Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) led a protest outside Netflix’s headquarters in New York on Wednesday, May 3, as strikes entered a second day after failed negotiations “with streamers and studios” on Monday.

The guild said it had negotiated for fair contracts over the last six weeks with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Discovery, Paramount, Sony, NBC Universal, and Disney. As of midnight Tuesday, no agreement had been reached, leading to stoppages in production for shows like Saturday Night Live.

“The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing,” the official WGA statement reads. “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. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership.”

Footage captured by Will O’Donnell shows picketers in Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon. Credit: Will O’Donnell via Storyful

Video transcript

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