TV writer Michael Jamin has explained the key reason behind the recently launched writers' strike in a video that has gone viral on TikTok.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced on Monday that it was due to go on strike after talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down. It confirmed the news in a message sent directly to members, and picket lines started on Tuesday.
As a result, TV shows that rely on writers to create content on the day of airing, such as late-night talk shows, will be forced off the air immediately. Pre-recorded and scripted television shows shot before the writers' strike are still expected to air as normal. Similarly, news programming will stay on the air.
Reacting to the news, writer and showrunner Jamin—whose credits include King of the Hill, Beavis & Butthead, Wilfred, Just Shoot Me, and Rules of Engagement—took to TikTok to further explain the reasons behind the strike, in a video which has received over 380,000 views.
"I just got an email from the Writers Guild of America saying that negotiations have broken down and as of midnight tonight, the Writers Guild of America will be on strike," Jamin said. "No writing at this point.
"The Guild also included a charter of proposals, which is interesting. They list all the demands that the Guild made. And then they list all the counters that the studios countered with, and sometimes they came back with counter proposals.
"But for many of the very important issues—the main ones that the Guild made—there were no counters made. So before anyone starts blaming the writers being on strike, you can't reach middle ground if there's no counter. There's no middle ground to be reached. So this is a problem; we'll be on strike now. I'm not surprised it came to this."
@michaeljaminwriter The Writers Guild of America is on strike #writersstrike #writersguildofamerica #writerslife
♬ original sound - Michael Jamin
Jamin went on to state that the talent of writers is often what draws people to watch TV shows, rather than the big studios that stream and broadcast them.
"At the end of the day, writing—television, writing and screenwriting—cannot be a gig economy. You want career writers, because the shows, movies cost a lot of money and you want to have people who do this for a living.
"Maybe I'm old, but when I when I go to watch a TV show or a movie, most of the time—even shows that I like—I don't even remember where they're on. I have to do a search at the time. Maybe I'm losing my mind. I'm like, 'Is it Amazon? Is that Netflix? Where is it? Oh, it's Peacock... I've got a new search to find my shows.
"To me, that says something it says it's not that we don't really have loyalty towards the streamer. It's not the branding that convinces us, it's not the marketing that convinces us to watch a show. It's the show itself. Shows are written by writers. No writers, no show."
The last time the WGA went on strike was back in 2007 and 2008. The strike lasted 100 days and forced dozens of late-night and scripted television shows off the air. The Milken Institute, cited by Los Angeles-based news site LAist, estimated that the strike 15 years ago cost the entertainment industry $2.1 billion, resulting in the loss of 37,700 jobs.
The WGA confirmed on Monday night that following six weeks of negotiating with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC Universal, Sony and Paramount, all under the umbrella of AMPTP, the Board of Directors of WGA West and the Council of WGA East voted unanimously to call a strike. The strike came into effect from 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, May 2.
"The companies' behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing," the WGA wrote in a statement.
"Though our negotiating Committee began this process intent on making a fair deal, the studios' response have been wholly insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing," the WGA said.
The AMPTP released its own statement on Monday night, confirming that negotiations "concluded without an agreement."
"The AMPTP presented a comprehensive package proposal to the Guild last night which included generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals. The AMPTP also indicated to the WGA that it is prepared to improve that offer, but was unwilling to do so because of the magnitude of other proposals still on the table that the Guild continues to insist upon."
The statement went into further details about the specifics on the table: "The primary sticking points are 'mandatory staffing,' and 'duration of employment'—Guild proposals that would require a company to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not."
The AMPTP concluded that it was "willing to engage in discussions with the WGA in an effort to break this logjam."
