Neil Gaiman

Fortunately, Tumblr isn’t part of the AMPTP, and I’m not here on a movie or TV writing contract.

Because they aren’t the WGA and aren’t on strike.

They support the WGA.

ALT

Beyond that, you can read their FAQs on the strike and their obligations at

But these questions and answers may explain it for you.

How does the WGA strike affect you as a TAG member?

Most animation writing work in Los Angeles County is performed under The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839, agreements. These contracts are separate from the WGA contract. If you are working under a TAG contract, you can continue working.

What if I am working on a show or production with WGA writers?

Several productions where animation work is covered under TAG collective bargaining agreements are also staffed by WGA writers. You can continue performing your work duties as requested, but do not perform any WGA covered work. Remember, struck work can include small requests like, “can you punch up this joke?” If you are approached to do WGA work, please contact TAG Business Representative Steve Kaplan at Steve.Kaplan@tag839.org. Also, be prepared that you may face a picket line at your studio and be asked to honor it.

What should I do if there is a picket line outside of my studio? Will I be protected for honoring it?

It’s your personal decision to choose whether to cross the picket line or honor it. Honoring a picket line shows your support for the WGA writers, their union, and the labor movement. The TAG agreements do not expressly prohibit employees from honoring lawful picket lines. Therefore, employees working under the agreement retain their right granted by the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act) to honor a lawful picket line. However, should you honor the picket line, it is the employer’s right to temporarily and/or permanently replace you through due process.

Can my employer fire me if I honor a lawful picket line?

Under existing law, employers have a legal right to temporarily replace any employee who refuses to cross a picket line with employees who are willing to work. Different laws apply depending on whether the strike is considered economic or in protest of unfair labor practices. The WGA strike would most likely be considered an economic strike.

What if I work remotely? Am I protected for honoring a picket line if I don’t have to cross one physically?

Workers who are remote are not presented with a picket line. Therefore, they should continue to work. Unless a worker encounters a physical picket line, they may continue their work. Any collective work-stoppage may become a plausible violation of a collective bargaining agreement. 

Good Omens 2 wrapped production in March of 2022. While we were shooting we had an American producer, and in the cast we had American Jon Hamm, but most of the other people in the cast and crew were British.

Under British law it would have been illegal to have struck in solidarity with an overseas strike.

From the WGGB site:

Trade union legislation is very different in the UK.

Secondary strike action (action in support of another union or group of workers) is not permitted under UK law, nor is the practice of restricting employment to those who are members of a particular trade union.

UK writers can take other action in support of the WGA, for example, taking part in protests or demonstrations that do not fall under the definition of ‘picketing’.

On the other hand, I’m WGA so I would have gone on strike, if the strike had occurred while we were shooting or editing, which would have meant that no writing or rewriting could have occurred (and every week I would get what we were shooting that week, and every week would do any rewriting that needed doing, sometimes every day, and sometimes while we were shooting I’d be rewriting or fixing something) and I wouldn’t have been in the edit or in ADR sessions, because they can involve writing.

My understanding of US shows filming in the UK, like Rings of Power or House of the Dragon, is that they are able to shoot scripts already written, but that no rewriting can occur.

(GO2 was finished and handed in in March of this year. It’s all done and Amazon will be releasing it in the Summer, so it’s all a bit hypothetical trying to what if the strike was happening now. I think it would have been made, it just wouldn’t have been as good.)

elfwreck:

neil-gaiman:

No, it’s to not cross the picket lines literally. If there’s a writers guild picket in place, you don’t cross it. (But you can always join it – especially if you are in LA or NYC.)

The WGA hasn’t called for a boycott of streaming services or TV or anything like that, and until and unless they do I wouldn’t push for that.

What the WGA would like is for people to make their support for the writers clear and loud – write to the networks you watch on and tell them to treat their writers fairly, post your support on every social media outlet you can. Let the producers know that public opinion is against them.

It’s easy to support strikes at first - to swap memes and say “Go Union!” and tell writers we support them.

It’s harder two months in. Four months. Eight.

If this goes like the last few writers’ strikes - it means a terrible tv season, a delay in movies, big changes in late-night talk shows (the talk isn’t scripted; the monologues and jokes are–and they don’t have half a dozen scripts in the can; they have to be written based on recent news), and other areas we won’t notice until it’s underway.

Strikes are a game of chicken. AMPTP is counting on public backlash to convince the WGA to back down, and that won’t happen right away.

The writers are risking a lot for this. They’re not getting paid while they wait. (There may be strike funds, but there are no new project deals, no bonuses, no overtime pay, and so on. And the strike fund isn’t unlimited.) They’re pinning a lot of hope on the skills of their negotiators.

So when they tell you what would help - believe them. That’s always “don’t cross the picket lines” and “express support publicly” and “if you can get there in person, the picket lines appreciate coffee and snacks.” It is always “don’t take a scab job doing the work that someone on strike is refusing to do.” (Note that in this case, the WGA has the right to block future membership from scabs. You can’t get an edge in the industry by taking the jobs that are going to open up.)

Anything other than that, the negotiators try to figure out.

Maybe that’s “It’d help if people suspend or cancel their streaming services.” Maybe it’s “please DON’T suspend or cancel them - that’s how they feel the pressure to produce new content. If people cancel, they’ll claim there’s less demand, less money for the writers.”

We’re on the outside, and there’s a lot of moving parts. Listen to the union when they tell you how you can help.

And be ready to stand by them, even months later when (1) your new shows on TV suck, because the only scripts available are the ones that were initially rejected, and (2) the AMPTP starts announcing how unreasonable the WGA is being, how it’s misrepresenting their claims, how they don’t understand how the business works, how there’s this one case where the WGA demands would make everything worse for the writers involved.

It’s all lies. Stand with the union. Trust them to know what’s best for their workers.

No, it’s to not cross the picket lines literally. If there’s a writers guild picket in place, you don’t cross it. (But you can always join it – especially if you are in LA or NYC.)

The WGA hasn’t called for a boycott of streaming services or TV or anything like that, and until and unless they do I wouldn’t push for that.

What the WGA would like is for people to make their support for the writers clear and loud – write to the networks you watch on and tell them to treat their writers fairly, post your support on every social media outlet you can. Let the producers know that public opinion is against them.