Writers in the entertainment world have ended 15 years of industrial harmony by going on strike on May 2nd.
What the writers want is simple; they want to see an improvement in current wages, which they describe as unlivable.
The last time the writers went on strike was Nov, 2007, about sixteen years ago.
Lasting over a year, this strike would ultimately cost Los Angeles’ economy a whopping $2.1 billion.
Many shows, movies, and series have already gone dark or have halted production.
Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Cobra Kai, & Abbott Elementary are just a few shows that have halted their production.
Writers have now taken to the streets and are protesting outside of major filmmaking studios like Netflix, Paramount Pictures, and Sunset Studios
Thousands of strikers and protesters all across the streets of Hollywood have been showing their support for these writers.
The protest provided drinks, picket signs, snacks, and food trucks that were handing out free food to protesters paid for by talk show hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.
KTLA 5, the neighboring studio to Netflix, also made an appearance to cover the protest on Sunset Blvd.
Members of the SAG-AFTRA’s sister unions came out to support and protest alongside the writers. Actress Ide Asia explained why she came out to protest alongside the writers.
“The writers deserve to be paid and with all these streaming platforms, they’re getting screwed over and as an actor myself, we’re next basically, so look out for the actor strike,” Asia warned.
Aria Middleman a part of Buchwald Talent Agency went more in-depth as to why the writers are demanding to be paid more and the problems they’ve been facing.
“So the writers are looking for better working conditions and there’s a whole thing about residuals and so writers have not been credited the money when a show re-airs after it stopped being new, but they deserve that and they worked on that,” Middleman said.
“None of them are given health care for freelance writers within the guild for whatever projects and that’s the kind of thing that every job should give you and they’ve been getting away with it for a while but thankfully, the writers are banding together, don’t need to hit you with this and demand what’s right,” added Middleman.
Buchwald Talent Agency also provided a trailer handing out free coffee to protesters at Paramount Pictures Studio.
The 2007 writer’s strike lasted one hundred days and with no end in sight, the writer’s strike this time seems like it is going to surpass that one hundred-day mark.
Writers deserve more for the work that they put up yearly, weekly, and monthly.
These writers aren’t people who just write movies and series, they are people who wake up early, work hard and do the most behind the scenes. So yes, we stand with the writers.
