Irish screenwriters join global day of solidarity in support of US strike

Screenwriters in Ireland will join in a global day of solidarity on Wednesday in support of a Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike for better pay and conditions that has brought parts of the United States television and film industry to a halt.

The Writers Guild of Ireland (WGI) will this morning “stand in support” of the WGA as 11,500 screenwriters continue their battle with Hollywood studios and streaming services in a bid to avoid the gig economy editions long embedded in the industry on this side of the Atlantic.

“Our fellow writers in the US have been on strike since May 2nd because their employers like Disney, Netflix and Amazon are refusing to pay them fairly,” WGI chairwoman Jennifer Davidson has written to members.

[ Major Hollywood studios reach labour agreement with union representing directors ]

“I know that sometimes the world of writers in the US can seem like a million miles away from the reality of being a writer in Ireland. But the truth is that the struggle for fair compensation and protections against these global streaming companies impacts us all. Their fight is absolutely our fight.”

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Members of the Irish Writers Union, Screen Directors Guild of Ireland, Irish Equity and Screen Composers of Ireland have also been encouraged to attend the WGI action in Dublin. Solidarity events are taking place in 22 countries, as well as the US, reflecting the globalised nature of the screen industry compared to that which existed during the 100-day WGA strike of 2007-2008.

Screenwriting careers in Ireland are already “very fragile” and if the US industry becomes more casualised, it will become even harder for Irish writers to ask to be paid for work they do as part of the development process, Ms Davidson said.

“The biggest problem that Irish writers face is the volume of unpaid work you have to do to pitch for funding and to pitch to a broadcaster.”

Screenwriters here are also being asked to waive legal rights only recently won under the European Copyright Directive by being presented with contract clauses preventing them from participating in the financial upside of hit projects, Ms Davidson added.

“If something is a success and makes more money than was anticipated, writers are entitled to get a share of that,” she said.

[ ‘Live long and pay us,’ say writers as they give Hollywood studios some feedback ]

The WGA strike has yielded support from high-profile Irish stars such as screenwriter and actor Sharon Horgan, who used her Bafta acceptance speech to express solidarity with “our WGA brothers and sisters”, and Oscar nominated actor Colin Farrell, who last month gave an impassioned speech on a New York picket line saying there would be no cinema or television without writers.

Hollywood actors union SAG-AFTRA is set to go on strike if it fails to agree a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers – the same body with which the WGA is in dispute – by June 30th.