“Global Day of Solidarity” Organized to Support WGA Strike

Members of guilds and unions from the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG), Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE) and UNI Global Union (UNI-MEI) are coming together for Screenwriters Everywhere, a global day of solidarity and action in support of the 11,500 members of Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East who have been on strike since May 2.

Pickets and other actions are being held in the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Ukraine and the U.K.

Others will support the WGA strike via social media in India, Latvia, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Québec, Slovenia, South Africa and Spain.

Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) President Sandi Toksvig OBE said: “Everything starts with the writer, and we need to make sure that those who profit from the creative brilliance of writers, share those profits with writers, so they can be paid properly, enjoy fair working conditions and be treated with dignity and respect. These are the principles on which the trade union movement was founded, and they are more important today than they have ever been.

“On this Global Day of Solidarity I would like to join my fellow union members in the U.K. in sending this message to screenwriters across the Atlantic—we hear you, we support you and we stand with you.”

WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth said: “I’m proud to go out on the streets today, shoulder to shoulder with my fellow WGGB members and others from across the industry, to send a loud message of solidarity to our colleagues on strike in the U.S.

“We also believe in better pay and working conditions for creators, improved payments on streaming services, protections against free work, and safeguards around artificial intelligence to protect compensation and creative rights.

“Media conglomerates are making billions in profit, yet refusing to share that with writers and other creative workers. I want them to see the wave of collective action around the globe today and know that we all stand united.”