Somto BisinaOn Wednesday night, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) held a meeting at L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium, which became something of an inter-union solidarity rally with representatives from six different entertainment unions in attendance.
The meeting came two days into the WGA’s first strike in 15 years and aimed to inform members about the breakdown in negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
The event drew more than 1,800 WGA members, who listened to leaders from each of the guilds speak, drawing standing ovations throughout.
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Union leaders came from the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, while representatives from the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association and IATSE also made an appearance.
The meeting also drew a loud show of support from the room when the AMPTP agreed to pay staff writers script fees. Staff writers presently earn only their weekly salaries and are not compensated for their scripts.
WGA negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser was the central speaker of the night, and the atmosphere was described as a showcase in solidarity, with many members vowing to fight and remain firm in the guild’s demands.
A staff writer, who is experiencing their first strike as a member of the WGA, said that it is “wild” and marked by “enormous solidarity.”
The WGA has been proposing regulation of the use of AI and banning its use to write or rewrite scripts, and ensuring that material from writers can’t be used to train AI.
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However, the AMPTP rejected the proposal and countered only by offering annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology. The AMPTP’s lead negotiator referred to free rewrites by screenwriters as “collaboration,” which also appeared to alienate the membership.
The event’s assembly of labour leaders across unions marked a shift from the guild’s last strike in 2007-2008. Showrunner Mike Schiff (The Neighbourhood) felt that having all those unions there and expressing their support, knowing that the struggle is theirs too, was “very heartening.”
He said that in 2007, he thought there might have been some resentment, but this year was “a million percent different than last time around.”
The L.A. event followed a counterpart meeting at New York’s Cooper Union earlier in the day, and both meetings aimed to draw a picture of the weeks ahead for writers in terms of picketing and answer members’ questions.
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