11,500 screenwriters who are represented by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), have been on strike for four months. They went on strike because of an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over a 23% decrease in their salary over the previous ten years. A decade ago, a third of writers for television series received the minimum wage. Today, about half of TV writers receive the minimum wage. In addition to receiving lower payment, these writers frequently do not get the chance to participate in the production process, which limits their capacity to build on to their resumes.

“A lot of young people that want to break in as writers are frightened because it used to be you could have a regular, middle-class living working as a writer,” said Glenn Farrington, a TV writer who’s been part of the guild for more than a decade. 

Furthermore, writers have expressed concern about declining residuals. In contrast to streaming residuals, which are paid annually and typically based on the exhibition year, the length of the program, and the number of subscribers, authors of network series receive checks when their work is rebroadcast on television.

“Streaming has really changed the game,” said Kate Fortmueller, an associate professor of film and media at Georgia State University. 

Now, actors join the writers strike as they seek new contracts with studios and streaming services. The actors’ arrival in Hollywood energized the picket lines outside of Netflixs’ Hollywood offices, where music played loudly and sidewalks were packed with demonstrators. Oscar and Emmy winners’ well-known faces are likely to be seen on picket lines occasionally in New York and Los Angeles, giving the protests outside of studios and corporate buildings more celebrity power. 

Similar problems with studios and streaming platforms are experienced by the two guilds. They are worried about residual payments, which pay creators and actors for the usage of their work after the initial airing, such as in reruns or on streaming platforms, and about contracts that keep up with inflation. Additionally, the unions seek to erect barriers to prevent artificial intelligence from imitating their work in movies and television.