Movie and TV writers have voted unanimously to go on strike, shattering 15 years of labor peace in Hollywood, as their three-year contract expires. The strike, starting
on Tuesday afternoon, affects 11,500 screenwriters pitted against entertainment companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, as well as established companies including Universal and Paramount. The primary sticking point concerns union proposals that require firms to staff television shows with a certain number of writers for a specific period, "whether needed or not".
The union accuses companies of creating a gig economy and devaluing the writing profession. Compounding problems, TV and cable viewership has plummeted as streaming services take off. Late-night talk and sketch shows will be affected immediately, but it will take months before a slowdown of TV and movie production becomes apparent. Photo by boereck, Wikimedia commons.