Writers Protest at Warner Bros Studios on 3rd Day of Strike

Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) demonstrated outside Warner Bros studios in Burbank, California, on Thursday, May 4, as strikes entered a third day after talks broke down between the guild and media companies.

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.”

Other protests were held outside Disney’s studios, about a mile from Warner Bros, and at studios in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. Credit: George Kitson via Storyful

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