Are you an avid television viewer? The champion of entertainment trivia on your pub quiz team? Love streaming and want to support the arts? Time to offer your voice, and resiliency funds, to the writers’ strike picket line.
On Monday, May 1, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the national organization representing television and film screenwriters across the U.S., voted to call an industry strike, following six weeks of failed contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). It’s an updated version of the 100-day-long WGA strike that lasted from November 2007 to February 2008 — a call for fair pay which resulted in the shortening of many primetime TV shows, the stalling of movie productions, and a massive loss of staff, wages, and industry revenue.
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As Hollywood writers and their supporters — including the celebrities heading some of network television’s biggest hits — continue a wave of on-the-ground picketing, WGA members and strike organizers online are encouraging supporters to help the entertainment workers beyond the strike, as well, by amplifying the call for a fair deal and contributing to a financial safety net.
‘SNL’ cancels Pete Davidson-hosted episode due to WGA strike
The WGA currently represents 11,500 writers across the entertainment industry. Under strike rules, members have ceased all work on current shows and won’t go into negotiations on future projects. For some, that also means they’ll soon stop getting paid, and others will also lose crucial benefits should the strike continue.
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While some showrunners and late night hosts have pledged to continue paying writer wages out of pocket while the union strikes, it’s not a widespread industry practice.
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And the effects of the strike will reverberate far beyond the writers’ rooms. As productions halt, so too will the opportunities — and pay — for other industry workers, including cinematographers, hair and makeup teams, and even catering crews.
Rather than calling for an industry boycott, some WGA members are asking those who can’t lend a hand or lift a sign in person to donate to industry-wide resiliency funds instead — a form of mutual aid for the people that make Hollywood’s glimmer possible, including those behind the scenes.
Credit: David McNew / Getty Images
How to donate to the Entertainment Community Fund
The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly known as the Actors Fund, was founded in 1882 to support the needs of entertainment professionals at a time of social and charitable snubbing of the theater industry — many of these working artists and their families were denied charity due to their low standing.
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In the 141 years since, the organization has expanded its services to provide an array of programs for anyone working in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio, and dance. The fund offers direct social services and financial assistance, housing support, health insurance and benefits counseling, and more.
Contribute what you can for film and television support programs
While guild members can access loans or grants through WGA West and WGA East strike funds, as well as the WGA West Good and Welfare Emergency Assistance Fund, donations to the Entertainment Community Fund broaden the availability of emergency financial assistance for other Hollywood employees and crew.
On the fund’s donation portal, donors can designate their contributions specifically for programs offered to film and television professionals.
Credit: Entertainment Community Fund
Other ways to support the strike include signing a letter of support for the guild’s contract negotiation, donating to food and practical support drives helping power the picket lines, or checking out the WGA Strike Social Media Toolkit to join the #WGAStrong and #WGAStrike cause. Learn more about the WGA strike on the guild’s website.
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