The Importance Of The Writers Strike (or I Support The WGA)

The Writers Guild of America has been on strike for just over a week now. This isn’t the first time they’ve been on strike in recent history, but this time it feels different. The last strike was in 2007 and lasted 100 days. And even though there was social media during the last strike, I think the influence of social media is really showing itself this time.

I remember during the strike in 2007, there were people who were confused about why TV shows were shut down and not putting out new episodes. It didn’t feel like it was a huge news issue outside of LA or those in the entertainment industry. And when it did make the news, I feel like it took longer for those not directly involved to hear about it or understand what was going on. But this time, I was seeing things by friends who aren’t in the entertainment industry posting about a potential strike the week before it was going to happen. And as soon as the strike started, I saw people asking what they could do to support the WGA.

If you aren’t directly in the entertainment industry, there isn’t much you can do right now. I’ve seen some people post saying they should cancel Netflix, but I’ve seen people with the WGA say they aren’t asking for a boycott right now and it’s just a strike. So canceling streaming services isn’t necessary. If you are near where there are picket lines, you can always bring things like water, snacks, or sunscreen for everyone who is out there.

And for those of us in other unions, unless we have a show with a contract right now, we shouldn’t be crossing picket lines. I’ve seen things from SAG-AFTRA saying that if you are in production with a show and have a contract, you may be required to still go in for work and if you chose not to, there can be legal issues. I know that other actors have called into the union to check to make sure things they are doing are ok, and I think that’s a great option if you are confused. And a lot of my fellow actors have been joining the writers on the picket lines since the strike started. I haven’t had a chance to do that, but I’m hoping I can go soon during my lunch break from work since one of the picket line locations is pretty close to me. I might only be able to be there for about 30 minutes, but that’s better than nothing.

It’s never great when there is a strike and when work has stopped, but this is for something important. And the things the writers are asking for are very similar to what actors will be asking for in our upcoming contract negotiations. Streaming shows are not going away, and we need to restructure our contracts to fit that type of work. We have residuals in streaming, but it’s not the same scale we are used to. And having a limited number of episodes in a season has changed so much, but I think it has changed things more for writers than it has for actors. Making sure everyone is paid fairly for their work is a top priority. The work can be sporadic and not necessarily steady, but when someone is working full-time as a writer, they should be able to support themselves doing that and not stress about having a second job to make sure they can pay their bills.

I know most people hope that this strike will be shorter than the one in 2007, but I don’t know if that will happen. It seems like both sides are very far apart in what they want in the new contract, and it’s going to require a lot of compromises to come to a deal. But I know that this strike is important for the industry as a whole and that more than just the writers will benefit from the outcome.

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