One Year After WGA Strike, Writers Continue to Struggle

THIS TIME LAST YEAR, MORE THAN 10,000 TV AND FILM WRITERS WERE ON STRIKE. THE STRIKE BY THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA LASTED FOR MONTHS, 25 DAYS. THE RESULTING CONTRACT WAS CONSIDERED A MAJOR VICTORY. WRITERS GOT INCREASED PAY RESIDUALS AND HEALTH CARE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM STUDIOS, AN AGREEMENT THAT MORE STAFF WRITERS WOULD BE ADDED DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF EPISODES AND THERE WERE EVEN SOME AI SAFEGUARDS PUT INTO PLACE. SO HOW DID THAT ULTIMATELY HELP IMPROVE WORK AND LIFE FOR WRITERS? OUR CORRESPONDENT DINA DEMETRIUS COVERED THE STRIKE. FOR MATTER OF FACT, IT’S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU IN THE STUDIO. THANK YOU. DINA, THANK YOU. SO LET’S START WITH HOW THINGS ARE NOW. IS EVERYTHING BASICALLY BACK TO NORMAL FOR EVERYONE? NO, IT’S IT’S REALLY ROUGH STILL FOR EVERYONE. NOT JUST THE WRITERS, BUT BUT THE ACTORS, THE PRODUCERS, THE CATERERS. EVERYONE IS FEELING IT. AND AND THE MOTTO ON EVERYONE’S LIPS RIGHT NOW IS SURVIVE TILL 25. THEY’RE JUST HOPING TO RIDE THIS YEAR OUT, HOPING SOMEHOW THINGS WILL GET BETTER NEXT YEAR. YOU VISITED WITH SOME FOLKS LAST YEAR TO GET A SENSE OF WHY THEY WERE PUSHING THE STUDIOS TO MAKE CHANGES. I WANT TO PLAY A LITTLE BIT OF THAT. YEAH, ALL REALIZE WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER. THIS IS ALL OF OUR FIGHT. LIKE SO MANY IN HOLLYWOOD, JOEL GARFINKEL IS A MULTI HYPHENATE, A SINGLE MOM SLASH TV WRITER SLASH LINE CAPTAIN IN THE WRITERS GUILD STRIKE AGAINST THE ALLIANCE OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION PRODUCERS, OR AM TP DESPITE HER 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE, GARFINKEL HAS TAKEN A LOWER PAYING SUPPORT STAFF POSITION ON THE CBS SHOW FIRE COUNTRY. SHE SCRIPTED ONE OF ITS EPISODES AS A FREELANCER. I WAS FEELING THIS HUGE CAREER HIGH. I AND I HAD $0 IN MY CHECKING ACCOUNT AND THAT WAS SO STRESSFUL BECAUSE OUTWARDLY EVERYONE WAS GIVING ME THESE ACCOLADES AND I WAS LIKE, I HAVE NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT RIGHT NOW. GARFINKEL SAYS SHE’S BARELY MAKING A LIVING WAGE BECAUSE OF THE CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY. THE PAY PER HOUR HAS GOTTEN SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER OVER TIME, AND THE SPAN AT WHICH YOU CAN BE ASSURED OF EMPLOYMENT HAS GOTTEN SHORTER. JEFFREY LIEBER IS A VETERAN CREATOR AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF NETWORK SHOWS. HE SAYS THE ADVENT OF THE MINI ROOM HIRING ONLY 4 TO 6 STAFF WRITERS RATHER THAN 8 TO 12, HURTS BOTH CONTENT AND OPPORTUNITIES. IF THERE AREN’T VOICES IN THE ROOM THAT ARE ECONOMICALLY DIVERSE, THAT ARE RACIALLY DIVERSE, THAT ARE GENDER DIVERSE, WELL, THEN THE STORY IS GOING TO BE TOLD BY A VERY SMALL SLICE OF PEOPLE. LIEBER REGULARLY MARCHES IN FRONT OF SONY STUDIOS FOR ALL THE NEWER WRITERS, WHO NOW FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO WORK A FULL YEAR LIKE HE CAN, AS A SHOW EXECUTIVE, WE MAKE MOVIES. SOME PEOPLE MAKE CARS, SOME PEOPLE MAKE BREAD, SOME PEOPLE ARE FARMERS. THE BASIC CONSTRUCT OF ALL THESE THINGS IS VERY, VERY SIMILAR. AND SO, UM, IT’S LABOR, IT’S LABOR, IT’S TOTALLY LABOR. THERE’S A LOT OF STRESS AND WORRY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING FOR MY SON. YOU KNOW, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO GIVE HIM A GOOD LIFE AND STILL DO WHAT I LOVE AND BE COMPENSATED. SO HOW ARE THOSE FOLKS DOING NOW? WELL, JEFF LIEBER IS THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF A NEW HOUR LONG DRAMA THAT’S GOING TO PREMIERE THIS FALL. IT WAS DELAYED FROM THE FALL OF 2023, BUT HE’S ALWAYS SAID THAT HIS YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY HAVE KEPT HIM AT A HIGH LEVEL OF WORK, SO HE’S DOING WELL. BUT THAT’S NOT QUITE THE CASE FOR JOEL GARFINKEL. SHE IS NOW FREELANCE WRITING FOR MAGAZINES, BUT SHE HOPES TO ONE DAY WORK UNDER THE NEW CONTRACT ON A TV SHOW. BUT THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT JOEL IS THAT SHE CONTINUES TO RUN THE GREEN GROCERY FUND, WHICH WAS THIS CROWDFUNDED EFFORT THAT TOOK PLACE DURING THE STRIKE WHERE THEY SENT OUT $250,000 WORTH OF GROCERY MONEY TO STRIKING WRITERS. SO IS THAT NOW DONE? NO. JOEL IS STILL RUNNING IT. SHE HAS HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF APPLICANTS WHO STILL NEED THAT KIND OF GROCERY HELP. SO SO IT SHOWS THE LEVEL OF DISTRESS THAT THE INDUSTRY IS IN RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY THE WRITERS AND THIS PARTICULAR FUND. BUT IT ALSO SHOWS THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY BUILT OVER THE STRIKE AND HOW THEY CONTINUE TO HELP EACH OTHER. WRITERS AND OTHERS IN HOLLYWOOD HAVE SAID SURVIVE UP TILL 25, MEANING 2025. WHAT HAPPENS IN 2025? WELL, THERE’S NOTHING IN PARTICULAR THAT’S MEANT TO HAPPEN, BUT PEOPLE ARE KEEPING THEIR FINGERS CROSSED THAT PRODUCTION WILL PICK UP AGAIN. SO THERE WAS THIS ERA OF PEAK TV, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, STUDIOS WERE COMPETING WITH NETFLIX TO TRY AND PUT OUT MORE AND MORE CONTENT. THEY WERE PUTTING OUT HUNDREDS OF TV SHOWS AND MOVIES A YEAR. THAT BUBBLE BURST, AND SO STUDIOS PULLED BACK. THEY STOPPED SPENDING THE MONEY, BUT THERE IS A HOPE THAT POST STRIKE AND POST THIS FEELING OF WE’RE SAVING OUR MONEY, THAT STUDIOS WILL START PRODUCTIONS AGAIN. AND THAT’S WHAT EVERYONE IS HOPING FOR. BUT IT’S NOT A GUARANTEE WE’LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. YEAH. FINGERS CROSSED. OF COURS