President Biden hopes for 'fair deal' for WGA strikers
President Joe Biden expressed support for striking Writers Guild of America members in his first comments about the work stoppage on Monday.
"I sincerely hope the strike gets resolved, and writers are given a fair deal as soon as possible," Biden said at a White House screening of "American Born Chinese" in celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
"This is an iconic, meaningful American industry and we need the writers -- and all the workers -- to tell the stories of our nation, and the stories of all of us," Biden said.
Politicians in New York and California have said they would be willing to help with negotiations between the writers and studios, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
The Writers Guild of America strike entered its second week Monday, with no sign of any progress being made in labor talks as the entertainment industry continued bracing for what could be a protracted work stoppage, surpassing the one that occurred 15 years ago.
Hundreds of picketers walked strike lines throughout the day at major studios, continuing a walkout that began last Tuesday after negotiations between the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, failed to yield a deal.
Local picketing has been conducted at Amazon Studio in Culver City, CBS' Studio City lot, Television City, The Walt Disney Co.'s corporate headquarters in Burbank, the Fox Studios lot, Netflix's Hollywood headquarters, Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Sony Studios in Culver City, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. in Burbank.
In a letter sent to union members Monday, WGA West President Meredith Stiehm said the strike is having a definite impact.
"You are being seen and heard, and supported," Stiehm wrote. "We've had massive national and international news coverage. ... Our picket lines have already shut down location shoots in N.Y. and L.A.; the late night shows went dark on Tuesday; and the `MTV Movie & TV Awards' live show was canceled because of our action. All in only four days on strike."
The AMPTP issued a position paper Thursday outlining its take on some key negotiating points in the labor impasse. Responding to a union demand for minimum staffing levels and employment guarantees, the alliance contends such a move would "require the employment of writers whether they're needed for the creative process or not."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Paramount Global, which owns CBS and KCAL News, is part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In addition, many KCAL News producers and writers are WGA embers. However, they operate under a different contract and are not part of the current negotiations.