Are you an avid tv viewer? The champion of leisure trivia in your pub quiz workforce? Love streaming and wish to help the humanities? Time to supply your voice, and resiliency funds, to the writers’ strike picket line.
On Monday, Could 1, the Writers Guild of America (WGA)(opens in a brand new tab), the nationwide group representing tv and movie screenwriters throughout the U.S., voted to name an {industry} strike, following six weeks of failed contract negotiations with the Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers (AMPTP)(opens in a brand new tab). It is an up to date model of the 100-day-long WGA strike(opens in a brand new tab) that lasted from November 2007 to February 2008 — a name for truthful pay which resulted within the shortening of many primetime TV exhibits, the stalling of film productions, and a large lack of workers, wages, and {industry} income.
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As Hollywood writers and their supporters — together with the celebrities(opens in a brand new tab) heading a few of community tv’s largest hits — proceed a wave of on-the-ground picketing, WGA members and strike organizers on-line are encouraging supporters to assist the leisure staff past the strike, as nicely, by amplifying the decision for a good deal and contributing to a monetary security web.
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The WGA presently represents 11,500 writers throughout the leisure {industry}. Below strike guidelines, members have ceased all work on present exhibits and will not go into negotiations on future tasks. For some, that additionally means they’re going to quickly cease getting paid(opens in a brand new tab), and others can even lose essential advantages ought to the strike proceed.
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Whereas some showrunners and late evening hosts have pledged to proceed paying author wages out of pocket(opens in a brand new tab) whereas the union strikes, it isn’t a widespread {industry} observe.
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And the consequences of the strike will reverberate far past the writers’ rooms(opens in a brand new tab). As productions halt, so too will the alternatives — and pay — for different {industry} staff, together with cinematographers, hair and make-up groups, and even catering crews.
Relatively than calling for an {industry} boycott, WGA members are asking those that cannot assist or carry an indication in individual to donate to industry-wide resiliency funds as a substitute — a type of mutual help for the those who make Hollywood’s glimmer doable, together with these behind the scenes.
Credit score: David McNew / Getty Photos
Learn how to donate to the Leisure Group Fund
The Leisure Group Fund(opens in a brand new tab), previously often called the Actors Fund, was based in 1882 to help the wants of leisure professionals at a time of social and charitable snubbing of the theater {industry} — many of those working artists and their households had been denied charity attributable to their low standing.
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Within the 141 years since, the group has expanded its companies to supply an array of applications for anybody working in movie, theater, tv, music, opera, radio, and dance. The fund affords direct social companies and monetary help(opens in a brand new tab), housing help(opens in a brand new tab), medical insurance and advantages counseling(opens in a brand new tab), and extra.
Contribute what you’ll be able to for movie and tv help applications
Whereas guild members can entry loans or grants via WGA West and WGA East strike funds, in addition to the WGA West Good and Welfare Emergency Help Fund(opens in a brand new tab), some are asking supporters to think about donating to the Leisure Group Fund to broaden the supply of emergency monetary help for different Hollywood workers and crew.
On the fund’s donation portal, donors can designate their contributions particularly for applications provided to movie and tv professionals.
Credit score: Leisure Group Fund
Different methods to help the strike embrace signing a letter of help(opens in a brand new tab) for the guild’s contract negotiation, donating to meals and sensible help drives(opens in a brand new tab) serving to energy the picket strains, or testing the WGA Strike Social Media Toolkit(opens in a brand new tab) to hitch the #WGAStrong and #WGAStrike trigger. Study extra in regards to the WGA strike on the guild’s web site(opens in a brand new tab).
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