Although the Writers Guild of America has reached an agreement with the studio, most Western staff remain on strike.
In a letter Wednesday, California Sen. Laura Smallwood-Cuevas asked the guild to lift its 51-day work stoppage.
“Every day that this strike continues is a day that the Guild is not functioning at its full capacity to carry out its mission,” Smallwood-Cuevas wrote. “Therefore, we urge you to accept WGSU’s invitation to negotiate a fair deal and end this strike.”
Approximately 110 members of the Screenwriters Guild staff union quit their jobs on February 17th after five months of negotiations to restart or cancel the project but failed to reach a contract.
Employees are seeking better pay and job security. A key issue is that WGSU requires protection of seniority in promotions and firings, which staffers say is necessary to combat favoritism.
WGA West said it is offering him a fair contract that includes a salary increase worth $800,000. The two sides held talks on March 17 and March 24, but no solution has been reached. WGA West told its members that the strike would end if WGSU accepted the deal or decided to go back to work without a deal.
The striking staff lost their health insurance on April 1 after more than a month without meeting the terms of their employment.
Four members of the Los Angeles City Council (Eunice Hernandez, Katie Yaroslavsky, Hugo Sotomartinez, and Tim McCosker) signed a letter of support for WGSU in March. Smallwood-Cuevas supported WGSU’s request in a letter to leadership.
“They are entitled to the standard union contract provisions they are fighting for, including fair pay scales, layoff protections, and seniority in promotions,” she wrote. “Fair contracts are not only a matter of basic dignity for these workers, but are essential to ensuring that Guild staff can do the best possible job on behalf of WGAW members.”
