Hundreds of Animation Guild members join WGA writers on picket line for first time
Plus, a group has organized what it calls "Burritos for Striking Writers" - an effort to feed strikers burritos every Friday.
BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) -- With the Hollywood writers' strike going into its fourth week, many members of the Writers Guild of America are struggling to pay bills, but they're getting plenty of support.
Many celebrities have been spotted joining the picket lines across Los Angeles and different organizations have pitched in to help feed the writers. On Tuesday, The Animation Guild joined in on the efforts for the first time.
"All those guilds have insurance and retirement benefits and for people who aren't in both like me, whichever one you're in is extremely important," explained WGA and Animation Guild member Tom Astle. "Everybody who does this now should have the ability to have a career like I've been able to have."
The work stoppage, which began on May 2nd, was ongoing Monday as writers picketed outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank and at other locations.
In addition, a group called Marx21 has organized what it calls "Burritos for Striking Writers" - an effort to feed strikers burritos every Friday.
Some WGA writers have been without pay for weeks and many are facing food insecurity.
"People are on EBT, people are on SNAP, people are doing what they can to find work," said WGA member Zimran Jacob, who helps coordinate with different burrito vendors.
He said the fund has enough money to help feed people for another 10 Fridays and eventually wants to expand the program.
"Food and the financial realities of it, like I would like to help people with that process. It makes me feel part of something bigger than myself," said Jacob.
This is the third WGA strike since 1988 and Astle - who has picketed in all of them - says this one feels different because of how the entertainment guilds are all working together.
"Hopefully, it will resolve sooner than the other one but we never know," said Astle. "You have to be willing to walk the line. I would say this one, there feels like there's more unity with all of the unions and guilds than in either of the prior two that I experienced."
The WGA is pushing for improvements on a variety of fronts, notably for higher residual pay for streaming programs that have larger viewership, rather than the existing model that pays a standard rate regardless of a show's success.
The union is also calling for industry standards on the number of writers assigned to each show, increases in foreign streaming residuals and regulations preventing the use of artificial intelligence technology to write or rewrite any literary material.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, has pushed back against some of the WGA's demands, particularly around its calls for mandatory staffing and employment guarantees on programs.
AMPTP has also pushed back against WGA demands around streaming residuals, saying the guild's offer would increase rates by 200%.
The use of artificial intelligence has emerged as a major topic.
The WGA says it wants a ban on the use of AI, and contends the AMPTP has refused to even negotiate the issue. The AMPTP said the issue raises "important creative and legal questions" and requires "a lot more discussion, which we've committed to doing."
City News Service contributed to this report.
