Support for US screenwriters’ industrial action

SPEAKING OF the startling resurgence of trade unionism both inside and outside Brexitland (see also NUJ strikes and French action in London), the long-running Writers Guild of America (West and East) strike has been making headlines across the world - and giving headline-writers a bit of a headache along the way.

A WGA picket line

WGA pickets outside the Warner Bros Discovery lot

Image © Mel Lambert /

What had begun as a novelty story buried among entertainment news about striking "Hollywood writers" was pushed into current affairs sections the longer the strike continued. Much of this was due to the groundswell of support for the TV and movie screenwriters from other groups, forcing media coverage to actually look into the reasons for the action rather than rely on tired Hollywood stereotypes to mock the "sun-kissed" or "stardust" strikers.

Initially there was support within the trade locally and abroad, including from the Writers Guild of Great Britain. But two months after WGA's 11,500 members went on strike in May, they were joined officially by the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). This is the first dual strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in 63 years.

London Freelance Branch member Mel Lambert, who writes on the picture and sound editing industry on the US West Coast, told the Freelance: "Pretty much everybody I talk with is of the opinion that the strikes will continue for a while - probably through the autumn. The strike is well supported by staff and daily-hire/freelance crews. Everyone understands that there is a lot at stake."

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* US screenwriters reach provisional settlement