Striking 9 to 5: Union Strong with WGA Strike Captain Katherine DiSavino

80s TV Ladies

“What do we want? Fair Pay! When do we want it? NOW!”
The 80’s TV Ladies fast-forward from the 1980s to the RIGHT NOW – for a special "breaking news" episode about the ongoing 2023 WGA Writer’s Strike that is having a major impact on television production – and the future of entertainment as we know it. As the strike enters its third month writers and other guilds are calling out for “transformative change” and insisting “now is not the time to meet in the middle.”
But what’s really going on? It's time for Writer's Strike 101. WGA Strike Captain and TV writer/producer Katherine DiSavino (“Silo”, “Nancy Drew”, “Outpost”) joins Susan and Sharon to help break down the issues from the inside.
THE CONVERSATION

• How Kate got her start as a playwright – in her parent’s dinner theater!
• WATCHING JESSICA FLETCHER: How “Murder She Wrote” star Angela Lansbury gave Kate the mystery writing bug.
• Why did writers overwhelmingly support the Strike Authorization Vote?
• Why is this strike so different from the last one in 2007-2008?
• Is it fair that streaming profits have gone up exponentially, but writer pay has gone down 24% since 2014?
• “I AM THE STRIKE CAPTAIN NOW!” How Kate and other strike captains organize hundreds of picketing writers every day – right in front of all the major studios in Los Angeles!
• What do the writers want? Are the Studios willing – or able – to meet their demands? How does AI figure in? What does all this mean for women, BIPOC, disabled and LGBTQ writers?
• And what happens if the actors in SAG-AFTRA go on strike, too?
• Does writing end when the script is finished? Nope. Kate discusses how the writing task continues – on set, in post-production and all the way to your screen.
• HONK THOSE HORNS! Learn how you can support the WGA, striking writers, teamsters, IATSE crew and actors.
• What is a “mini-room”? Why is it such a sticking point in negotiations? And how are they leading to the end of TV writing as we know it?
• Guess what the 80s TV Ladies learned from Jane Fonda on the picket line? (Spoiler: Actors are ready to strike.)

So, join Susan and Sharon – and Kate – as they hit the Hollywood picket lines, strike back at the $3 Trillion dollar Apple Empire, and get to the bottom of our East Coast/West Coast “Hot Labor Summer”!
AUDIOGRAPHY
Find out more about the writers guild at WGA.org.
See the WGA asks and the AMPTP "response": WGAcontract2023.org.
Affected by the work stoppage or want to help? Go to Entertainment Community Fund.
Learn more about SAG-AFTRA.
Let them eat Pizza! Donate and find Pizza Queen Jess Morse here. On Venmo. $10.97 = 1 Pizza.
Follow the upcoming 9 to 5 movie, sitcom and actors cross-over episodes here at 8TL and The Kulturecast!
For transcripts and more visit 80sTVLadies.com.
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