End of Show

That's how you write it in a script (sometimes)

Last Friday, the WGA went back to the table with the studios and encouraged its members to turn out in force on the picket lines. If there’s one thing I know how to do (Catholic school), it’s follow directions, so I headed out to Paramount.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: The picket line at Paramount, most notably a sign saying “you’re only making us HOTTER” and an orange puppet holding a tiny sign of its own (puppeteers are one of the many groups fighting for a fair contract as SAG-AFTRA members…not sure if the puppets themselves are also required to pay dues).

Tiring of circling the gates, I decided to circle the entire studio. Unfortunately, I forgot is that Paramount doesn’t actually take up the whole giant block it occupies, and soon its green hedge faded into a concrete strip mall. I was carrying my sign, so people along the way provided support for our cause along with their own (¡Viva Mexico!). As I paraded past a body shop, a man wearing an army hat stopped me. “You’re fighting for minimum wage, right?”

I paused. How to answer that question? The fact that minimum wage is not, in fact, enough? The fact that the time between jobs means a ridiculous amount of money becomes a reasonable amount of money becomes a paltry amount of money? The fact that the long-standing power of Hollywood unions has meant that we’ve never had to settle for minimum wage? I settled on, “A living wage!”

He then explained to me he’d just been presented with an updated insurance bill after his car got stripped by the M16 guys. 300 dollars a month! How was he supposed to afford that? I agreed. He was a veteran (hence the hat). I thanked him for his service and we talked about the fact that he shouldn’t have to be stressing about payments on his Toyota Corolla after fighting in two wars for his country. It was shameful. He said he didn’t go to the Gulf the second time but if he had, he and his guys would’ve killed everything in sight and then taken Iraq as the 51^st state and gas would be two dollars a gallon. Our views, dovetailing on domestic policy, parted ways on foreign relations. It feels a little presumptuous to tell someone who has been to multiple wars what you would do about war when you thankfully have been to none, so we parted on our shared outrage at the price of maintaining a humble Corolla.

I continued my journey back to the picket line, walking past the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (the name alone prompts reflection), around the corner, and back to the familiar green hedges of Paramount.

Two days later, the WGA reached a deal with the AMPTP.  I texted my family the terms of the deal and refreshed industry websites, hoping they’d round up some tweets for me, like social media methadone. On Wednesday night, I went to the member meeting, and we celebrated our victory.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: WGA members give their negotiating committee a standing ovation at the Wednesday night member meeting in Hollywood

It wasn’t a war, but it was a fight, and we won, and I hope the spoils will keep me comfortably in my Corolla for years to come. 

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NOTE: Several unions are still onsSAG-AFTRA is still very much on strike, as is Unite Here 11 (hotel/hospitality workers union). More recently, the United Auto Workers decided to strike. A huge reason the WGA won our fight was public support, so please continue to support these causes, even if you maybe own a foreign-made car…

Support SAG-AFTRA

Support Unite Here 11

Support UAW