at SAG Awards

By Mike Hall

Boxing and ballet may not have a lot in common, except for the hard work to get to the top. But two award-winning actors in the films spotlighting the worlds of prize fighting and dancing share one thing in common: their support of unions.

Melissa Leo portrayed Alice Ward, the nail-tough mother/manager of boxers Mickey and Dickey Ward in ?The Fighter.? That role won her the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

While Ward may have been tough enough to stand on her own and take on boxing promoters and others scheming to exploit her sons, Leo knows most people can use a little help and collective action to counter punch when they are under attack. In her acceptance speech Sunday, this is how she put it:

Unions made this country great because they give the voice to the working people.

Unions also can offer protection for working people, especially young working people, as Natalie Portman pointed out. (Check out the video above at the 2:40 mark.)  The winner of the Outstanding Performance by A Female Actor in a Leading Role for the ballet drama, ?Black Swan,? said in her acceptance speech:

I?ve been working since I was 11 years old and [SAG] has taken care of me. They made sure that I wasn?t working too long and made sure that I got my education while I was working and I am so grateful to have this union protecting me everyday.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on February 01, 2011 (boomark / email).