The staff of the Writers Guild of America West went on strike on Tuesday, accusing leadership of the union of breaking labor laws.
The strike will affect about 100 of the 150 staffers at the union. The workers, represented by the Pacific Northwest Staff Union, voted to authorize a strike last month after talks broke down.
“The Writers Guild Staff Union (WGSU) has called an unfair labor practice strike in protest of ULPs committed by Writers Guild of America West management,” the union said in a statement. “Guild management has surveilled workers for union activity, terminated union supporters, and engaged in bad faith surface bargaining, showing no intention to come to an agreement on most of WGSU’s core issues.”
The union members will begin picketing outside the WGA West headquarters.
The move comes one month before the WGA is due to sit down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to begin bargaining a new contract for Hollywood TV and film writers. The union leadership has said that it expects bargaining to go on as normal despite the strike.
More to come…