Hollywood Heavyweights Rally at Fox Studios: WGA West and SAG-AFTRA Strikes Intersect
Meredith Stiehm, the President of the Writers Guild of America West (WGA West), joined forces with Liz Shuler, the AFL-CIO President, and Frances Fisher with Shari Belafonte, the SAG-AFTRA national board members, on the picket line yesterday. The sought-after location? None other than the main entrance of Fox Studios in Century City. But there's more to the power list. Also present were Yvonne Wheeler, the recently elected president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, and Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, executive secretary treasurer of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.
"Our struggle is valuable," Stiehm told the picketing crowd, marking the 87th day of the writers' strike. The picketers, buoyed by signs that read, “A robot would make a great CEO” and “We’re unrealistic? You bought Fox,” chanted slogans of solidarity.
According to Stiehm, these “labor queens” have paved a way through a difficult territory, citing the tireless efforts of genre writers. Alongside Stiehm on the picket line was Betsy Thomas, the WGA West’s secretary-treasurer, who are both contesting for re-election in the upcoming WGA West's guild election.
Shuler, on her part, evoked the power of women's leadership as critical for the movement. Her organization represents 60 unions with nearly 13 million unionized workers, which she accentuates, "have your back." She also noted her participation in the picket lines throughout the week, including the one outside Netflix’s offices in New York City.
Frances Fisher, a member of the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee, highlighted the reach of this strike as beyond entertainment, marking it as a critical part of the worldwide labor movement. Shari Belafonte, over the honks of the cars passing by in support of the strikers, denounced the diversion of focus by the member companies of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to profits rather than worker rights, further mocking the exorbitant pay of studio CEOs.
Interestingly, for the first time since Ronald Reagan’s presidency of the Screen Actors Guild in 1960, actors and writers are striking concurrently. SAG-AFTRA initiated their strike on July 14.
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Here's one for the timeline: a charming mash-up of labor queens, seasoned writers, committed actors, and revered labor federation heads, modeling their power on the picket line, like they are strutting down the red carpet: only with a lot more conviction and a dash of humor. The studios? Fox was the lucky pick.
In this captivating saga of courage and labor, Stiehm emerges pronounced, rallying with colleagues, listeners, and passersby alike. Her poignant assertion that not just striking, but 'struggling for what is worthwhile is valuable' sets the narrative's tone. And really, who could forget the wit behind the picket signs in this scenario? The Disney jab was particularly delightful.
A round of applause for Liz Shuler who, from the looks of it, is 'picketing' her way into our hearts, one city at a time. Her stance on women’s leadership and instilling the 'you're not alone' sentiment among the crowd doesn’t just resonate with those on the strike line. It echoes far and wide: an anthem for laboring masses across the globe.
Frances Fisher's flair is noteworthy: encapsulating the essence of the strike as a robust pillar in the broader, worldwide labor movement. Belafonte’s voice wasn't drowned out by the honks, but amplified. Her highlight of the skewed priorities of member companies towards yields rather than employees’ welfare makes for a tough pill to swallow. But the tale of the studio CEO's exorbitant paydays? Now that's a cinematic twist even Hollywood might balk at.
However, the crowning glory of this labor saga is the timeline it shares with history. Seeing actors and writers on the same strike line after six decades is indeed an intriguing chapter, defying the genres of drama and reality. The show, it seems, must go on, but at the rightful price.
