In Support of the WGA

Submitted by Lisa Steadman on November 19, 2007 - 5:38 pm

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Living in Los Angeles, I try to stay up to date with all things Hollywood.  Being a writer, I’m especially interested in the current Writers Guild strike.  While not a member of the guild, I nonetheless support their efforts to get fairly compensated for their work, most especially the matter of residuals on the use and reuse of new media.  And in an effort to show my solidarity, I decided to bake the strikers some of my world-famous cookies and deliver them directly to the picket lines.  Mr. XY and I spent Sunday evening baking and then today, I dropped them by Warner Brothers Studios.  

I picked Warner Bros. for two reasons.  1.  I happen to love Warner Bros-produced programming and 2. The studio’s near my house.    In the past few weeks, I’ve seen pretty large crowds picketing in front of the major studios.  However, today’s crowd was relatively light — a handful of enthusiastic men and women waving picket signs at oncoming traffic.  I was a little nervous about crashing the picket line, but figured it would be okay once I introduced myself. 

It was more than okay!  After introducing myself and passing around my cookies, I was invited to pick up a sign and join the demonstration.  I figured Why not? After all, it’s easy to say you support a cause, but it’s not so easy to give your time or to publicly stand up for the cause.  And so I picked up a picket sign and started waving it at oncoming cars.  The majority of people honked and waved in support. I probably spent an hour on that corner, chatting with the other picketers (some writers, some show crew members, some Teamsters) and waving my sign proudly.  It felt really good to stand up for something I believe in, rather than just complain about a problem (like I usually do) without trying to be part of a solution. 

Passing out cookies to picketers is one thing. Now I’m ready to get involved for real. There’s a Labor Solidarity rally in Hollywood tomorrow at 1 p.m. Mr. XY and I are planning on participating.  If you’re in the area and would like to get involved, click here. To support the strike, check out UnitedHollywood.com.