WGA West President Meredith Stiehm is taking a stand against Netflix and Comcast’s proposed pay raises for their top executives. In letters to shareholders, Stiehm argues that approving these pay packages is “inappropriate in light of the ongoing WGA writers’ strike.” She urges shareholders to vote against the proposals and put an end to the disruptive strike.
Stiehm highlights the stark contrast between the proposed pay raises and the estimated cost of the improvements the WGA has on the table. She also points out the impact the strike is having on content creation, which is of particular concern given Netflix’s recent rollout of advertising-supported subscription tiers and its crackdown on password sharing.
The strike has disrupted writing and production on numerous Netflix and NBCUniversal series, including popular shows like Stranger Things and Law & Order. This disruption has a knock-on effect for streaming services like Peacock, which rely on a steady flow of new episodes to populate their platforms.
Stiehm emphasizes that writers are demanding to be paid fairly for the tremendous value they create for profitable media companies like Netflix and Comcast. The WGA strike, now in its 29th day, began after negotiations with the AMPTP failed to reach an acceptable deal. The guild’s core issues include significant increases in compensation, minimum staffing, duration of employment, the establishment of viewer-based streaming residuals, and curbs on the use of artificial intelligence to create scripts.
