“They’re Scared”

5,000-Plus Demonstrators Rally In L.A. to Support Writers Strike.

Lots of press coverage of a massive demonstration of union strength yesterday. This from The Hollywood Reporter:

Over 5,000 writers and supporters descended on the mid-Wilshire neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday to rally support during the eighth week of the Writers Guild of America labor stoppage.

The “WGA Strong” rally featured spirited and sometimes expletive-filled speeches from the likes of I’m a Virgo writer-director Boots Riley, WGA negotiating committee member Adam Conover and Teamsters Local 399 leader Lindsay Dougherty, as well as a musical performance from singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc (who pointedly sang, at one point, “I Need a Dollar”). The overall message to writers, who are now 51 days into their first strike in 15 years? Hollywood labor is behind you.

The event also served as something of a flex to the industry. “We are out here today to tell the companies how strong we are,” said WGA negotiating committee member Adam Conover (The G Word), who acted as the rally’s emcee. He added, “Carol [Lombardini, the president of the AMPTP] didn’t plan for how strong we are. She did not plan for the fact that eight weeks in, we are bringing the same energy as on day one. She didn’t plan that our picket lines are being joined by workers from every union in town.” Added Riley, “They’re scared of what’s going on. They’re scared of how militant, how ready to fight we’ve become.”

The event began with a march from Pan Pacific Park to the La Brea Tar Pits, snaking around the Grove and down Third St., past the WGA West’s headquarters and the Academy Museum. Wearing bright blue WGA shirts, the writers held signs bearing phrases like “We break the stories. We can break you,” “Wrote ChatGPT this” and “Say NO to unprotected sets.” They were joined by fellow union members in entertainment from SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, Laborers’ International Union of North America, the American Federation of Musicians and the Teamsters.

Here are some images of yesterday’s event collected from online.

Let’s end with this one from The Wire creator David Simon.

The famous F-bomb scene from The Wire:

In past strikes, Variety and THR have been consistent in promoting the viewpoint of the AMPTP. There’s been some of that this time around, but it feels like there have been more articles like this one providing the Guild perspective. Maybe their editorial staffs and writers are feeling what the unions already know: No job in Hollywood is safe.

For the rest of The Hollywood Reporter article, go here.

For the latest updates on the strike and news resources, go here.