The Writers Guild of America has reached a take care of the studios, but a lot of the staff of its West local stays on strike.
In a letter on Wednesday, California Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas urged the guild to bring an end to the 51-day work stoppage.
“On daily basis this strike continues is a day the Guild shouldn’t be at full capability to perform its mission,” Smallwood-Cuevas wrote. “I due to this fact urge you to finish this strike by taking the WGSU‘s invitation to make a good deal.”
About 110 members of the Writers Guild Staff Union walked off the job on Feb. 17, after five months of on-again, off-again negotiations did not lead to a contract.
The staffers are demanding higher pay and job security. A key sticking point is the WGSU’s demand for seniority protections in promotions and layoffs, which the staffers have said is needed to combat favoritism.
The WGA West has said it’s offering a good deal, which incorporates $800,000 value of salary increases. The 2 sides talked on March 17 and March 24 but haven’t been capable of reach a breakthrough. The WGA West has told members that the strike will end when the WGSU accepts a deal or decides to return to work without one.
The striking staffers lost health care coverage on April 1, as greater than a month had passed without qualifying employment.
4 members of the Los Angeles City Council signed a letter of support for the WGSU in March — Eunisses Hernandez, Katy Yaroslavsky, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Tim McOsker. Smallwood-Cuevas endorsed the WGSU’s demands in her letter to leadership.
“They deserve the usual union contract provisions that they’re fighting for, including an equitable wage step scale, layoff protections, and seniority in promotions,” she wrote. “A good contract shouldn’t be only a matter of basic dignity for these staff; it is important to making sure that guild staff can do the very best possible job on behalf of WGAW members.”