LOS ANGELES – Picket lines went up outside all the major L.A.- area studios yet again Monday as the Writers Guild of America strike continued for a fourth week — with no indication of any movement toward resolution of a walkout that has deeply impacted entertainment production.
In a message to its members last week, the WGA announced there would be no picketing outside the studios this Friday as writers were invited instead to take part in a rally in downtown Los Angeles.
“We’re switching up the usual L.A. studio picket schedule so writers can turn out for a historic, multi-union rally,” read the message.
According to the WGA, writers will be joined at the rally by members of IATSE Local 11, AFSCME District Council 36, Teamsters Local 399, Teamsters Local 396, SEIU Local 99, SEIU Local 721, SEIU Local 1000, AFM Local 47 and UTLA.
Since the walkout began May 2, pickets have become the daily routine at Amazon Studio in Culver City, CBS’ Studio City lot, Television City, The Walt Disney Co.’s corporate headquarters in Burbank, the Fox Studios lot, Netflix’s Hollywood headquarters, Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Sony Studios in Culver City, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. in Burbank.
The WGA is pushing for improvements on a variety of fronts, notably for higher residual pay for streaming programs that have larger viewership, rather than the existing model that pays a standard rate regardless of a show’s success.
The union is also calling for industry standards on the number of writers assigned to each show, increases in foreign streaming residuals and regulations preventing the use of artificial intelligence technology to write or rewrite any literary material.
The AMPTP has pushed back against some of the WGA’s demands, particularly around its calls for mandatory staffing and employment guarantees on programs. AMPTP has also pushed back against WGA demands around streaming residuals, saying the guild’s offer would increase rates by 200%.
The use of artificial intelligence has emerged as a major topic. The WGA says it wants a ban on the use of AI, and contends the AMPTP has refused to even negotiate the issue. The AMPTP said the issue raises “important creative and legal questions” and requires “a lot more discussion, which we’ve committed to doing.”
The strike has been having an impact on television viewing, with late night talk shows and “Saturday Night Live” all forced into reruns. The walkout has also prompted numerous television and film productions to shut down as other union members refused to cross the picket lines.
The last WGA strike lasted from November 2007 until February 2008. Industry experts estimated that 100-day strike cost the local economy between $2 billion and $3 billion.
With both sides appearing to still be at loggerheads, many observers fear the current walkout could last even longer.
On June 7, the AMPTP is scheduled to begin negotiations with the SAG- AFTRA actors’ union, which has already come out in strong support of the striking writers. SAG-AFTRA has already begun conducting a strike-authorization vote among its members in advance of the labor talks.
The AMPTP began labor talks on May 10 with the Directors Guild of America, which is seeking to address many of the same issues involved in the WGA stalemate. The DGA’s contract with AMPTP expires June 30.
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