Criminal Minds

(Writers of America’s Next Top Model held their own strike in July of 2006. They weren’t represented by WGA-West and in November the writers on strike were taken off payroll.)

The writers strike has been getting a huge amount of attention, and rightly so. The issues they are fighting for are groundbreaking - a bigger cut of digital and internet revenues. The actors are also affected by the strike. A lot of shows have already shut down production - the AP reports that at least seven sitcoms, including The Office, and popular shows like Desperate Housewives have stopped production.

The writers strike not only affects the writers and the actors. There are hundreds of support personnel whose livliehoods are at stake. Gary Gentile of the AP writes:

They’re not on screen or on strike, but somewhere way behind the scenes in Hollywood, legions of workers are off the job as writers strike against studios.
A growing number of caterers, hairdressers, set builders, crew members and people who rent everything from trucks to portable dressing rooms have been idled in this industry town, as filming shuts down and studios yank funding from production companies.
With no deal is sight, the toll will only mount.

There are people being harmed by the strike that we would never think of. The entertainment industry contributes $80 million a day to LA’s economy. Without the money pouring in, spending on restaurants and shopping will decrease. The cost of the strike in 1988 was $500 million, and I assume that it would be much more now.

Gentile writes:

A study commissioned in 2001 by then-Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan concluded that a possible walkout of several months by writers would put 130,000 people out of work. Nearly one-third of those jobs would never return, the study concluded.

That is an enormous amount of people thrown out of work, and some of them have doubts about the strike. While they want to support the writers, many of them wonder if they’ll get the deal they want. More importantly, will production resume in time for these support people to go back to work?

There is a lot of support for the writers - deservedly. They create the shows, and give our favorite characters life. Some other sites have suggested sending donations to buy the writers pizza as they strike. This is a nice idea, but I have to wonder about the hairdressers, costume designers, cooks, and everyone else who contribute to the shows we watch. What about them? They are out of the spotlight and out of work. When the actors and writers go back to work, what will happen to them?
To see what’s happening with your favorite shows, check out 451 Press.

Julia Louis Dreyfus supports the writers.