As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike enters its second week, it honestly seems like support is only growing in favor of the picketers. This is great news because I’m hearing some scary predications about how long it could last. Remember that not everyone marching has an employer who went to bat for them and every day of striking is a day without pay. So how amazing is it that the most powerful voice in this country spoke out in favor of the writers? President Joe Biden was just about to sit down to a nice screening of Disney’s American Born Chinese series (in honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) when he told the crowd he hoped the writers in Hollywood get the, “fair deal that they deserve.” Disney cast, producers and execs were in the audience and, if they know what’s good for them, said yes sir.
President Biden is weighing in on the Writers Guild of America strike that has put Hollywood on pause.
Giving remarks before a White House screening of the Disney+ series American Born Chinese, Biden told the crowd (which included the cast and producers of the show, as well as some Disney executives) that “I sincerely hope the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved, and the writers are given a fair deal that they deserve as soon as possible.”
“This is an iconic, meaningful American industry, and we need the writers and all the workers and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation, the stories of all of us,” Biden added, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd in the East Room.
I love this! Last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre got hit with WGA strike questions. Pres. Biden is, of course, Mr. Union. But he’s also Mr. President. So the White House was trying to find some kind of neutral ground from which to speak. Karine brushed the questions off by reminding everyone that Pres. Biden was supportive of workers right to strike but they didn’t plan to comment on an ongoing strike. Then Pres. Biden came along, pulled a bat out of the boot of his corvette, and shattered that plexiglass wall of neutrality while Disney was in the House. I get it too. If Disney made this strike into a cartoon, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) would be the giant fat cat with the vest, watch fob and cigar and the WGA would be the starving mice trying to get the fallen crumb of cheese at their feet. Do I sound dramatic? Here are the actual demands the AMPTP rejected.
Also, to Pres. Biden’s point, we are risking losing more story tellers at a time this country needs them the most. We’re banning books and refusing to compensate our overworked writers. We get so upset when someone in a TV show we grew up watching dies, not because they didn’t live a full life, but because they took a piece of our childhood with them. Think about the last time you were truly down, what got you through it? I’ll bet at least one show or movie was in there. These people write the backdrop of our lives but right now they can’t support themselves doing so. I appreciate our president understanding that.
📸 | Seth Meyers, Tina Fey and Fred Armisen supporting the WGA strike at Silvercup Studios in Queens today! pic.twitter.com/4EIuayB8ZV
— Tina Fey Rocks (@TinaFeyNet) May 9, 2023
🪧🪧🪧 @jjabrams on picket lines at Fox Studios #WGAstrong #WGASTRIKE pic.twitter.com/CYdFjJePMw
— Writers Guild of America West (@WGAWest) May 5, 2023
I'm so grateful to all the amazing writers who have made me look good over the years. I stand with the WGA and happily walk along side them to fight for fare wages. Pay for writers has fallen 23% over the past ten years. That's the wrong direction. #WGAStrong #sagaftra pic.twitter.com/VdX5RJ04rv
— Jim O'Heir (@JimOHeir) May 5, 2023
Nina Dobrev was seen during the third day of the WGA strike in Burbank, California. pic.twitter.com/qCHpxnBTHg
— @21metgala (@21metgala) May 5, 2023
Christopher Nolan showing some in-person support for the WGA strikers pic.twitter.com/XbQhnZsyEf
— Reel Updates (@worldofreel) May 9, 2023
Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt are on the writers’ strike picket line outside Warner Bros today. pic.twitter.com/lOk3cSJz15
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 5, 2023
Photo credit: Cover Images and Twitter
The studios have no incentive to settle. They have stockpiled scripts they can shoot in the interim and will source material from overseas. Writers were dumb to hurry to get scripts in before the strike—that totally defeated the purpose of withholding labor. And what kind of deal can you strike with a Netflix, that has never been in the habit of paying fair residuals, or anti-union Amazon? Streamers are likely the biggest holdouts because they are not used to paying broadcast sums and several are diversified enough that they don’t need to rely on vanity content to remain solvent. And guess which content and writers will suffer the most from all this? That of POC.
Solidarity forever! Our Unions make us stronger.
#UNION
Wishing the strikers well!
I hope they grip into Netflix. Amazon I doubt they will manage to affect soon, as TV isn’t it’s main product, they can last without it.
Totally with the writers! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the things I most enjoy watching have had great writers behind them. Several have gone on to advance higher in series production. Thinking specifically of David Goyer here while I’m waiting for the next Apple Foundation. Consider what happened as a result of the last writers’ strike with reality TV taking hold despite the critical need for strong writers and editors even on those shows. Am firmly convinced that USA would never have voted for idiot T-rump without the putsch he got from reality TV turning his dross to gold.
I am happy to see the support the writers are getting. They do have a special place in our culture, but all workers can depend on President Biden’s sense of fairness. My brother’s union was busted during Clinton’s administration and despite ugly retaliation against the workers, there was silence from the White House. That is why I appreciate Joe Biden for his sincere statements of fairness and decency on labor issues.
I grew up in a pro-Union family and benefited from it. I’m proud that the President stood strong with the WGA while facing Disney. Go strikers!
That’s my President! Solidarity with the writers. This strike has been a long time coming & I really think AMPTP is out of touch with reality here. They have no product without writers. And series that are still trying to shoot with existing scripts but no writers on set? Recipe for disaster.
I can only imagine how the railroad workers unions, who Biden forced back to work without sick pay, feel about this.
Exactly this
Thank you for sharing this, @Hecate. Keep up the #WGA coverage. So important to keep attention on this situation.