2023-04-16 20:05:46
© Reuters. Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles 3/9/2023 REUTERS/Mike Blake
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hollywood television and film writers face a critical vote this week as they pressure media companies to raise wages or face a strike that will cripple an industry reeling from the pandemic and finds itself under pressure to make streaming more profitable.
Negotiators at the US Writers’ Union (WGA) have asked its roughly 11,500 members to initiate a vote on whether or not to give them the power to call a strike after May 1, if contract talks break down. Voting ends on Monday and the result is expected to be announced soon after.
The strike authorization vote is intended to increase pressure on companies such as Netflix (NASDAQ:) and Walt Disney Co. Disney Co (NYSE:) and convince them to raise pay for writers, who argue their salaries have taken a hit because of the streaming revolution, which has resulted in shorter TV seasons and lower residual pay.
“We felt like we’ve been undervalued for years,” said John August, a screenwriter who sits on the union’s bargaining committee.
A prolonged strike can be costly. The last WGA strike, in 2007 and 2008, lasted 100 days. Networks aired reruns and more reality shows, while the cost of the shutdown to California’s economy was estimated at $2.1 billion, according to the Milken Institute. Most TV and film writers live in Los Angeles or New York.
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