Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

Scabs, as we know, attack our pay checks. Novelist Jack London wrote, "After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, the vampire, he had some awful substance left with which he made the scab."

When one's livelihood is working to create motion pictures, television shows, music or other forms of digital entertainment, it is those who download that intellectual property from illegal Web streaming sites who are seen as scabs.

Illegal downloading steals primarily from the paychecks of brothers and sisters who work behind-the-scenes to create the motion pictures, television shows and music we enjoy.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians and Allied Crafts (IATSE), a fellow member with the UTU of the AFL-CIO, advises that "the issue of piracy or digital media and intellectual property theft is of grave importance" to its members' wages and livelihoods.

"There are many illegal streaming sites where operators will solicit users to provide payment to purchase 'subscriptions' or 'memberships' or otherwise pay for illegal content," says the IATSE.

"These sites often feature advertisements for legitimate products or services alongside illegal streaming of unauthorized movie and television content. They may use trademarks and cover art of well-known studios and distribution companies or provide a plot summary of a movie or a list of the cast of characters.

"Web site operators of such illegal sites purposely use these techniques to fool customers into believing that their Web sites are legal," says the IATSE. "Many of these sites have connections to organized crime groups, which have been linked to other crimes including child pornography, human trafficking and terrorism."

In an effort to combat this theft of intellectual property, the IATSE has posted information on its own Web site where viewers can access lists of legal sites for downloading/streaming movies, television shows and music.

The IATSE asks for your assistance in combating the theft of intellectual property by visiting the following Web page before downloading intellectual property:

www.mpaa.org/contentprotection/get-movies-tv-shows

The Web address can be saved to your "favorites" or a link can be created on your computer screen "desktop." It contains legal sites from which motion pictures, television shows and music may be downloaded. And the page is periodically updated by the IATSE.