NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 TV late-night comedy scribe Greg Iwinski, 38, was still only an aspiring writer when Hollywood writers held their landmark strike in 2007-2008.
But as he manned the picket lines Wednesday 鈥 the day the current strike hit its 100th day, matching the length of the previous one 鈥 he was keenly aware of all the history involved.
鈥淚 got a residual check yesterday for a show I worked on, because people went on strike in 1960, before I was even born,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd so knowing that we could be doing that for people 60 years from now is incredibly motivating.鈥
And yes, said Iwinski, who has written for 鈥淭he Late Show with Stephen Colbert,鈥 鈥淟ast Week Tonight with John Oliver,鈥 and other shows, 100 days is a long time 鈥 but he is prepared to strike as long as it takes.
鈥淭oday is our 100th day of striking and we're striking for the same thing we were on Day One, which is a fair contract,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e have the same two pages of proposals and the studios have not yet responded to all those proposals ... so I guess until that happens, we'll still be out here.鈥
Wednesday's milestone comes as the U.S. film and television industries remain by its actors and screenwriters. There's no foreseeable end 鈥 a negotiating session last week involving Hollywood studios and streamers and the striking writers ended with little progress. Television networks are a month away from starting a new fall season, and broadcasters have already put contingency plans in place for programming that excludes their most popular scripted series.
their strike July 14, creating the first dual strike since 1960. for both unions include the use of and
The Writers Guild of America held special pickets marking the 100th day in both New York and Los Angeles. Outside the Netflix offices on Broadway in Manhattan, the scene had an upbeat feel. A steady stream of protesters 鈥 both writers and their actor allies in SAG-AFTRA 鈥 danced, pounded on drums and chanted slogans as they marched around the city block.
Befitting writers, signs were markedly creative: 鈥淭his Barbie is striking!!!鈥 鈥淣ot Kenough.鈥 鈥淭he only free writing you deserve is this sign.鈥 鈥淲riters make people happy (and sad).鈥 And the simple: 鈥淣o wages, no pages.鈥
Nicole Conlan, a striking comedy writer for 鈥淭he Daily Show,鈥 said that despite being on strike since May 2, she's been so busy organizing on the picket lines that 鈥淚 woke up today, the 100th day, and it feels like we've just started.鈥
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be out of work,鈥 said Conlan, 33, 鈥渂ut the mood is very high because we still have all this support after 100 days. Compared to previous strikes, it really feels like people understand what we鈥檙e doing and people still are really throwing their support behind us."
鈥淭he things that we're fighting for apply not just to the industry but to the entire economy,鈥 Conlan said. 鈥淚n every industry people can see Wall Street and tech finding a way to make careers into gig jobs 鈥 so even though we do a very weird kind of job, writing, it's easy for the layperson to see our jobs becoming gig jobs, and to see how that applies to their job as a nurse, or as a flight attendant, or as a construction worker.鈥
Vicki Winters, a standup comic who was picketing alongside the writers, played the drums as her colleagues marched. 鈥淐orporate greed has got to go,鈥 said Winters, 66. 鈥淭hey are taking advantage of the workers of the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild, pretty much every worker that鈥檚 at the ground level ... while billionaires, millionaires choose a number they pull out of the air, like 鈥業鈥檓 going to pay myself $11 million,鈥 and meanwhile the guy downstairs is going to make $7.25 an hour.鈥
