Public Employee Press

DC 37 members picket with striking writers

The writers’ strike that began Nov. 5 is a labor struggle that stretches from coast to coast — from sunny Hollywood to the frigid streets of New York City — and is winning widespread support. Everybody feels the pinch — from Late Night show viewers and Saturday Night Live addicts to those who love the weeknight series that rope us in through the power of their drama — all created by the writers.

Crain’s New York Business bemoans the effects of the strike from the management side: “Writers’ strike hits suppliers. Losses mount as talk shows, series shut down.”

But from labor’s point of view, the writers’ cause is just. Members of the Writers Guild of America are withholding their labor in a tradition that stretches back to the early days of their union and others, such as the Newspaper Guild and the Broadway stagehands, who were on strike to save their jobs as this issue of PEP went to press. Organized writers even picketed the federal Works Project Administration during the Depression of the 1930s, bearing signs reading: “Writers Demand Jobs.”

On Nov. 8, writers from popular shows such as “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Saturday Night Live” and “As the World Turns” turned out in force. Picketing in front of the palatial headquarters of Time-Warner AOL at Columbus Circle, they got a boost from a large contingent of supporters from District Council 37 and District Council 1707, AFSCME.

“This is what you do when you’re in the labor movement,” said Blue Collar Division Director José Sierra.

White Collar Division Grievance Rep Phyllis McLean said she was there “to support a fair deal” for writers.

The dispute hinges on management’s rejection of the writers’ demand to be paid when movies and television shows they have written are re-used on the Internet. As the nature of distribution changes, the writers could go hungry if their contract does not provide payments for new uses of their work.

Unlike many strikes in modern times, this strike is highly visible. Well-known actors — also union members — are showing up to add visibility and support on the picket lines. Unlike management, they realize that without the writers they can literally say nothing. On Nov. 8, members of the Screen Actors Guild stood alongside DC 37 members on the picket line, supporting the writers. DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts noted, “This is the kind of support it takes to win a strike — and to build a strong labor movement!”

As PEP went to press, talks in the writers’ strike were set for after Thanksgiving. Bargaining in the stagehands’ strike resumed at press time.