The Writers Guild Strikes Back

Pillars of the industry fight for equitable wage

The eager anticipation of a new season of your favorite show, especially after midterms or finals, might be your main motivator to get through the end of the quarter. Maybe it’s your reward to study for finals as we venture into the sunny summer, free of academic work. 

However, new seasons, shows and even SNL skits will be delayed, or worse–canceled–for the foreseeable future. But why would Hollywood deprive us of our desperate need for a new season of Stranger Things? 

More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), a labor union representing writers in film, radio, television and online media, are currently taking up arms against movie and television studios. Contract negotiations recently  fell through with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers–the negotiator for over 350 American TV and film companies. The WGA is striking for an increase in minimum wages and compensation, mandatory employment guarantees, new considerations for streaming residuals and protections against replacement by artificial intelligence (AI)–all reasonable demands for the livelihood of writers. 

The rise of streaming services over cable has brought about a significant difference in the compensation writers receive. Pre-streaming, writers could receive residual payments after a show had already been released, as studios licensed their works to be sold and rerun on other broadcasting networks. But streaming giants like Netflix have been reluctant to license their series, eliminating that portion of writers’ incomes. 

Writers want their jobs guaranteed, especially given the proliferation of mini rooms, where two to three writers are hired to write multiple scripts for a potential series. Since these series have yet to receive approval for release, mini room writers are paid less than if they were in a writers’ room. The WGA wants to preserve writers’ rooms by proposing a minimum staff of six writers before a studio orders the commencement of a series. After a series is officially set in motion, the WGA is demanding one writer per episode for up to six episodes, then one additional writer for every two episodes after the six episodes, for a maximum of 12 writers. 

The WGA stated that the median weekly writer-producer pay has declined by 4% over the last decade. Adjusting for inflation, the decline is 23%. Writers have families to feed and bills to pay, so why should their compensation and job security be depreciated by studios? 

Job security remains a significant problem, particularly with the expansion of AI. The WGA’s proposal included an article that would require regulation of the use of artificial intelligence, blocking AI from writing material, creating source material and training itself using the work of human writers. All of these proposals were rejected by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, threatening the position of writers and pointing to the interests of media giants. 

With a decrease in the number of episodes due to more focused storyline and less emphasis on broadcast syndication, falling pay and decreasing job opportunities, writers are earning less and cannot afford to not strike. They only have three options left–change careers, be left subordinate to the greed of studios or fight to change the way they are compensated. 

These studios aren’t without a backup plan–Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos, for instance, said the service has “a pretty robust slate of releases to take us into a long time.” But celebrities, like Drew Barrymore and Michael J. Fox, are supporting their writers and forcing studios to pay attention to the plight of the WGA at the risk of their own profits. 

This isn’t the first time the WGA has stepped out of the writers room–the last strike was from 2007 to 2008 with the goal, again, of raising writers’ salaries. In effect, networks were left like chickens with their heads cut off trying to fill hours of broadcasting, leading to shortened seasons and canceled shows. Perhaps the most long-term effect was the rise of reality shows, because they could be conducted without a script. 

The last strike redefined the landscape of film and television, and we should expect a similar transformation as studios will have to change their programming structures. 

This strike is indicative of a bigger problem across the United States–decreasing job security and compensation as the leaders of companies accumulate wealth while the workforce is left scrambling. As a whole, studios need to reevaluate their priorities and restructure to allow behind-the-scenes employees to be fairly compensated for their contributions and share in the profits. This strike should serve as inspiration to other unions to prompt similar action.