The Power at Work Blog is delighted to lift up two videos from the 100-day Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike in 2007.
We were inspired to share these videos with you by the current WGA strike, which as of today has lasted 106 days. Earlier this year, the WGA released a report that writers have been negatively impacted by the growth of streaming services in the industry. The report, entitled “Writers are Not Keeping Up,” reveals that writers are working fewer hours and in less than ideal conditions while “[series’] budgets have soared over the past decade, [and] median writer-producer pay has fallen.” The downfall of DVDs and the rise of streaming has also led to a tentpole style of production, meaning that TV and movies produced generally supports the studio and not the creatives. Median pay for screenwriters hasn’t increased in five years, and when accounting for inflation, has decreased by 14%.
This may seem very different from the strike in 2007, when we were still at the dawn of the streaming age, but the two strikes are actually quite similar. While the union could not foresee the importance of streaming compared to the DVD and live television format of the time, they were still taking strides towards change. In 2007, while the union was pushing for an increase in residuals on DVD sales for writers, their top priority was hammering out ethical formulas for reuse of content on the internet, cell phones (the next generation of smart phones, such as the first generation iPhone, was released this year) and other digital platforms. After three months of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and nine proposals dropped by the union in the interest of reaching a resolution, the studios did not respond to other important proposals relating to internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction. The union was forced to take the next step.
During the 2007 strike and this year’s strike, the WGA demanded increased minimum compensation, increased residuals, and stronger overall protections.
Listen to the strike announcement made by Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) President Patric Verrone and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) President Michael Winship in a press conference on November 2, 2007.
The second video consists of interviews conducted by The Real News Network with WGA members on the 2007 picket line. We thought it would be interesting to give you a point of comparison to the interviews you are seeing with 2023 picketers.
These conversations are very similar to posts from the WGA East and West TikToks in 2023. It is very clear that writers have long sought to achieve lasting change, as we can see from their responses to Paul Jay in 2007.
“Seeing the commitment of the people who are involved here… for me it’s been incredibly edifying, it’s been a very inspiring experience,” said Matt Weiner, the creator and executive producer of Mad Men. “I’ve never been prouder to be a writer, and I’ve never thought of myself as labor before. I really identify with this whole concept, it’s been very, very empowering, satisfying, and hopefully… people will start to feel better about the value of their work. We’ve had a hard time convincing people of the value of their work, of the leverage they have as an individual.”
Please enjoy these videos and be sure to check back in at the Power at Work blog for updates.
