An ebay auction launched by The Union Solidarity Coalition (TUSC), a group that formed over the summer to support crewmembers, has gotten quite a bit of attention for its unique offerings. Rather than throwing up a bunch of random merchandise or props to sell, the auction allows interested parties to bid on things like a painting of your dog that will be done by John Lithgow, help solving the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle from Natasha Lyonne, and a Zoom chat with Barry Jenkins and Nicholas Britell. It was recently updated to include the option to bid on things like dinner with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, and a one-hour video game session with Kumail Nanjiani, while Emily V. Gordon comments on the experience.
This is the latest effort from TUSC to support crewmembers by covering health care premiums for those at risk of losing access to it during the strike. Previously, they held an event titled Solidarity Night! In July, but it didn’t blow-up online quite like this auction, which has inspired users of X (formerly twitter) to post fake lots, including the option to be yelled at across a table by Toni Collette, and cabinet varnishing with David Lynch. Ideally, these faux lots bring attention to the real auction, which is live until Friday, September 22nd.
How the Union Solidarity Coalition started.
TUSC started off in a WhatsApp thread, and the full list of founding members is as follows: Liz Benjamin, Sarah Adina Smith, Susanna Fogel, Julie Plec, Amy Seimetz, Lena Dunham, Tara Miele, Alex Winter, Frankie Shaw, Josh Locy, Antonio Campos, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Malik Vitthal, Paul Scheer, Zoe Lister-Jones, Andrea Savage, Justine Bateman, Tony Phelan, and Crystal Moselle. Beyond wishing to take care of crew members, the hope for the organization is that they’re able to foster a sense of community that can feel lacking among picket lines and icy negotiation tables.
Next month will see Paul Scheer, Marta Kauffman, and others mount a telethon-style event at The Orpheum Theater in LA. Currently, however, you can still bid on TUSC’s Ebay offerings until this Friday.
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