Unions Tell PIPA Backers to Keep the Faith

Television and film unions sent a letter of support to Sens Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) praising their support of the PROTECT IP antipiracy bill and asking them to keep the faith.

"We know the pressure that you are getting to renege on your commitment," they wrote. "We are the voice of thousands of individuals who thank you for standing steadfast against this barrage and in support of the jobs of our members," they wrote. "They" constituted the American Federation of Musicians, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Directors Guild of America, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada (IATSE), the Teamsters, and the Screen Actors Guild. The unions argue the bill "does nothing more than make it possible for the U.S. government to handle illegal foreign websites in the same manner it can already do -- and has been doing -- with illegal U.S. sites."