WGA Strike 2023: Critics' Solidarity Pledge
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CAMPAIGN UPDATE (July 13, 2023)
With SAG-AFTRA now officially on strike alongside the WGA, the second phase of this solidarity campaign is LIVE. Check it out here.
When the Writers Guild of America published their official strike announcement, they made the existential nature of their fight clear:
“The companies' behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce,” they told their members, “and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing. […T]hey have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession.”
As writers working in a media industry already devastated by the corporate class’s never-ending drive towards maximizing profit—too many of us driven into freelance work by layoffs and the disappearance of stable staff jobs—the WGA’s nightmare is increasingly our reality.
Furthermore, as critics, journalists, and editors who cover the entertainment industry, we understand better than most the tactics the studios are employing to undermine and devalue the human labor that creates the “content” on which their profits rely.
We also know that it’s our responsibility to make those tactics clear to our readers, and to show that TV and movies aren’t content but art—the fruit of human creativity and labor rather than assembly-line gruel. This is not only a matter of journalistic accuracy, it is a responsibility central to our role as critics.
This is something that many of our colleagues have been doing since day one of the strike. We are encouraging everyone to follow their lead. By acting collectively, we have the power, through our coverage, to shift the conversation.
In solidarity with the striking WGA writers, we the undersigned entertainment critics, journalists and editors pledge to…
Include the names of all writers on every project we cover, to emphasize that screenwriters are responsible for every series, special and film we watch. If this information isn’t readily available in the credits, on IMDb, or in the press materials, we will contact the project’s PR team to explicitly request them.
Consider the framing of each piece we write:
Does it center the narrative of the striking workers and their material economic and labor conditions — NOT the inconvenience to the audience or the profitability of the networks?
Does it contextualize the striking writers as workers — NOT as a separate class of celebrity elites?
Does it clarify that canceled projects are a result of the studios putting their profits above the economic and labor conditions of their writers — NOT of the strike itself?
Highlight, whenever possible, the reality that studios did not bargain in good faith, and stockpiled both scripts and completed works in advance of the strike. This will keep our coverage from playing into the illusion that the strike is meaningless, when in reality we know that the consequences of the strike—while not glaringly obvious on audiences' screens in the short term—are very real.
Emphasize how writers’ material working conditions influence both “good” and “bad” work. What makes a show high-quality or sloppy, well-edited or choppy has everything to do with whether or not studios value creative labor, and give writers enough time and security to perform that labor well.
Remember that the writers want to write, just as we want to watch and write about the work that results. It is the studios, not the strikers, who stand between us (and our readers!) and the vibrant art we love.
Finally, those of us who are editors pledge to publicize our availability and be receptive to pitches from striking WGA writers. By transparently sharing our editorial interests, we can ensure that all media workers can maintain the integrity of this strike while supporting their own material needs.
Abby Monteil
Abby Olcese
AJ Lancaster
Alex Moreland
Alexis Gunderson*
Alonso Duralde
Amy McCarthy
Anastasia Gracia
Ana Monroy Yglesias
Annie Berke
Arielle Lana LeJarde
Arthur Howell
Asher Elbein
Beau Paul
Ben Rosenstock
BJ Colangelo
Blayne Waterloo
Bob Griffin
Brady Johnson
Brandon Zachary
Brett White
Brodie Hubbard
Caemeron Crain
Caleb J. Primeau
Carly Lane
Caro
Carrie Wittmer
Cate Young
C. M. Crockford
Charles Bramesco
Chris Randle*
Christine Kelley
Clint Worthington
Corey Atad
Crystal Davidson
Cyrena Touros*
Danielle Solzman
David Crow
Dennis Tracy
Derrick Crow
Don Shanahan
Douglas Davidson
Elana Levin
Elysia Brenner
Emma Specter
Eric Ravenscraft
Eric Thurm*
Garrett Martin
Gretchen Felker-Martin
Haley Mlotek*
Harper “Rocky” Goldman
Ian Hoopingarner
Izzy Clark
Jacob Oller
Jaime Rebanal
James Factora
James Mackin
Jaya Saxena
Jeff McMahon
Jeremy Fogelman
Jess Pinkham*
Jessica Scott
Jocelyn Luizzi
Joe George
John Griffiths
Josh Kurp
Joshua Williams
Julie DiCaro
Katherine Krueger
Kayti Burt*
Kelly Connolly
Kenzie Vanunu
Kerensa Cadenas
Kerry Cardoza
Kim Kelly
Kirsten Rodning
Kyle Turner
Lea Anderson
Leonard Pierce
Linnea Glas
Lisa Nicole Szucs
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz
Loretta H. Campbell
Madeline Weiner
Mahita Gajanan
Maris Kreizman
Marlowe Granados
Matt Goldberg
Matt Zoller Seitz
Matthew Simpson
Maxance Vincent
Megan Hennessey
Meghan O'Keefe
Mel Elorche
Michael Haley
Mike McGranaghan
Myles McNutt
Nate Louis
Nathan Graham-Lowery
Nathan Grayson
Nicholas Russell*
Nicole Strein
Olivia Aylmer
Özgür Kurtoğlu
Paolo Bicchieri
Paul Rose Jr.
Phillip Maciak
Precious Austine-Ushie
Quinn Quimby
R. Tiffany Warren
Red Broadwell
Reuben Baron
Rose Eveleth*
Russ Burlingame
Ryan Thomas Riddle
Sabra Boyd
Saloni Gajjar
Sandy Schaefer
Sara David
Sarah D. Bunting
Scott Renshaw
Sean T. Collins*
Shaurya Chawla
Simon McNeil
Soraya Roberts
Stefan Sasse
Stephanie Malone
Streamr Entertainment
Susan Lambert Hatem
Susan Rinkunas
Ted Prezelski
Tempe And Annie Vs Evil Podcast
Tiana Reid
Tim Poon
Tobias Carroll
Tom Speelman
Veronica Fitzpatrick
Victoria McNally
Will Menaker
Zach Rabiroff
Zack Handlen
Asterisks (*) indicate FSP members who collaborated on this pledge.
This pledge was collaboratively developed by TV & film critic members of the Freelance Solidarity Project and reviewed by the WGA. To learn more about how FSP members are organizing to improve working conditions across the media industry, or to get a link to the next virtual General Info Session, click here.
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