I would add that unlike many labor unions, half or more of WGA is *unemployed* at any given time due to the cyclical nature of entertainment (not to mention the oversupply of writers caused, in part, by WGA's ability to extract above-market wages.) There's little downside to "striking" if you don't have a job.
Skip Oliva | Homepage | 01.03.08 - 4:00 pm | #

If the work is so "underpaid," why do they do it? The simple answer is that they want to do it for whatever personal reasons they have. Maybe they enjoy it, maybe they don't want a more traditional corportate job, maybe they couldn't qualify for one.
Leonardo | 01.03.08 - 5:07 pm | #

A lot of them have second or third jobs as well. Lots of them tutor, teach, write for publications, edit, work in the service industry, etc. No one is going hungry because of the strike.

In fact, most of the writers I know are just using it as an excuse to go on long vacations.

Reporting from Hollywood,
Area Man
Area Man | 01.04.08 - 1:39 pm | #