You’ve probably heard by now that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike. According to the labor union and its affiliates — representing just fewer than 12,000 writers across traditional and digital media — the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group representing corporate studios and streaming services, would not grant union writers “a new contract with fair pay that reflects the value of our contribution to company success.”
The strike is already causing an effect as multiple live programs — such as “Saturday Night Live” and other late-night series — are now on hiatus while popular shows such as Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” halted production.
In a memo released prior to the strike, WGA argued that “writers are finding their work devalued in every part” of entertainment through visual entertainment’s overwhelming transition to streaming.
The union said:
The companies have used the transition to streaming to cut writer pay and separate writing from production, worsening working conditions for series writers at all levels. On TV staffs, more writers are working at minimum regardless of experience, often for fewer weeks, or in mini-rooms, while showrunners are left without a writing staff to complete the season. And while series budgets have soared over the past decade, median writer-producer pay has fallen.
Of WGA’s 14 listed demands, 12 pertain to compensation and employee benefits in some form. So it seems that at the heart of the issue is a desire for more compensation,
