'Pencils down!': Writers strike in Midtown as NY's late night shows go dark

Catalina Gonella

Published May 2, 2023

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Some writers say they're being victimized by an industry turning into a gig economy.

Catalina Gonella

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Catalina Gonella

Published May 2, 2023

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"Live from NY: On strike."

"I'd rather be writing about your favorite TV show."

"Pencils down!"

Those were just some of the witty signs on display as Hollywood writers picketed in Midtown on Tuesday when the union representing more than 11,000 film and TV writers went on strike for the first time in 15 years.

After six weeks of negotiations, the Writers Guild of America was not able to reach a deal with Hollywood studios and streamers, by the time their current contract expired at midnight on Tuesday. The union is seeking better pay and working conditions, which it argued have eroded in the era of streaming services.

In a statement on Monday, the union said the companies’ behaviors have created a “gig economy” that devalues the profession.

“From their refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a ‘day rate’ in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession,” the statement read.

Brooklyn-based TV writer Mia Iverson said shorter seasons in the streaming era means writers are constantly churning through jobs, and unsure when their next “gig” will be. She joined a picket line in Midtown on Tuesday afternoon.

“We're paid to just write and go away really quickly,” she said. “Back in the day, when you had shows like ‘Friends,’ for 22, 24 episode orders per season, it was great. People could make a living that way through their weekly paychecks and residuals and producing fees, et cetera. But nowadays, with short orders, eight to 10 episodes, it's not sustainable.”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers – the umbrella organization that bargains on behalf of the studios and production companies like Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony – said Monday that it had presented an offer with “generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals.”

The trade organization said the sticking points to a deal were “mandatory staffing,” — the union is seeking a minimum number of writers per room — and duration of employment contracts.

The WGA negotiates a new contract with the major Hollywood studios every three years. A shutdown was long expected this time around, with 98% of membership voting in support of a strike last month. The strike comes as rent in the city is at an all-time high.

Writers have said wages have been declining for years and haven’t kept up with inflation, TV writers' rooms have become too small and the way residuals are calculated needs to be revisited in the era of streaming.

Screenwriter and playwright Eleanor Burgess was at the picket line on Tuesday and said that without the residuals of traditional TV or box office percentages of traditional media, writers are left uncertain if they’ll make enough money in any given year.

“If you create something that people love and that people pay for, maybe kick a tiny percentage of that – 2% — just of the profits to the writers who created it, who put their love and heart, and frequently their personal stories, their personal experience… into creating things that everybody loves,” Burgess said. “Just make sure that those people can get a living wage.”

The strike left late night television in the lurch as several shows were set to begin playing reruns on Tuesday night. The effect on films and streaming shows will be delayed.

The last strike in 2007 lasted 100 days and was reported to have cost the industry billions of dollars..

On the picket line Tuesday, writers like Hilary Bittis, whose credentials include “The Dropout” on Hulu, said they would hold out as long as it took to get a fair deal.

“It's scary because again, like I said, I support my family,” Bittis said. “I support my family as a writer. I love what I do. I work really hard at it. But over the past few years, it's become harder and harder and harder to make a living, to make my year to pay for our health insurance, to pay for daycare, to take groceries, all of the things that a family needs to survive. And so that's why I'm out here. I'm out here for my children.”

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