Writers’ Strike

Negotiating With Hollywood: Writers’ Representatives Tell The Story

September 30, 2023 Jeremy Fuster, Portside. Strategize! Hollywood, Media, Unions, WGA, Writers' Strike

Writers are finally back to work in Hollywood after the WGA and studios reached a deal, which has left many in the industry asking, “What took so long?” Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman, the co-chairs of WGA’s negotiating committee, pin the blame on the stall tactics that the studios used alongside the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, one that was rendered ineffective by the solidarity built between the WGA and other unions throughout the summer. “The AMPTP was created in the 80s during the Reagan era, a very anti-labor time. Now, labor is reasserting itself over the last few years, and the AMPTP can’t use old tactics anymore of stalling and trying to squeeze the unions,” Keyser told TheWrap.

National Union Solidarity Day Draws Big Names Amid Big Crowd

August 23, 2023 Sean Piccoli, Deadline. Resist! New York City (NYC), SAG-AFTRA, Solidarity, Strikes, Unions, Writers' Strike

National Union Solidarity Day kicked off on Tuesday in New York City with several hundred marchers forming a picket line that stretched two full blocks outside the Manhattan corporate offices of Amazon and HBO. Striking writers and actors saw their ranks bolstered on Tuesday by unionized teachers, nurses, truckers, musicians, retail and hotel workers, and they got vocal encouragement from union chiefs who promised to have their backs. In what might be a sign of how long the WGA strike seems to have lasted, New York State Senator Jessica Ramos began her remarks with a reference to “the past 100 years” before checking herself to say “100 days,” a correction that drew laughs.

Why The Hollywood Strike Matters To All Of Us

August 19, 2023 Ethan Marcotte, WBUR. Strategize! Artificial Intelligence, Artists, ChatGPT, Hollywood, Media, SAG-AFTRA, Strikes, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs, Writers' Strike

Over the last decade, the entertainment industry has shifted away from legacy distribution models like film and television and embraced a streaming-first model. The move has been a lucrative one, bringing billions of dollars in revenue to the industry. But those profits haven’t reached working actors and writers. Some 87% of actors earn less than $26,000 per year; many writers have to work second jobs to make ends meet. And so, for the first time since 1960, members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) are on strike simultaneously — and Hollywood has effectively shut down.

Hollywood Guilds Team Up With Labor Unions For ‘Hot Strike Summer’

July 29, 2023 Jeremy Fuster, The Wrap. Resist! California, Hollywood, SAG-AFTRA, Strikes, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs, Writers' Strike

Hollywood writers and actors aren’t the only unionized workers picketing in Los Angeles right now. In a show of force for the labor movement, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are teaming up with workers across the city to march in solidarity for better wages and working conditions. Hospitality workers union Unite Here 11, which has been on strike since June 30, staged a solidarity rally in Hollywood Friday that saw hundreds of its members join up with entertainment industry workers to march from the W Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard past the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine and on to the Netflix offices at Sunset Bronson Studios, where they were met with cheers by writers and actors on the daily picket lines.

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