Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
At least a dozen Santa Barbara members of the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) plan to picket outside the Apple Store in Santa Barbara this Saturday.
Starting at 11:00 a.m., the group will gather at 928 State Street in support of the WGA strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP).
Every three years, the WGA negotiates a new contract with the AMPTP. This year the members of the WGA voted to authorize a strike as a bargaining chip if they couldn’t reach an agreement with the AMPTP by the end of their current contract, which expired on May 1.
On May 2, writers from Los Angeles to New York have been on strike demanding higher pay, a stable pay structure, and fair deals with provisions regarding artificial intelligence.
When announcing the strike, the WGA called this moment an “existential crisis” for writers. The Guild states median weekly writer-producer pay has declined 23% over the last decade when adjusting for inflation and one of the biggest points of contention are residuals. With the advent of streaming services, writers are receiving a small fraction of rerun residuals than what they would receive from a standard broadcast.
Production has halted on several major TV shows including “Saturday Night Live,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Many directors, producers, and actors have joined the writers on the picket lines showing their support as well. Montecito resident and actor Rob Lowe was seen marching outside of Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. “We’re only as good as the writing we get,” Lowe said in an interview with ABC 7 News.
Peter Lance, a local member of the WGA West, has been writing about the strike and providing details on how little creators make in comparison to executives.
Image: Hollywood Reporter
“The CEO Scored provides a stunning contrast, between the massive executive pay packages for studios & streaming heads and the WGA’s proposals during negotiations, many of which the AMPTP refused to counter. Yet the Guild’s asks amounted to less than 1% of each studios annual revenue,” writes Lance. He shares more on his blog.
The Apple Store was chosen as the tech giant is part of the AMPTP due to its streaming service, AppleTV+.
Some of their more popular shows include “Ted Lasso,” “The Morning Show,” and “Black Bird.” It’s estimated that Apple’s streaming services brings in $2.2 billion per year alone.
