By Amy Ta
Staff Writer
We need to support the writers’ strike, as our future work culture depends on it. The U.S. has a long history of strikes, starting with factory workers during the Industrial Revolution fighting for proper pay and safe work conditions. The same thing is happening now, with both writers and actors fighting for higher wages and job stability in a time with increasing inflation, AI and streaming services.
The Writer’s Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have been on strike due to discontent over recent contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers since May 2. The strike in New York, Los Angeles and Burbank caused the postponement of many programs, shows and movies.
Both WGA and SAG-AFTRA contracts proposed greater job stability and bigger payment, but were either rejected or given a lower rate. This caused both unions to call a strike, stopping writers and actors from working.
To most students in our school, the strike doesn’t really affect them beyond the postponement of their shows. However, for me, this strikes close to home. My mother is a teacher in Burbank Unified School District, one of the lowest paying districts in California. Similarly, the teachers protested and the higher ups turned a blind eye to it. This pattern is repeated everywhere, undoubtedly affecting us when we join the workforce.
Since the end of World War Two, the power of unions in the U.S. decreased, creating the inequality between common workers and wealthy superiors seen today. As the next workforce, we will enter this unfair environment, where the rich exploit the workers. However, the Writers’ Strike has a chance to change that.
The WGA is a relatively small, but strong, union with 20,000 members. With most Hollywood writers being part of the WGA, they have a lot of power when it comes to negotiations. If they win with their negotiations, it would be a huge victory for workers everywhere in the U.S., potentially changing the existing power dynamic.
Now, some argue that the decline of unions is a good thing, as it creates competition in the industry. However, while I do agree that there are many cons with unions, the pros outweigh them. Without unions, the small worker wouldn’t be able to fight for fair pay. The boss could pay them as little as possible without any consequences.
It is important that we support the Writers’s Strike. This strike isn’t about the writers getting fairly paid anymore, it is about the huge power imbalance between the common worker and wealthy few. This strike has a chance to change it all, especially for us, the new generation of workers who will have to live through it.