The Writers Guild of America has reached a deal with the studios, but most of the staff of its West local remains on strike.
In a letter on Wednesday, California Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas urged the guild to bring an end to the 51-day work stoppage.
“Every day this strike continues is a day the Guild is not at full capacity to carry out its mission,” Smallwood-Cuevas wrote. “I therefore urge you to end this strike by taking the WGSU‘s invitation to make a fair deal.”
About 110 members of the Writers Guild Staff Union walked off the job on Feb. 17, after five months of on-again, off-again negotiations failed to result in a contract.
The staffers are demanding better pay and job security. A key sticking point is the WGSU’s demand for seniority protections in promotions and layoffs, which the staffers have said is necessary to combat favoritism.
The WGA West has said it is offering a fair deal, which includes $800,000 worth of salary increases. The two sides talked on March 17 and March 24 but have not been able to reach a breakthrough. The WGA West has told members that the strike will end when the WGSU accepts a deal or decides to return to work without one.
The striking staffers lost health care coverage on April 1, as more than a month had passed without qualifying employment.
Four members of the Los Angeles City Council signed a letter of support for the WGSU in March — Eunisses Hernandez, Katy Yaroslavsky, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Tim McOsker. Smallwood-Cuevas endorsed the WGSU’s demands in her letter to leadership.
“They deserve the standard union contract provisions that they’re fighting for, including an equitable wage step scale, layoff protections, and seniority in promotions,” she wrote. “A fair contract is not only a matter of basic dignity for these workers; it is essential to ensuring that guild staff can do the best possible job on behalf of WGAW members.”
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