It’s not just Australians who are gearing up to vote YES this week – Hollywood writers have got a ballot of their own to get behind.
After a near record-breaking 148-day-long strike for the writers’ union (they hit 153 days in 1988), the 11,500 Writers Guild of America (WGA) members have achieved a monumental victory; securing a meaningful three-year contract deal.
The deal locks in better pay and streaming bonuses, minimum staffing regulations and limits the unscrupulous use of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technology as a means to undercut jobs.
Details of the deal and the three-year contract – struck with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers – has been sent to members for ratification, with voting open until 9 October.
This historic win is a galvanising reminder of the power of unionising – and what we can achieve when we stand together and refuse to back down.
Rome wasn’t built in a day
Way back on 2 May, screenwriters walked out following failed negotiations with major studios over issues of pay, the size of writing staffs on shows and the use of AI in the creation of scripts.
More than two months into the strike, writers got a dose of solidarity and star power when they were joined by 65,000 striking film and television actors.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union shared concerns over streaming residuals and the looming threat of AI.
The result was an almost complete shutdown of Hollywood and marked the first joint writer and actor strike in over 60 years.
Over the next three months, members continued to show up to picket lines day in and day out, enduring sweltering summer heat, and often joined by hundreds if not thousands of supporters. From Hollywood to New York, their message was clear: we’re not backing down.
While the perseverance has paid off for WGA activists, the battle goes on for SAG-AFTRA – although progress is looking promising: as the strike enters its twelfth week, the union have begun renewed daily negotiations with Hollywood studios and members are cautiously optimistic for what’s to come.
A national movement built on dreams of shared prosperity
While the writers’ and actors’ strikes might be the most high-profile demonstrations of labour stoppage in America this year, they’re far from the only examples.
Nationwide, there have been 275 strikes so far – teachers, baristas, farm workers, nurses – the list goes on long enough that the country’s latest season has been dubbed the Summer of Strikes.
It’s a testament to the appetite that is brewing in workplaces, not only for change, but for collective action to be the means to drive it.
What’s more, public opinion surrounding unions is more positive than it’s been in decades, with studies showing that more than two-thirds (67%) of Americans approve of unions in 2023.
And this resurgence in workers flighting back is attracting all the right attention – just last week, Joe Biden threw his support behind United Auto Union (UAW) workers, who are locked in a dispute with America’s three largest car manufacturers; the first sitting President in American history to join a picket line.
Union values in the spotlight
WGA, SAG-AFTRA, UAW and more: what all of these strikes drive home, is that no matter who you are or what you do for work, union values bring workers together and make us stronger.
At its core, collective action – strike or otherwise – gives workers leverage against the power imbalance and a voice to advocate for workers’ rights.
Fairer pay, better conditions and safer workplaces don’t belong in a land far, far away – they’re achievable for every worker, every workplace and every industry. And it begins with joining a union.
SHARE:
Once upon a time in America…