"Tell The Truth, Cenk" - a documentary about work

More than making Cenk Uygur the face of union-busting for the next thousand years, “Tell The Truth, Cenk,” rooted in the spirit and namesake of Michael Moore's “Roger & Me,” is my contribution to the labor movement. It's a film for anyone who's ever had a boss.

It was born the moment The Young Turks required I sign an "Independent Contractor Agreement” to do full-time video editing for zero benefits.

What followed was a long strange journey that weaves through dark pathologies, national politics, media drama bubbles, ethical boundaries (the permeable kind) and wends through every facet of the class war and the centuries-old fight for workplace dignity.

Watch 84 minutes of the film here . The full run-time will be ~120min.

Hi, I'm Hank. I'm a professional video editor, comedian, podcaster, animator, woodworker, trophy son, plant dad and an aspiring filmmaker. When I sold my business and moved across the country in 2013 to work for The Young Turks after ~4 years as a paying member, I couldn't have predicted my TYT story would end up here. I was grateful for the opportunity. I learned, I grew, I toiled and was happy to keep the usual skeletons buried as the system compels us all to do. But this was much more than boilerplate disrespect; it was an unconscionable breach of ethics, of basic human decency, and I refuse to be quiet about it. Silence would have been complicity.

I didn't choose this quest but I'm choosing to finish it.

Exploitative working conditions and ongoing grievances drove us to secretly unionize but our famous boss, the self-anointed Progressive Champion, told his vast, trusting audience that his political foes started the union to harm his run for Congress, an insulting smear that has yet to be retracted — In fact, he doubled down on the false narrative just recently in an interview on Jan 25, 2020, adding insult to injury w/ claims that unionizing workers bullied other workers. "Tell The Truth, Cenk" is my answer to this injustice. It explores the media and political environment surrounding the union-busting, the power dynamics underpinning it, deconstructs Cenk's clumsy capitalism into bozo-ready lessons and illustrates how truly advantaged the order-giving class is over the order-taking class, particularly if you refuse to obey.

It's also just a unique and strange political drama: a well-known talk show host busts a union WHILE RUNNING FOR CONGRESS on a Progressive platform. Wild.

SOLIDARITY

"Tell The Truth, Cenk" is the story of how solidarity roots, nurtures and grows; and why it’s the one thing Capitalists fear most, else they wouldn’t have designed society around destroying it.

At core, the film is about leverage and why collective bargaining is such a powerful tool for gaining it. Strength in numbers. Social physics. How to bring a boss to heel.

I didn’t intend a full feature when I began a 5 - 10 minute edit in late 2021 but when an NLRB notice (4min clip) showed up in my mailbox, it dawned on me that this was a much bigger project and I had a responsibility to get it right. Countless hours of toil ensued — a lonely, joyless slog. I almost quit. I took mental health breaks. And breakdowns. My beard fell out. I learned I'm autistic. I worried and wept and feared.

I kept going.

MONEY

The 84 minutes linked above is 2.5 years of unpaid work.

I financed the film with a woodworking job paying 18.50/hr w/ zero benefits, then a modest worker’s comp payout for injured wrists and mostly on rent debt, on the back of my too-kind, too-generous, too-patient roommate whom I owe at least 30K. He's why this film exists. My dad helps me buy food. They're why I still exist.

This fundraiser is to honor my roommate's contribution, ease my dad's weary heart and fund the six to eight months of rent and bills I estimate it will take to complete and release the final version. I even owe 800 bucks for a stray cat we fostered over the last two years. She would have starved.

— I'd like to replace my 10-year-old editing workstation ($1500 - 2K)

— My 2012 Prius w/ leather seats needs tires and maintenance ($1K - 1.2K)

— I'd like some help with my wrists (millions, probably?)

— Better headphones for editing and autism (~$200)

— I need shoes ($40 - 70)

— 4 years of Adobe Creative Cloud (~$2600)

A new computer would also be an essential tool for my next project: tutorials/teaching editing and photoshop and hopefully earning a living doing it. Maybe another film...

I should also consult an attorney. The only one I can currently afford is Barbara Streisand.

Overall: I'd just be so grateful to reach the other side of this project and bring the stress levels down enough that my beard might grow back. I miss it. I had a good one.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

"Tell The Truth, Cenk" is a group project. It has to be. I can't do it alone. Leave the editing to me but I need help with everything else. I need your help. You. Share. Donate. Promote. Yell. SCREAM. FUCKING GET ANGRY.

My greatest hope is the film becomes an educational resource for workers everywhere and that it inspires others to unionize their toilplaces, or at least to share their story, to feel some catharsis and maybe even have a laugh or two. The bosses mine our stress for profits and expect our obedience & gratitude while they ransack the planet and erase a safe future. This must end. The old way must die. Your rage is valid. Wake it up. It's needed. Rage with me. This is a rallying cry.

Cenk is stronger than me but he isn't stronger than us. Most never get to stand up to their boss but together we can hold the Internet's Boss, Cenk Uygur, to account. We can stand up to him. All that's needed is the truth he tried to hide.

I'm so tired, friends. My fume supply thins. I stand battered and bruised, hailing your presence. I felt solidarity from my friends when I was so powerless at TYT that I had to unionize in hopes of seeing a doctor and I'm calling for solidarity again. I need you. Join me. Rally to my side. To each others' side! Rally! Gather! Unite! Solidare!

Bring your voice. Bring your story. Bring your rage. Fill this field.

Together we charge.

In solidarity,

-Hank Thompson