Guerrilla Tactics Applied to the Writers’ Strike
Improvised picketing outside working sets seems more effective than large protests.
Since the writers’ strike began on May 2nd, the WGA has organized large pickets outside the headquarters of the major studios to protest what they describe as the steady erosion of their members’ incomes during the streaming era. What seems even more effective, though, is the impromptu picketing outside the sets of productions in work.
Anousha Sakoui, staff writer of The Los Angeles Times, wrote the story of picketing the production site of Showtime’s coming-of-age drama The Chi. The studio was planning to resume filming its sixth season, starting shooting at 4:00 a.m. on Monday, May 22, 2023. The early time didn’t prevent 15 WGA’s local members from showing up at 3:00 a.m.
Among the protesters was The Matrix co-writer and co-director Lilly Wachowski. She lent her support to the strike by picketing for six hours. The effort of the writers was remarkably successful. Trucks with production equipment turned around, and drivers shouted support for the picketing writers. Crew members refused to cross picket lines. By 8:45 a.m., the writers got word that The Chi had been shut down. One striker described the action as a “guerrilla tactic.”
The Chicago episode is not isolated. On the East Coast, the WGA has interrupted another Showtime production, Billions, and Max’s The Penguin. Early morning pickets at York Studios in the Bronx and Westchester halted Apple TV+’s Severance.
The same day, the union was picketing at sunrise at Silvercup Studios East in Long Island City to block filming of Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again. In Los Angeles, the union’s pickets halted shoots for Apple TV+’s Loot, the drama series Good Trouble, and the Lionsgate movie Good Fortune.
“The focus on shutting down individual productions reflect the more aggressive tactics used by Writers Guild members compared to the previous strike 15 years ago when there was more emphasis on large mass protests and rallies intended to build union solidarity,” writes Sakoui in the Los Angeles Times. These protests, although sanctioned by the union’s leadership, often are organized by rank-and-file members with the help of social media. The new tactic can cost producers hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost equipment rentals and other charges.
As the strike enters its fourth week, the parties are still far from a deal. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains for the major studios and networks, said it offered “generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals.” Still, the guild’s demands over mandatory staffing levels and duration of employment remained sticking points.
Source: Los Angeles Times
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Improvised picketing outside working sets seems more effective than large protests.
Since the writers’ strike began on May 2nd, the WGA has organized large pickets outside the headquarters of the major studios to protest what they describe as the steady erosion of their members’ incomes during the streaming era. What seems even more effective, though, is the impromptu picketing outside the sets of productions in work.
Anousha Sakoui, staff writer of The Los Angeles Times, wrote the story of picketing the production site of Showtime’s coming-of-age drama The Chi. The studio was planning to resume filming its sixth season, starting shooting at 4:00 a.m. on Monday, May 22, 2023. The early time didn’t prevent 15 WGA’s local members from showing up at 3:00 a.m.
Among the protesters was The Matrix co-writer and co-director Lilly Wachowski. She lent her support to the strike by picketing for six hours. The effort of the writers was remarkably successful. Trucks with production equipment turned around, and drivers shouted support for the picketing writers. Crew members refused to cross picket lines. By 8:45 a.m., the writers got word that The Chi had been shut down. One striker described the action as a “guerrilla tactic.”
The Chicago episode is not isolated. On the East Coast, the WGA has interrupted another Showtime production, Billions, and Max’s The Penguin. Early morning pickets at York Studios in the Bronx and Westchester halted Apple TV+’s Severance.
The same day, the union was picketing at sunrise at Silvercup Studios East in Long Island City to block filming of Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again. In Los Angeles, the union’s pickets halted shoots for Apple TV+’s Loot, the drama series Good Trouble, and the Lionsgate movie Good Fortune.
“The focus on shutting down individual productions reflect the more aggressive tactics used by Writers Guild members compared to the previous strike 15 years ago when there was more emphasis on large mass protests and rallies intended to build union solidarity,” writes Sakoui in the Los Angeles Times. These protests, although sanctioned by the union’s leadership, often are organized by rank-and-file members with the help of social media. The new tactic can cost producers hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost equipment rentals and other charges.
As the strike enters its fourth week, the parties are still far from a deal. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains for the major studios and networks, said it offered “generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals.” Still, the guild’s demands over mandatory staffing levels and duration of employment remained sticking points.
Source: Los Angeles Times
