Writers' Strike: Getting Wiser

S ince last we spoke, we've been waging a hearts and mind campaign, switching over from picketing Sony to full-time location picketing, making some noise, talking to crew members, and giving out informational leaflets.

Last week we drove out to Santa Clarita, about 40 miles outside of LA where they were shooting the new Star Trek movie.

When the strike just started we were only trying to disrupt shoots. We very quickly discovered that it was much more effective to talk to the crew and let them know our side of the argument. A lot of them had only believed what they were reading in Variety, which details the other side’s story and doesn’t present ours particularly well.

Early on, people would often come out angry and saying things like, "Why are you picketing here?This script is paid for. You're messing with art. You're invading my job. Because you writers are on strike I’m going to get laid off."

When we explained that the residual system ensures that writers and actors get checks while crew members get residuals in the form of health pension payments, nine times out of 10 they were very sympathetic.

What the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) proposed would amount to an 80 per cent pay cut in residuals. Those residuals account for 55 per cent of their pension of health. That’s kissing half of it goodbye.

When we explain that, although nobody wants to strike, we feel it's worth fighting for, they usually come around to our side. At least they understand why we’re there.

There have been a lot of handshakes with the crews. We’ve had guys come and bring us bottled water from the set and some of them have been sneaking us helpful information.