The “Unions Strike Back” Rally on Friday evening saw the Writers Guild of America West receive an outpouring of support from their sister unions in Los Angeles. Hollywood Teamsters Local 399 secretary-treasurer and chief negotiator, Lindsay Dougherty; SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland; UTLA President, Cecily Myart-Cruz; Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11; and California Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Lorena Gonzalez, among others, all stood in solidarity with WGAW President Meredith Stiehm.
Stiehm gave an impassioned speech in front of hundreds of union workers, as the WGA closed out its 25th day striking against the AMPTP who have yet to agree to meet at the negotiating table. She spoke of the solidarity between the sister unions whose members have joined her and fellow striking writers on the picket lines held daily at the various studios across Los Angeles.
Crabtree-Ireland followed with an impassioned speech of his own, vowing that members of SAG-AFTRA will continue to picket with the WGA for as long as it takes. He reminded the crowd that SAG-AFTRA is currently holding its own strike authorization vote ahead of its negotiation with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
The crowd went wild when teamster-boss Dougherty took the mic and began a chant of “When I say union you say town…” Referring to AMPTP as “the evil empire,” Dougherty said, “we’re going to stand in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, the Hollywood Basic Crafts, AFM for every single fight we have with those employers because when we fight together, we win together. When we fight, we win.”
The support from other unions and workers has been overwhelming, and it’s clear that labor is rising. The bosses, management, and corporations must share the wealth that we helped create. They must share it properly and fairly, and until they do, we will hold the line. Union now. Union forever.
