TV, film writers strike in Manhattan over pay, future in industry
Hewlett resident Alyssa Margarita Jacobson, in green cap and sunglasses, protests Wednesday with others in Manhattan after the Writers Guild of America authorized a strike.
Credit: Marcus Santos
Sag Harbor resident Laura Miller gripped a protest sign in Manhattan with one hand Wednesday and held her infant daughter close to her chest with the other — their presence a reminder of the immediate ripple effects of a television and film writers' strike.
“Live from New York, it’s writers on strike!” read Miller's sign as she and 10-month-old Eloise joined more than 1,000 other television and screen writers and supporters picketing outside the offices of Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery. Miller, 37, and a television production designer who has worked on shows like the Comedy Central series, "Nora from Queens," said she made the trip to Manhattan to show solidarity with the writers, and hopes a settled contract in their favor marks a precedent in the entertainment industry to also pay production staff fairly.
"This sets the stage for all negotiations and worker rights," Miller said of the strike, in which protesters marched around the block on Broadway, north of Union Square. "Netflix and Hulu are not new media and things have not trended well for us."
The Writers Guild of America on Tuesday declared a strike over a contract impasse. The union is seeking higher minimum pay, more writers per show and less exclusivity on single projects, among other demands — all conditions it says have been diminished in the content boom of the streaming era.
In a statement, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Hollywood production companies said that it presented an offer with “generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals” and was prepared to improve its offer “but was unwilling to do so because of the magnitude of other proposals still on the table that the guild continues to insist upon.”
All of the top late-night shows, which are staffed by writers that pen monologues and jokes for their hosts, immediately went dark. NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” which had been scheduled to air a new episode Saturday, will also go dark and air a rerun, and the two remaining episodes in the season are in jeopardy.
Protesters in Manhattan Wednesday chanted slogans like "No wages, no pages," and held signs reading "Do the write thing," and "Spoiler alert: we will win!"
Actor Cynthia Nixon and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Bowen Yang were among several high-profile picketers.
Yang said the show was bracing for delays, but the hiatus hit the cast and production team harder than expected.
“I feel like what’s at stake is just the concept of this being an industry where writers work more and get paid less and less. I hope the public grasps this is very unusual,” Yang said.
Many lamented that writers and production staff have been left behind and watched as their wages have stagnated while increased focus on streaming profits has grown as has the uncertainty of how artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies will affect writers future opportunities.
“It’s a billion-dollar industry that started in writer's rooms and they’re siphoning wealth to the top," said Alyssa Margarite Jacobson, 32, of Hewlett, who has written for “Gray’s Anatomy" and other shows.
"The career is not sustainable long term,” Jacobson said on the picket line. “Right now, shorter episodes and limited series are incredibly effective, but we should be able to make a living off it.”
Actor and writer Matt Rogers, 33, of Islip, said he and others on strike are ready to continue until fair terms are met.
“It’s a necessary thing and we have to be out here to fight for everybody,” he said. “It may be a long fight, but we’re ready for it."
Miller said she lost health insurance for her daughter after hiatus from production and earlier fears of the writer's strike. Miller said she hasn't worked since October.
"I feel like we shouldn’t back down," Miller said. "I feel like I can’t get a leg up and I almost left the industry because the industry doesn’t support working families. That doesn't mean I should have to give up something I love, and I shouldn’t be taken advantage of by people making millions."
With AP
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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