The Writers Guild of America has been on strike over labor disputes since May 2. Since July 13, the Screen Actors Guild has joined them in solidarity in striving for increased rights for those in the entertainment industry.
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA are both trade unions representing film writers and screen actors respectively. According to BVNW social studies teacher Robert Meacham, a trade union is an organization that allows people in a certain field of work to gain more negotiating power with companies.
“The philosophy is that if you are just one person trying to negotiate, the companies are too big, and will always win and replace you,” Meacham said. “If you negotiate as a big group and everyone leaves or goes on strike, then the business can’t happen.”
Writers specifically are facing a large faction of problems, including unfair pay and artificial intelligence. Former BVNW students Justin and Jordan Shipley are now screenwriters in Hollywood and members of the WGA West. One of their works includes the television series, “Wrecked.”
“The guild protects us in terms of compensation and job security,” Jordan said. “It makes sure that we are treated fairly by our employers.”
According to Justin, large companies are taking advantage of the writers they employ. With the rise of streaming services, writers are no longer getting paid for residuals. Instead, streaming services have been paying writers a flat fee upfront, and then not paying them for any viewings of a show after it airs.
“There’s no way for you to know how much these companies owe you. There’s no way for you to know how successful a show is,” Justin said. “[The guild] is fighting for a model of residuals that fairly compensates the writer.”
Writers are also not receiving the help they need to work on shows. Before, they would have writer’s rooms with many people who collaborated with the show creator. Now, after a plan is made for a certain project, companies will release most of the writers they hired and leave only the show creator and a few others to keep the show going.
Another issue that the guild is focusing on is the rise of artificial intelligence. The technology has gotten to a point where it can emulate the style of a particular writer and produce a script that looks like it was made by that person.
“The guild is trying to get the studios to define a writer as human and to ensure that AI is not used to replace writers in any regard,” Justin said.
According to Justin, he, as well as others, did not expect the strike to last as long as it did.
Due to the strike, many movies and TV shows have been postponed or canceled. One project that has been postponed is Stranger Things, a show considered popular among teenagers. The fifth and final season has been delayed indefinitely because of the continuing SAG-AFTRA strike. Sophomore Bailey Fox, a fan of the show, said she is disappointed about the show’s postponement.
“It sucks. I did not see [the strike] coming. But I mean, we can’t really do anything about it. And it’s not really our decision at this point,” Fox said.
The WGA made a tentative deal with studios on Sept. 25 that includes better pay, improved benefits, longer durations of employment, and protection against artificial intelligence. SAG-AFTRA is still on strike, waiting for their own fair deal.striking
